Opportunities in Technology: The New Frontier for Service-Learning and Civic Education

This September the Alliance for Excellent Education released a digital civic learning toolkit as part of its Digital Learning Day campaign. The Alliance developed this resource with the input of leading civic education groups which included NYLC, National Council for the Social Studies, the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools and others.  The purpose of the toolkit is to support teachers and students by providing resources that demonstrate how technology can connect students to active civic learning experiences.  The resources in the toolkit, divided into three categories—digital simulations, media, and service-learning—help to combine the vast potential of technology with the limitless potential of students to make contributions to their communities and the world. 

Technology can transform the way students communicate, research, and learn. Technology has opened doors for students that would have been unimaginable just twenty years ago.  It is then no surprise that more teachers, schools, and community organizations are utilizing technology and digital learning to facilitate stronger service-learning and civic education experiences. 

The rate of change and the vast opportunities for students today is astounding.  This is most apparent to me as I reflect on my own service-learning experiences as a student 20 years ago. As part of a middle school civics course, I completed a service-learning project that analyzed the strengths of community organizations serving youth.  The local library wasn’t comprehensive enough to facilitate my research; it lacked a microfiche machine that would allow me to access media and journal articles. Therefore, my parents had to drive me half an hour to the library in the next town. At the library, my ability to conduct research was limited to a four hour window that stood between my work and my parents’ honking car.  When it came time to make the connection to a local community organization to do the service aspect of my service-learning, I had to use the Yellow Pages to find an organization, drive there during the weekend to meet people, and then complete the project.  To students today, this may sound like a description of education in the 1930s.  In reality, this seemingly old school educational experience was the norm for students in the 1990s. Fortunately, technology has significantly changed this reality. 

Technology provides students opportunities to engage in a whole new world of learning possibilities.  Today’s middle school students don’t have their research time limited by static texts or parents coming to pick them up.  Students today can do more than just research online—through digital simulations they can attain a better understanding of social issues and experiences encyclopedia texts could never provide.  Students no longer use microfiche machines to access media. Through digital media they can access media from around the world—as well as create their own through blogs and video.  Lastly, students are no longer limited to using the Yellow Pages to locate community partnerships; they can use the Internet to connect with partners in their community, and across the country and the world. Through these opportunities, technology empowers youth to find projects that meet their interests, ensures those projects are tied to important learning outcomes, helps identify higher quality partnerships, and supports deeper learning experiences. In these ways, this strategic use of technology reinforces the K-12 Service-Learning Standards of Quality Practice. 

Much like any other resource, technology is not a silver bullet and acquiring and using it isn’t an end in itself.  In other words, this isn’t just about giving kids iPads and calling it a day.  Teachers, schools, and community partners have to make strategic decisions on which investments in technology  best support student learning. Thoughtful investments in technology can create high quality learning opportunities that help students master the content and develop the skills essential to success in the 21st century.  The resources identified in the toolkit are just a few examples of high quality learning opportunities. We hope you find the resources in the toolkit useful and that you continue to help us add to the list so that more students can access these 21st century learning opportunities.   

Ace Parsi is a Policy and Advocacy Associate at the Alliance for Excellent Education