Connecting to the Past, Building the Future: Using Edtech to Enrich History and Civics

This guide offers fun, practical resources and strategies to help teachers use edtech to enrich history and civics curricula, and build community inside and outside the classroom.

History and social studies educators are uniquely positioned to empower, inspire and motivate students to become engaged citizens who contribute to their communities. When students see themselves in history, they can recognize their importance in the world today. In this guide, two award-winning teachers show how to use edtech to help students engage more fully with history, then apply their learning in ways that promote civics and citizenship on a local, national and global level.

The guide features:

• Four easy tips for getting started with edtech.
• A short list of widely used edtech apps and tools that are easy to learn and implement.
• An introduction to historical empathy, and edtech tools that can help cultivate it in students.
• Resources and techniques for building civic awareness in students.
• Activities to build community in and out of classrooms.
• #TryOneNewThingChallenge ideas that can easily be implemented for lasting impact on classrooms.

Edtech can offer an amazing range of possibilities – such as immersive experiences, interactive online activities and virtual field trips – and this guide explains how well-chosen edtech can expand lessons in a meaningful way so that they come alive for students.

(ISTE Jump Start Guide, 8.5" x 11", three laminated panels, six pages)