How to Teach with Technology: Social Studies | Edutopia

How to Teach with Technology: Social Studies | Edutopia:

Students fire off ideas for using digital tools to teach history and current events.

Check out these tips from students and educators for high tech teaching:

Blogging the Textbook

"As a teacher, to make social studies more fun, I use the CoveritLive blogging tool. While I talk and read from the textbook, some of the kids have a blog conversation about what I am presenting.

Credit: CoveritLive

I can be sure they are staying on topic because another teacher approves their comments. (Every comment must be approved by a teacher.) Every day, the kids rotate who gets to be on the laptops and have the live conversation. Other people from around the world can also join in."

CoveritLive is a publishing tool that allows users to instantly publish their blog posts, which allows it to serve somewhat like a chat room. Lisa Parisi and Christine Southard use CoveritLive to enliven discussion and motivate their students to master social studies material in their fifth-grade class. Students also used CoveritLive during President Obama's inauguration. For more information about these projects, go to Parisi's blog.