Blog Post #12

A History Blog

Learning history has a bad rap with a lot of people, but my whole purpose in becoming a teacher is to offer students a fun innovative way to learn. History doesn't have to be boring, black and white pages of books. History can come alive in many different ways especially using technology. Anne Emerson is a former 7th grade teacher that is now training teachers with the use of technology in education. While she was a 7th grade teacher she had a ongoing extra credit opportunity for the students called Pop-Culture Points.

After watching the video Teaching World History through Popular Culture (5:42) Write a paragraph on how this idea could be used in your classroom to make learning fun. Remember to follow the requirements of Writing A Quality Blog Post.

Special Tools:

There are many technology tools out there that can be used to increase the interest in history. One of the many tools that can be used is the virtual field trip. Students can explore museums and historic sites as a class or from the comfort of home.

After viewing "Conduct Virtual Field Trips - Teacher Professional Development" (7:49) Read Kyle Smith's Blog on Using Blogs In a History Classroom. Pay close attention to the section entitled In The Classroom. Write a paragraph on how these tools can make history more fun for students. Be sure to follow the requirements Writing A Quality Blog Post.

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History Blog Post Response

Pop Culture Points is an activity that will stick with kids for a long time. Students are able to relate a historic event with something that they enjoy or understand. I think its a wonderful idea that engages students in a more fun adventurous way, rather than traditional ways that tend to be monotonous. Using activities like this can reveal possible passions students may have for history and they can understand how it relates and influences the world around them.

The presentation on conducting virtual field trips explained the benefits from using this tool as a supplement to classroom topics. Virtual field trips allow students to visit places that they may never see in person. Using these types of tools can help teach students how to analyze and synthesize information and have a higher chance of retention.

Mr. Smith covered some ways that blogging can be useful in history education. The overall main idea is to use blogs for the students to expand and share their thoughts and expressions on events or writings. This would allow students to analyze and critique each other's blogs or comments as well. Using an online learning environment can also make it easier for students to understand difficult topics by using tools such as podcasts and forum discussions. With podcasts, students can listen to the information as many times as they like to gain a complete understanding. Using forums allows the students to collaborate through comments to gain a better understanding of a topic. Overall I see using these tools as an excellent opportunity to learn in a more fun innovative way.