This is my presentation from the SXSWEdu conference in Austin, TX on March 6, 2014.

1. Rob Scordino
Ph.D. Candidate, Learning Technologies Program, UT Austin
Research Associate, Meadows Center for Preventing Educational Risk

2. robscordino.com

3. the purpose of
history education
the impact of
technology on
history education

4.  Because history and social studies are important, dammit.
 Maybe you are a history teacher
 Maybe you are a developer
 Maybe you work for a museum and you would like to hire me
(robscordino@utexas.edu)
 Or maybe you don’t care

5. the purpose of history
education
• Learn about the past
• Make connections to the present
Coverage model:
Breadth over depth
Fixed narrative arc
Fact-driven
Lecture/Textbook

9. the purpose of history
education
• Learn about the past
• Make connections to the present
• Interpret/analyze/defend
• Participate
• Develop critical thinking skills

10. The nature of
historical
knowledge
Historians do not begin their thinking in
discrete facts,but in the accounts of other
historians.1
(Seixas)
Historians participate in a contested academic discourse in which
rival truth claims are subjected to scrutiny on the basis of
evidence drawn from the human past.2
(Sipress and Voelker)
Uncertain
Changing/flexible
Open to interpretation

11. “Historical problem solving” similar to the
scientific method in natural science.3
(Wineberg)
Historical literacy involves not only knowing the story,but
engaging in the through participation.4
(Perfetti, Britt, and Georgi)
Active
Investigation
Analysis of resources
The approach to
historical
knowledge

12. the impact of
technology
• Supports constructivist learning
• Increases access to content
• Supports participation
• Decreases the need for rote
memorization
• Increases the need for critical
thinking skills

13.  Platform for learning practical skills
 Critical thinking
 Analysis
 Supporting claims with evidence
 Research
 Platform for developing technical skills
 Media literacy
 Participation/engagement

14.  Teachers rely on Internet resources 5,6
 No evidence that younger teachers use technology more 7,8
 Teacher pedagogical preferences determine how tech is used 9,10
 Technology is incorporated into teacher ed programs and PD 11
 Media literacy is represented in SS standards

15.  Teachers rely on Internet resources
 No evidence that younger teachers use technology more
 Teacher pedagogical preferences determine how tech is used
 Technology is incorporated into teacher ed programs and PD
 Media literacy is represented in SS standards
 Internet archives  learning environments
 History is under-represented in mobile
 Mobile stuff that is out there is meh.

16. Teachers:
Museums:
Developers:
• Talk, connect, etc.
• Think about how your resources will be used
• Support historical inquiry
• Don’t fear social studies
• Think about ways technology can support historical thinking

17.  History should not be in a silo
 Think about the pedagogy first
 Talk to other people

18. rob@robscordino.com
@RScordino
robscordino.com

19. 1. Seixas, P. (1996). Conceptualizing the growth of historical understanding. In D. Olson & N. Torrance (Eds.) The Handbook of Education and Human Development. Oxford, UK:
Blackwell Publishers. p. 765-783.
2. Sipress, J. and Voelker, D. (2009). From learning history to doing history: Beyond the coverage model. In R. Gurung, N. Chick, & A. Haynie (Eds.) Exploring Signature Pedagogies:
Approaches to Teaching Disciplinary Habits of Mind (1st ed., pp. 19-35). Sterling, VA: Stylus.
3. Wineburg, S. (1991). Historical problem solving: A study of the cognitive processes used in the evaluation of documentary and pictorial evidence. Journal of Educational
Psychology, 83(1), 73-87.
4. Perfetti, C., Britt, M., and Georgi, M. (1995). Text-based learning and reasoning: Studies in history. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
5. Shiveley, J. and VanFossen, P. (2009). Toward assessing Internet use in the social studies classroom: Developing an inventory based on a review of relevant literature. Journal of
Social Studies Research, 33(1), 1-32.
6. VanFossen, P. and Waterson, R. (2008). “It’s just easier to do what you did before…”: An update on Internet use in secondary social studies classrooms in Indiana. Theory and
Research in Social Education, 36(2), 124-152.
7. VanFossen, P. and Jones, D. (2006). Indiana social studies teachers interest in receiving professional development by podcast. A technical report to the Indiana Department of
Education, Indianapolis, IN.
8. VanFossen, p. (1999-2000). An analysis of the use of the Internet and World Wide Web by secondary social studies teachers in Indiana. The International Journal of Social
Education, 14(2), 87-109.
9. Hughes, J. (2005). The role of teacher knowledge and learning experience in forming technology-integrated pedagogy. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 13(2), 277-
302.
10. Ertmer, P. (2005). Teacher pedagogical beliefs: The final frontier in our quest for technology integration? Educational Technology Research and Development, 53(4), 25-39 .
11. Bolick, C., Berson, M., Friedman, A.., & Porfeli, E. (2007). Diffusion of technology innovation in the preservice social studies experience: Results of a national survey. Theory and
Research in Social Education, 35(2), 174-195.

20. Diem, R. and Berson, M. (2010). Technology in retrospect: Social studies in the information age, 1984-2009. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
VanSledright, B. (2002). In search of America’s past: Learning to read history in elementary school. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
VanSledright, B. (2011). The challenge of rethinking history education: On practices, theory, and policy. New York, NY: Routledge Taylor/Francis Group.
Wineburg, S. (2001). Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.