The use of ICT in social studies classroom: The Pakistani context.

The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as a teaching too in developing countries is still a new strategy for most of the teachers in this context. This study was conducted with an aim of finding out how teachers in developing countries use ICT as a teaching tool. The study will help teachers and teacher educators to better understand how the use of technology (ICT) in the classroom can help to enhance n teaching of social studies in schools. A case study approach was used to study one teacher of Social Studies who teaches lower-secondary school. The study investigated typical 1CT resources used by the teacher in teaching the subject; how and in which ways the teacher used ICT in teaching Social Studies and the factors that influenced the teacher\u27s decision about the selection of learning activities and resources. After the analysis of data, it was found that the teacher used ICT as a source of information for herself and her students. It was also found that teacher\u27s use of ICT as a simulation tool was instrumental for enabling students to visualize abstract concepts and aid better understanding. The study also found that the teacher\u27s use of ICT was primarily motivated by the capacity of ICT resources to motivate students during the learning process thus, providing relevance of the ICT resources to the topic of study. It was evident that the teacher believes that the use of ICT in today\u27s world has become a necessity rather than a choice. The study further indicated that teacher\u27s beliefs about teaching and learning play an important role in the use and selection of ICT materials. It was evident that the teacher\u27s exposure to new concepts about learning influence the teacher\u27s use of ICT. It was, however, further found that much of the use of ICT by the teacher was dominated by the use of CD-ROMs and internet to achieve conceptual understanding. Less evidence suggested the achievement of higher order and critical thinking skills