Technology for the Secondary Classroom by Chalk Dust Diva

With the technological advances and the proliferation of social media, the way educators teach and students learn has change dramatically. It’s essential that teachers keep up with the current technological trends as to prepare their students for the challenges and demands of the 21^st century. Below are some of my favorite technology strategies that I have implemented in my secondary social studies classroom:

1. My students love to play interactive, technology-based review games. One of my students’ favorite games is Kahoot. This is a fun and interactive review game where the teacher can either make his/her own questions or search through several questions that have already been created. The students log in to the internet-based game with a specific code and the results of their answers will show up immediately. I usually give my students a choice whether they want to enter their real name or a fake name since the game will rank the students in order based on the number of answers they get correct. This game is great because it gives them IMMEDIATE feedback. It also shows the teacher what information needs to be retaught.  You can also choose to play in pairs or groups.

2. In my history and civics classes, I often ask my students to share their opinion on specific topics. For example, in my U.S. History class I might ask if they believe the U.S. should have dropped the atomic bomb. On the other hand, in my Civics class I might implement a survey about their beliefs on the separation of “church and state.”  To create technology-based polls, I use PollEverywhere. Students can use their cell phones to text-message their opinions. The entire class can see the results of the poll immediately.

3. Whenever I want my students to mark important events on a map, I have them use Google Maps (in lieu of using a paper map). For example, when we study the Cold War, I have my students mark important events of the time period on their maps. They also need to include a detailed summary of the event and a picture of the event. What I like about this activity the most is that it is very student-centered. Here is the lesson I gave my students:  COLD WAR GOOGLE MAP TIMELINE

4. I often incorporate short video and sound clips into my lesson plans. This is especially helpful for my visual learners. Although I often use YouTube to find appropriate clips for my classroom, I find that TeacherTube is a great site as well. Many of the clips are created and uploaded by teachers. This site also includes pictures and sound clips.Another site that is useful in bringing curriculum to students is Discovery Education.  This site is accessible via your district, if they have chosen to purchase use of the site.

Here are a few of my favorite film clips that I use in my history class:
Why It’s Important to Study History
An Open Letter to Students Returning to School (I love all the CrashCourse videos!)


5. The last couple of years I have been using GoogleClassroom to host my assignments for each course I teach. The great thing about GoogleClassroom is that you can post assignments, quizzes, writing assessments, surveys, etc. as well as have your students turn in their assignments via the website. The students can also make use of Google Docs, Google Forms, Google Slides, Google Sheets and Google Drawings. No longer can your students use the excuse of “my dog ate my homework” because once they complete their assignments using Google, they will never lose an assignment again!
Here is a lesson using Google Slides or Power Point: POWER POINT STUDENT PROJECT. If students use Google Slides they can work in a group on the same presentation at the same time from various locations! Pretty cool!

6. Last, but certainly not least, I highly recommend an application (app) for your cell phone called Genius Scan. This app will make your life as a teacher much easier, but is not intended for student use. This app will take a picture of a document and convert it to a PDF. Once a document is scanned, I simply save it to my computer. Now I can easily find my documents in my computer rather than searching binders full of handouts!

To see my other teaching resources, follow the link to ChalkDustDiva.