Our students will soon graduate and then be in real world settings where they will be required to integrate knowledge from different subject areas. They will not be in compartamentalized subject area learning “Why are we doing math? This is Social Studies class, not math!” They will integrate their learning from the various subject areas in their projects.
How do we help students prepare for this aspect of their lifelong learning?
Have interdisciplinary assignments. Have them interview people about the local history of a specific area such as a park and prepare a detailed presentation. They combine English and Social Studies skills and use a variety of technology to record the people talking about the park, capturing images of the park, and showing timelines.
Have them do problem based learning (PBL) such as solving the traffic flow around the school or planning an elementary playground. Such problems require that student integrate Math, Science, Social Studies and English skills. They are not doing academic problems but dealing with real world problems that are messy. PBL activities incorporate the use of various technologies.
Have the students work with an expert in a field. A school may work with an environmentalist through videoconference to change school procedures to minimize school pollution.
How do you integrate various subjects into meaning projects in your classroom through technology?
© Harry Grover Tuttle, 2007
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Education with Technology Harry G. Tuttle 
