How Research On the Use Of Computer Technologies Can Inform the Work Of Social Studies Educators

In today's technologically driven society information has taken on a new importance as a commodity (Diem, 1997). The endless, rapid flood of information and disinformation is causing a great deal of confusion and frustration; those who are ill equipped to handle the information overload run the risk of falling behind those who have embraced the latest computer technologies (Titus, 1994) More and more pressure is being placed on schools to ensure mastery of technological skills essential to survival in this new society. "The Internet, for example, is entering classrooms at a rate faster than books, newspapers, magazines, movies, overhead projectors, television or even telephones" (Leu 2000, p. 425). The pressure to computerize has had important implications for social studies educators. This article offers some suggestions for the integration of computers into teaching and learning social studies based on a review of some of the current research on computers as learning tools.

Best uses of computer technologies
According to Dede (1998), the key to preparing children to function in a technology driven society is to facilitate their ability to master sophisticated, globally-generated knowledge. There is more information than teachers, textbooks and the social studies curriculum can deal with. Because of the glut of information students are being exposed to, they need to learn the skills to become information managers themselves. This includes the acquisition of critical information literacy skills - skills that can be enhanced by the use of computer technologies. According to Todd, Lamb and McNicholas (1992), information literacy is the ability to use information purposefully and effectively. It involves the process of: defining the tasks for which information is needed, locating appropriate sources of information to meet needs, selecting and recording relevant information from sources, understanding and appreciating information from several sources, being able to combine and organize information effectively for best application, presenting the information learned in an appropriate way, and evaluating the outcomes in terms of task requirements and increases in knowledge.

Over a decade of research indicates that computer technologies in schools can play a supporting role in the acquisition of these information-literacy skills if their uses are embedded in significant learning experiences with computers (Braun & Kraft 1995). However, traditionally the most frequent instructional uses of computers have been for word processing, game playing, and performing drill and practice exercises (King 1994/95). Studies show that using computers to automate instruction through games, drill and practice and low-level educational software has little to no significant difference on learning (Johnson 1996; Robertson 1998). At times, the curriculum provided through such software programs is defined in a limited way as content coverage (Held, Newsom & Peiffer 1991). Some software programs cover only a very narrow slice of a subject domain and are a poor match with curriculum guidelines (Means & Olson 1994). Much of the content of these programs tends to be extra to the curriculum (Fisher, Wilmore & Howell 1994).

Other studies have examined approaches using computers that can increase the benefits for both students and teachers (Muir 1994). For example, Dwyer, Ringstaff and Sandholtz (1991) have found that more effective use of computer resources in schools occurs when the technology is used by students as an information processing and productivity tool to achieve a task. Jonassen (1996) concurs that when tools such as databases, spreadsheets, multimedia, e-mail, and network search engines are utilized to complete projects requiring students to use information to solve problems, there is greater potential to promote cognitive development. These tools have the power to stimulate the development of intellectual skills such as inquiry, reasoning, problem solving and decision making abilities; critical and creative thinking; and, learning how to learn (Rose & Ferlund 1997). For example, not only have computer databases been found to be more fun, interesting and challenging for students, they can also be effective for integrating information from a variety of library sources, stimulating higher level thinking, visualizing complex historical relationships and developing a deeper understanding of concepts (Ehman, Glenn, Johnson & White 1992).

Likewise, the use of computers has the potential to be a catalyst for change in the learning environment, especially through the broadening of traditional student/teacher relationships (Held et al. 1991). Dwyer et al. (1991) suggest that to maximize the benefits of computer use it is important to shift the view of learning from "knowledge instruction" to "knowledge construction." According to the knowledge construction view, the more important knowledge is that which is constructed by the students rather than that which is transmitted by the teacher. Teachers who support this view recognize the importance of the active involvement of their students in learning and the need for a learning environment that encourages students' independent exploration of ideas. Here, the teacher's most important roles are as tutor, co-learner and facilitator of students' explorations (Budin 1991). An approach such as this that emphasizes inquiry into real-world, multiple-perspective, globally-oriented issues best supports a view of students as active constructors and shapers of their own knowledge who are able and willing to think for themselves. Less emphasis is placed on acquiring and presenting information and more on constructing knowledge, making meaning, drawing on personal life experience and taking responsibility for learning (Jonassen 1996).

According to David Jonassen (1996), an expert in the area of constructivist uses of computer technologies, what is more important is the students' engagement in cognitive partnership with the technology so that the computer becomes a mind tool for critical thinking. He argues that such uses of technology require learning opportunities based on real-life tasks and environments and must include opportunities for exploring and doing as well as for feedback and reflection. The diversity of media available through computers enhances this exploration and allows students to actively create meaning (Boyer & Semrou 1995).

Problem-based learning is one approach to constructivist learning with technology that is gaining in popularity. This approach uses significant questions or problems to organize the content to be learned. Computer technologies can be an effective vehicle for introducing problems for student investigation because they "allow students to experience a shared context in which they engage in sustained thinking about complex problems. Technology can simulate a real-world situation in which complex episodes must be revisited or examined for information in a way that real-time activity does not allow" (Barron & Goldman 1994, 84). A WebQuest is one example of the problem-based learning approach to the use of the Internet that has a lot of potential for both teachers and learners of social studies. A WebQuest is a computer-generated tool that presents students with a challenging task, scenario, or a problem to solve using both computer and non-computer based resources (see for example ).

Computers as research tools
Computers are effective tools for facilitating social studies research. They can provide quicker and easier access to more extensive and current information for students (Boldt, Gustafson & Johnson 1995). Through the use of computer tools such as databases and spreadsheets, students can learn to manage information (Wiburg 1991). Computers are generally more engaging and interesting to use than textbooks as information is presented in a variety of forms such as graphs, pictures, text, and through a variety of modalities such as auditory, visual (Mitchell-Powell 1995). Individuals are enabled to develop further their own unique strengths by being able to access information through their preferred learning style and through opportunities to represent their learning in a variety of ways (Wade 1995). Determining more of the direction for their learning creates feelings of independence and empowerment, promotes creativity, and increases students' active involvement in their learning, thereby making their learning more personally relevant (Peck & Dorricott 1994).

In addition, students are more motivated to explore ideas further using the computer (Morden 1994). Since the computer is seen as a real-life tool applicable to future employment, its use lends authenticity to the students' work and promotes attitudes important to life-long learning (Means & Olson 1994). As well, the use of computers can enhance what students are able to produce. An eight year study of K to 12 classrooms (Dwyer 1994) found a 10% to 15% improvement in achievement scores among regular computer users, as well as 30% gains in student productivity. The use of the word processing capacity of computers eliminates some of the frustrations of writing and enables some children to better express their ideas in writing (Edinger 1994). Consequently, students write increased amounts, more effectively and with more fluidity (Dwyer 1994). The more professional quality of the products adds to this sense of greater accomplishment (Means & Olson 1994). Students' polished-looking computer-generated products provide immediate gratification and build confidence in writing abilities (Held et al. 1991). While students are encouraged to write because of the facility the computer affords, the polished looking results can create a "psychological" resistance to making changes, resulting in a hesitancy to complete all stages of effective writing. As well, the limited view of a document on a computer screen can make it difficult for students to learn to follow a complex series of events and thoughts and to check the flow of the argument (Nugent 1993). Previewing sites to determine their appropriateness for students' developmental levels, providing print copies of longer documents, and using concept mapping tools such as Inspiration to help students to map the events and ideas presented in the lengthy article are some ways of addressing this concern.

Important research skills need to be carefully taught and monitored to ensure students are developing proficiency in their use. Students need to learn how to frame research questions in order that the information being accessed from the vast pool of what is available is relevant to their query. Electronic sources such as the Internet provide current, in depth, firsthand information and allow for communication with peers and experts around the world. Students also need the skills to be able to make sound judgments about the vast pool of information they are now able to access through tools such as the Internet because of the variable quality and reliability of information. Since there are no official gatekeepers for Internet postings, students need to learn to be their own critical judges and censors. Without instruction and practice in how to critically examine and make informed choices, information gathering can become a mindless exercise in which quantity overrides quality (McKenzie 1997). According to McKenzie (1997) it is important to question the kind of information being accessed, how that information is presented, what is being done with it, and when it becomes too much. The abundance of material accessible, especially via the Internet, can result in students easily getting side-tracked and spending a great deal of time off task (Gibson & Hart 1996). Furthermore, this sort of information-gathering exercise does little to promote historical thinking and understanding, including being able to distinguish between knowing "that" something happened versus knowing "how" to make sense of the event (Yeager & Morris 1995).

Research tells us that, as with other forms of media, students (and adults) are inclined to view the computer as a neutral conduit, to accept the computer as an authority, and to think of the information, such as that accessed via the Internet, as the "Truth" (Ragsdale 1991). Students need to be encouraged to conscientiously use critical thinking skills to make both appropriate and ethical choices when using computer generated information, just as they would for making judgments about other resource materials being used in the classroom (Risinger 1998). They need know how to apply the skills of drawing conclusions from data, seeing several points of view, distinguishing fact from opinion, and finding meaning in information, as they interact with computer technology (Lengel 1987). As Jamie McKenzie (1997, 2) states that we need a generation of highly skilled "free range students capable of simultaneously grazing the Net and reading deeply." Students will also need skills to organize greater masses of information in effective ways because of the abundance of sources available to them. Additionally, they will need direction and frequent opportunities for meaning making, for applying the skills of drawing conclusions from data and for representing their learning for the benefit of others and themselves. Software that encourages students to organize, analyze and report the information collected can assist with the development of these skills (Yeager & Morris 1995). Database programs like those available through word processing programs are best for developing these skills especially as they become more sophisticated, readily available in schools and easier to use.

Computer technologies also need to be viewed as both content and tools. Students need to understand how the computer has, and is, changing the basic fabric of our educational and social systems (Diem 1995). They need to be encouraged to think about the technologies they are using and the relevance and appropriateness of their use (Postman 1992). They need to be given opportunities to explore and discuss what happens as society creates and implements technologies, particularly relating to moral, ethical and equity issues arising from developments in human communication, the redefining of community, the effects on cultural unity and diversity, and changes in the ways we gather and analyze information (Gooler 1995). Addressing these issues would help to develop an informed citizenry better able to carefully consider consequences and make difficult choices relating to the use of technologies (Lento O'Neill & Gomez 1998).

Computers and collaborative learning
Collaboration between learners both within and beyond the classroom walls can be enhanced through the use of computers when students work co-operatively on tasks (Dwyer 1994). Within the classroom, however, children need to be taught how to apply co-operative learning strategies to their work with the technology (Held et al. 1991). If not, student power relations can result in increased intensity of student disagreement, conflict and competitiveness over who controls the computer with more reticent students (most often female) being pushed aside (Acker & Oatley 1993; Fisher et al. 1994).

As well students tend to be fascinated by the possibilities of electronic communication for contacting other students and adults in different parts of the world to exchange ideas about topics of mutual interest (Boldt et al., 1995). They view information gathered in this fashion as being more connected to "real" local, national, and global issues (Wilson & Marsh 1995). There is great potential for computer technologies to contribute to the development of effective citizens through these on-line learning communities (Fontana 1997) and for students to gain firsthand knowledge of other cultures (Peck & Dorricot 1994). Every classroom will soon have the potential to be a global learning environment. In this way, computer technologies can help to bridge the gap between the world of school and the dynamic needs and interests of young citizens by engaging students in projects that encourage collaboration and draw on multiple perspectives to investigate real world issues. Such increased exposure to first-hand information could potentially overcome students' insular views of the world (Morden, 1994). A variety of collaborative opportunities are now available using the Internet. For example, the Odyssey World Trek allows students to explore various regions of the world with other students. Teachers too can be collaborators with each other both locally and globally as they plan and share suggestions using electronic communication networks.

Concluding Remarks
There is a new society emerging as a result of the ongoing information revolution. Students need to learn a new set of basic learning skills that will equip them to live in this changing world. They will increasingly need the skills to become information managers. New computer technologies have much to offer teachers and students of social studies in this area. With the assistance of computers, teachers can encourage more effective and thoughtful utilization of information by enhancing the skills required for information access, discrimination and application. Additionally, they can foster active and autonomous learners who question, explore, seek, contend, and create new meaning from information as they grow toward maturity and independence in the information age. Students will need to be prepared to work creatively, cooperatively and productively in flexible ways and able to accommodate change in all aspects of life. However, as Budin (1991, 21) notes, "If we want students to grow up to be autonomous and creative thinkers and citizens, their teachers need to model autonomy and creativity in their use of curriculum and technology."

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Susan Gibson and Roberta McKay are professors in the Department of Elementary Education at the University of Alberta.