Technology and social studies

For more than a decade educators have witnessed a substantial infusion of technology in schools and increasing emphasis on technology in teacher preparation. Since 1998, student to computer ratio has decreased, from 1:12.1 to 1:3.8 in 2005 (Wells and Lewis, 2006). The percent of schools with Internet access has increased, from 35% in 1994 to 100% in 2005 (Wells and Lewis, 2006), and the number of school districts with student laptop computers has grown substantially. Additionally, over the last 7 years the federal government spent at least 4 billion annually on K-12 school technology infrastructure. However, despite these investments, educational technology has not produced the pedagogical revolution in K-12 classrooms (Anglin, 1995; Becker, 2000; Cuban, 2001; Pew Institute, 2002; Saettler, 1990).