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Blogs in History Classrooms = = = = = = = = = = = = = What is a blog? = Edublogs archive and support student and teacher learning by facilitating reflection, questioning by self and others collaboration (Ray). A blog is a website in which posts can be made, allowing others to read them. This creates an environment in which different materials can be shared such as photos, videos, articles and personal thoughts. Below is a video that describes what a blog is and how it can be used.

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Why use blogs in the History classroom?
History classes can work the best when the entire class is familiar with the material and engaged. Once the class is engaged in a meaningful discussion about the topics at hand, is when history classes are the most fun. The discussion between the students guided by the teacher will explain the content in their language resulting in better comprehension of the material. By having a blog for the classroom you can extend these discussions further and give the students instructional lessons they need for class on the internet.


 * Ways to use a blog: **

Below is a non-comprehensive list of ways that can a blog can be used in a history classroom. (List modeled around Kyle Smith's "Using Blogs in a History Classroom")

1. Provide online readings for your students to read and react 2. Post historical images or documents  4. Have students post ideas and opinions about topics discussed in class. 3. Provide links to historical podcasts 5. Have students post potential thesis statements 6. Have students respond to specific questions or allow students to post reflections 7. Have students create an individual/team blog and update it throughout the school year 8. Allow students to comment on all of the above and maintain running conversations outside of class

= Advantages of blogs: =
 * Classroom Collaboration
 * Having a classroom blog allows for students to work on their own time and on their own ideas yet have the advantage of working with their fellow peers. This is a great advantage because learning ideas from others shows increased learning on a particular subject and also creates a new way of thinking for the student other than their own opinion.
 * Computer Skills
 * Allowing blogging within a classroom lesson allows students to build their knowledge with computers. The new generation is very computer savvy and blogging will keep the students interests level up and allows them to better their skills, which will be a great advantage for them in the future.
 * Self Confidence
 * Each students will have the ability to post their own ideas and their own responses to fellow classmates. Allowing for this type of reinforcement of ideas creates positive reinforcement when students respond to other ideas in a respectable manner. With the positive reinforcement each student will feel a new sense of confidence within the classroom giving him or her the drive to participate more and share their ideas.
 * New Experiences
 * Creating a classroom blog for history class allows for students to experience new ideas in teaching and collaboration. In the past learning history could have been so cut and dry but now with inter-grading new technology in the classroom it allows for new experiences such as blogging about chapters, ideas, or questions with the rest of the class.
 * Active Participation
 * Giving the students an anonymous way to participate within the classroom blog will allow for them to actively participate more. Having an user name that only the student and teacher know gives them the ability to post without having the concern of being embarrassed for their work which in turn allows for more participation.
 * Literacy
 * Learning with literacy is everywhere in the classroom. Students are always reading, writing, spelling, etc at all given times of the day. History blogs gives the students another form of literacy participation where they can see other students writing and practice with their own.
 * [[file:blog 2.htm]]Safe Environment
 * As stated above with the active participation students will only share their user name with the teacher. This will allow for the teacher to track the students progress but it will allow for the student to feel safe and secure.

= Disadvantages: =

Though blogs can be extremely helpful in the classroom they do have certain disadvantages. Not all students have access computers and some will not be able to access this blog, so it is important that is not to make its the blog essential to class success. For the class blog to be successful the students need to feel comfortable, the blog is a place where you can post questions, questions that some student might feel too uncomfortable to ask in class. Therefore it is important to establish blog rules for the class, and monitor the activity to assure its use is constrictive. Having a blog is also a huge time commitment for any teacher because it needs to be closely monitored to assure the security of the students far after school hours.

The blog needs security and rules so that students can use it comfortably and safely. The students should have a username and password to access the blog and prevent those who are not authorized from reading it or posting, the internet is not secure. all posts in the blog should contain no personal information, make it clear to the students no names nicknames or personal info. It is important to monitor the content that students are posting to make sure it is appropriate. As the teacher you have to set up the blog to see who posted which posts and monitor the discussions for cyber bullying and content.


 * Limitations: **
 * Not every student has Internet access outside of school
 * These students won’t be able to access the blog outside of school time. A teacher must work with these students to find alternate times to complete blog/online related assignments. Some students may be embarrassed that they cannot do the work at home or away from school so a teacher must manage these situations
 * Not every student is able to easily get their thoughts written out
 * Some students don’t excel at writing, especially when they know others will be reading. Make sure these students are able to post into a safe environment where they will not be criticized for their writing skills. Give students ample time to reflect and compose their responses, allowing them to make sure they are getting the message they want across
 * Computers aren't always available in schools
 * Booking lab time or gaining computer access during class time isn't always an option. Some schools are limited on their resources, this can make it difficult to teach students to use the blog or use class time to allow students to work on the blog.

**Blogging Options:** Before starting a classroom blog. Make sure the blogging source you use has all the tools you want available to your class. Below are several options that can be used for classroom blogging: [] [] [] []

= Conclusion: = Blogs can be an effective tool to use in the history classroom. There are several ways in which teachers can use their blogs to expand learning within and outside of the classroom. Teachers can use blogs to help facilitate and expand on learning. A teacher who is effective in the use of blogs can also engage students in various ways to help supplement what is going on in class. Although there are some disadvantages to blogs, they overall make an effective tool that can help improve students.

**References:**

Smith, K. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://teachinghistory.org/teaching-materials/teaching-guides/22261

Ray, J (2006). "Blogosphere: The Educational Use of Blogs". Kappa Delta Pi Record 42 (4): 175–177.