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The authors attempt to answer the first question by stating that teachers are trying to help students gain a deeper understanding of the material presented rather than pure memorization and regurgitation of facts. Almost 100 years later, teachers face the same problems in social studies classes today. To reiterate this point, Bass and Rosenzweig discuss a study they conducted in 1994 in which they asked 600 Americans nationwide what their recollection of their social studies courses was like. The few positive responses that they received recalled students' experiences in their social studies classroom as being fun and engaging. The goal that teachers should be trying to accomplish is getting their students to become active learners. Bass and Rosenzweig then provide three frameworks for using technology to promote active learning. One method discussed is inquiry-based learning.
By providing students with the technology to encourage an open line of communication with their peers, teachers, and the world, a deeper learning experience can be achieved. Technology such as email, discussion forums, bulletin boards, and webblogs are several examples of the tools that foster online interaction.
The last topic covers ways to make student work public in new media formats. This "encourages constructivist pedagogies through the creation and exchange of knowledge-representations, and creating opportunities for review by broader professional and public audiences". (Bass and Rosenzweig, 2001). The students will be able to publish their work using a technology format so the whole world can witness their learning first hand at the click of a button.
Next, the authors discuss the dangers that teachers need to stay away from when attempting to integrate new technologies into their lessons. The goal is to get students to become Active learners, not robots pushing buttons. Adequate assessment tools are also needed to gauge technology's effectiveness within the infrastructure of the social studies classroom. Lastly, Bass and Rosenzweig urge us to look at ways to encourage and support the integration and development of technology lessons within the social studies classroom.
Although Bass and Rosenzweig's article helps to provide the researcher with a deeper understanding of what direction social studies education is headed, their work at times was repetitive and tended to be drawn out. The authors could have been more concise when writing the article and the importance of their message would not have been lost. Bass and Rosenzweig's thoughts and ideas were clear, but it often took them a long time to get to the point.
Bass and Rosezweig's artile played an important role in the designing of the project for my thesis. While creating the lesson, I kept in mind that the authors mentioned that the activities should remain learner-centered and should have a purpose. It was imperative that I designed a lesson that consisted of higher-order thinking skills rather than simply drag and click components. As a result of following the principles in this article, my students not only became more proficient in the content area, but also in utilizing various technology programs in a multi-media presentation.
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