Digital Textbooks in Elementary Social Studies: Promises, Pauses, and Possibilities

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: Media Integration in Social Studies Education

Abstract

This study examines teachers experiences with using free, digital social studies textbooks designed for elementary social studies inquiry. Teachers in this study reported overall positive experiences with using these resources, including their potential for teaching social studies in small blocks of time, addressing a common obstacle for teaching inquiry in the elementary grades. Their experiences also indicate their use the digital textbooks in the same ways as paper books, suggesting that a well-designed textbook alone is not enough to address obstacles to quality elementary social studies instruction.

Author

• Annie McMahon Whitlock, University of Michigan - Flint