Currently, I teach a Modern History class. We cover the world from WWI until the present day. We are currently wrapping up a unit on Europe after the Cold War. We spend a day in class viewing a powerpoint put out by the European Union that sings its praises and paints a picture of a nice and rosy Europe. However, the genocide in Kosovo is left out of the video. Granted, Serbia and those initiating the genocide were not yet part of the EU, it still happened on the continent. Even more striking, many of my students were unaware that anything had happened at all in Serbia. During their lifetime, 1999, a genocide occurred, and most of them are completely unaware. Therefore we have used the Frontline series, by PBS, which shows, in detail, the horrors of the genocide in Kosovo and the Albanian region of Serbia. Here is the link www.youtube.com/watch?v=__kbfuyYIiA However, the video does not take place in a vacuum. Instead of the basic worksheet that keeps the student engaged and watching the video throughout the time it runs, I have them expressing themselves and their feelings either through artwork, or writing. This way it is their emotions they are putting on the paper and not what I say they have to put down. This creates an emotional connection with material they have viewed, and lets to higher and deeper understanding, and causes them to create while encountering technology.

My search for History teacher's using blogs led me to History teachers trying to help other history teachers mostly. The few websites I made to, which were various high school webpages, asked me for passwords in order to access the online content. I was however able to find a few blogs where the teacher was using some unique ideas. As a History teacher, there is only so many of the, "Coach Selby, I saw on this show that xyz happened." Nine times out of ten, it is a very obscure seemingly hazy historical bit of information that very few people know off the top of their head. This teacher, used his blog to go more in depth on some of the random questions his students were asking in class. Knowing he has certain amounts of things to get to, he uses the blog to address extra tidbits of history. A brilliant idea. Several of the blogs, were not much more than the teacher's detailed notes, however I find that as a very effective way, if the students do not treat it as a crutch, to move smoothly through a lesson when kids say they can no longer keep up with the notes. All you have to do is refer them to the blog. Many History teachers are using their blogs to encourage other teachers, and share ideas. While this does not interact with students, the sharing of information amongst teachers is vital. Blogging provides a great avenue for information to be shared, and for student knowledge to increase. I also enjoyed reading blogs by teachers who told of their daily life in their classes. Essentially, it was a record for the class to go back and see how their discussions evolved that day. Obviously over the course of various discussions in class, things that were not in the notes arise, and are worth knowing and coming back to. Teachers that journal their classes activities seem to be very effective in keeping their students engaged in online material. In my class, and effective way to use the blog, would be to essentially do editorial pieces, in which I address a historical theme being addressed in class in a very formal and well defended manner. Students could access this and see how a defense of historical information is given. Then they would be prepared to discuss my stance and how it compares to theirs in class. I would be able to assess how the students are interacting with my blog, based on the level of lively discussion in class following the time a blog posting is assigned. I would also look to their own writing to see if any of the traits I was modeling for them on the blog, were coming out in their writing and their work.