It has become a commonality for teachers to use technology as an enrichment tool to add depth to their lessons. Because students live and operate in a technological world, teachers have begun to reach them on their playing field. The teaching world talks about making the lessons tie to the students, creating a link between the lesson and the students who will experience it so that it matters to them. What better way to do that than through the medium they use for everything else in their lives, the one they are most comfortable with. I am not talking about watching video or playing Oregon Trail, but interactive use of countless technological sources that make learning in the classroom both more accessible and more stimulating. The students engage more because the lessons come to them in the realm they would prefer to operate within.
In history classrooms, this seems to be both the most imperative and most difficult. Students are often detached from history lessons because they see the themes and information as distant ideas from long ago that do not relate to them at all. It is often difficult for them to engage with the material. Using technology to make it more "real" is crucial, but it has not always been very easy. I plan on doing extensive research into this area so that I can find content-specific resources that will make the students part of the history. When they can experience it, when it is more than "old dead white men," it will matter to the students and they will engage and learning will take place, whether the students realize it or not. But the integration of technology cannot be superficial, it cannot be "just a game," but instead must include rigor and critical thinking. That will be the most difficult part of my search for tools.