1. Introduction to Blogging
Voices In History
October 30, 2010
Agenda
9-9:15 - Welcome and Introductions (Housekeeping)
9:15-9:30 - Check in
● Reflection on Buck Institute Workshops on Project Based Learning
● Review of Social Studies scope and sequence
9:30-9:45 - Blog Overview
● Common Craft Video
● Sharing Examples of exemplary blogs
● Discussing blogging rules for students
● Discuss bringing the parents on board
9:45-11:30 - Create your blog
● Community/Administration
○ Manage Posts
○ Moderate comments
○ Change Themes
○ Advanced Settings/Cluster Maps
○ Galleries
○ RSS
● Organizing
○ Creating/Managing Categories
○ Adding Links
● Populating your Blog
11:30-12:30 Lunch
12:30-1:15 Add Bling to your blog
● Images - Using copyright-friendly sources
● Embedding Video in a post
1:15-2:15 Independent Work
● Create a new post - Driving Question (should reflect content that you will cover over the
next month)

2. ● Find images related to the driving question
● Post images on the blog for eliciting student response
2:15-2:30 Visit each others blogs
2:30-2:45 Check out and assignment
2:45-3:00 Survey
Take Aways - Have your students post comments to the blog. Students must “tell the story”
behind the photos in the posts via comments.
Driving Question:
● Students assume the role of an individual from the time period being taught (based on
your curriculum)
● Students will write a reflective journal in the first person, over a two week period via the
comment section of the post in their individual blog category
● Journal entries should be sequential and relate to the time and events as they unfold
● Students will comment to 2-3 of their peers’ journal entries using the “@” and the
comment area
● Students will generate questions to ask the featured figures from history and post their
questions to the blog