Building a community of thinkers is a goal for education. In a world in which technology provides a means to communicate quickly and efficiently, educators need to develop models for the use of technology as an integral part of building an environment for teachers to thinking critically and creatively. Technology was used to help create a community of thinkers in the Social Studies in the Elementary School course at the University of Missouri-Columbia. During the preservice course, students used technology to write and think critically about social studies education. Through online reflective journals, electronic mail, a class listserv, a newsgroup, and the Internet, students incorporated technology into their research, writing, reflecting, and reacting to social studies in the elementary school. Technology supported a forum for open communication between students and instructors, and enriched the learning environment. This paper describes the design of the course, technology-related assignments, ways that each technological application enhanced the course, and challenges encountered by preservice teachers when technology-based instruction is employed in the classroom. (Author/DLS)