Blogging in the social studies classroom

       I found a really interesting website that discusses different types of ways to use technology in a social studies classroom. The first part of the article really grabbed my attention because it dealt with blogging, like we are doing in this class. The teacher allowed the students to use "coveritlive," which is a blogging tool. This blogging tool is used in correlation with the textbook to liven up the lesson and get the students more involved. A teacher explained in the article that students are allowed to blog through this "coveritlive" program while the lesson plan is occurring, so they can discuss what the teacher is presenting. Like most people, when I read the beginning of this article I was thinking that the students would be talking about other unrelated topics through the blog and would not pay attention. Fortunately, that would not be a problem since the blogging is monitored by another teacher.
       The "coveritlive" program does not allow students to discuss anything but the lesson plan and what is being said in the social studies class at that moment. Students have to submit these comments they leave on the blog to another teacher monitoring the program and that teacher has to approve the comments. This allows the students to stay on task and talk about appropriate things in reference to social studies or specifically the lesson. The entire class is not involved daily, a few students would rotate with the laptops. The article explains that "coveritlive" acts as almost a chat room for the students since the comments are posted right away. Since it is like a chat room, students can engage in the material quickly and more often since the everything is posted instantly. I really love this idea of blogging and the interaction students will have with each other in the classroom.
        I would love to use something like this in the classroom for my students. Rather than students just sitting there being lectured to, students will have opportunities to interact with each other and with the social studies material. I think that it is important for students to not only use new forms of technology to enhance their educational experience, but also to use it during a lesson so they can express there ideas, questions, and opinions while it is happening. I also like the idea that only a few students use the "coveritlive" program at a time and it rotates. I feel that this will inspire students to want to use it and develop a curiosity about what the technology is all about and what other students are saying in the blog. Also, if these comments could be saved, a whole timeline of comments can show the students by the end of the year what they were learning and how they were learning the information. These ideas and questions can even be used as a study guide for students when a test or quiz is coming. Some other technologies were mentioned in the article as well but I feel that this blogging tool would be the most useful for interaction of students.

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-social-studies-lessons