Literature Review_A. Newton

The Impact of Blogging in the Secondary History Classroom EDTC 625 – Spring 2012

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The Impact of Weblogs in a Secondary History Classroom on Achievement and the Common Core Curriculum Standards:

A Literature Review

Submitted by: Anna Newton EDTC 625 March 31, 2012


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Abstract

Blogging began in the mid 1990’s; however, it has recently been gaining popularity in the

world of education. Blogging allows students to interact with experts, classmates, the teacher,

and the world. Blogging also allows students to improve their reading, writing, and critical

thinking skills because blogging is a reflective process. This review focuses on how Weblogs can

be used to improve reading and writing skills in the secondary history classroom and meet the

new Common Core Curriculum Standards that have been adopted in several states, including

Maryland. This review will focus on the use of blogs in the secondary history classroom, the

advantages of using blogs, and the disadvantages of using blogs in the secondary history

classroom. It will also analyze possible solutions to the disadvantages of using blogs in the

secondary history classroom in an effort to increase their effectiveness in improving reading and

writing and critical thinking skills and meet the new Common Core Curriculum Standards.


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Introduction

The art of teaching is constantly changing and adapting along with the society it aims to

educate. Technology is a large aspect of our current society. A large percentage of our

population has high-speed internet at home and our current students are very familiar with

technology. While technology changes constantly at a blinding speed, the education field is

trying to keep up with technological changes. The education field tends to be slower when

adopting new technology and practices. This is due to various factors, such as lack of funding,

lack of training for teachers, lack of support by the administration, and curriculum standards that

must be met on high-stakes state-mandated standardized tests. Many teachers get bogged down

in trying to prepare students for these standardized tests and many unfortunately “teach to the

test” and push rigor and development of skills off to the side.

In the state of Maryland, every high school student must pass three HSA (High School

Assessment) tests as one of the requirements to gain a high school diploma. The three tests are in

English II, Algebra, and Biology. The LSN (Local/State/National Government) HSA test was

eliminated during the previous school year. In June 2010 the Maryland State Board of Education

adopted the Common Core State Standards in English/Language Arts and Mathematics. The

standards for English/Language Arts also include literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and

Technical Subjects. These Common Core Standards seek to address the development of certain

skills that high school graduates will need in college and the workplace, such as reading, writing,

speaking, listening, and language skills (Maryland State Department of Education, 2010).

Teachers have the hard task of preparing students to meet these new Common Core

Standards and some teachers also need to prepare students for state mandated standardized tests

as well, while meeting the unique learning needs of the technology savvy Net Generation. The


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Net Generation expects to use more technology in the classroom and tends to multitask using

multiple modes of technology all at once. They move at fast pace and can become easily bored or

disengage in more traditional classrooms. Teaching the Net Generation must take into

consideration the technological skills and prior knowledge that they have, and employs it to meet

the Net Generation’s needs. One of these needs is technology and easy access to learning.

Many people in the education field have pointed to adopting various social media

technologies to address the Net Generation’s educational needs for accessible learning. One of

the tools that has been suggested and is currently being used by many educators at all levels is

the Weblog or blog. A Weblog “is an easily created, easily updateable Web site that allows an

author (or authors) to publish instantly to the Internet from any Internet connection” (Richardson,

2010, p. 9). Blogs have been around since the mid-1990s, yet many teachers today are not

familiar or may have just recently started using blogs in their classroom. Proponents of blogs

argue that blogs can increase student motivation, writing skills, engagement, and learning in all

subjects. They also argue that blogs can extend learning outside the classroom and give students

more control over their learning by creating a more collaborative learning environment. This

literature review will examine the uses of blogging in the secondary history classroom and will

discuss the impact of blogging on student achievement. In addition, this paper will look at the

issues that prevent teachers from adopting blogging and some ways these issues have been

resolved.

Uses for Weblogs in the Secondary History Classroom

“Blogs are being used as class portals, online filing cabinets for student work, e-

portfolios, collaborative space, knowledge management, and even school Web sites”

(Richardson, 2010, p. 20). While none of the uses mentioned by Richardson are exclusive to


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history classrooms, they are great examples of how blogs can be effectively used in the

secondary history classroom. The class portal is a way for teachers to communicate information

to parents and students in their class and is a great course management tool. For example, if a

student is absent, the teacher can post the objectives, activities done in class, and the homework

that all have electronic files that the student can download at home. This will help students keep

up with their classes. It can also be a great way for parents to review the syllabus or to stay up to

date on what their son or daughter is doing in class. Blogs can also function as an online filing

cabinet for both students and the teacher. Richardson argues that a classroom could theoretically

go paperless when using a blog. Students can post their work and gain instant feedback from

their teacher and peers. The students can also reflect back on previous assignments and postings.

Teachers can also use this as an online filing cabinet that can help improve their teaching. For

example, teachers can easily look up an archived posting to see what materials and what was

taught that day and reflect on the effectiveness of the lesson, thus improving upon it for future

years. Blogs can be used as a collaborative work space where students can work together online

in a way that fits their schedule. Many students are involved in afterschool activities and have

jobs that prevent them from meeting in person on a group assignment. While the previously

mentioned uses for blogs could be adapted for any subject matter, they are extremely useful in

the history classroom because they contribute to a well run classroom. It is common knowledge

that a well run classroom contributes to student learning because there is little to no confusion

about assignments and expectations for the course.

Another use of a blog for the secondary history classroom is the ability to interact with

experts and others across the globe. No one person can be an expert in every subject area of

history; there is just too much to know. Now with the blog there is an easier way for students and


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teachers to access experts in specific fields, according to Langhorst (2007). Langhorst gave an

example in his article about an assignment on the Oregon Trail. In the past he held a debate after

viewing the PBS documentary on the Donner Party where one group documents evidence in the

film that proves that Hastings was responsible for the fate of the wagon train, while the other

documents evidence that proves he was not responsible. Now with his class blog he had students

create a two minute video that presented their evidence and recorded the debate. He then had the

authors and researchers for the documentary listen to the student debate. The experts gave

detailed commentary on the debate and gave more information that was not in the documentary.

Langhorst’s students gained the ability to work with experts in the field and had a rewarding

experience because the high quality of the debate was acknowledged by the experts. Besides

interacting with experts collaboratively in a blog, students can also work with other classes and

students from around the globe on a project. This can broaden student’s minds and open them up

to differing viewpoints and experiences despite the distance.

Finally, blogs can be used in a secondary history classroom as a place for reflective and

analytical writing to take place. According to Brenda Dyck (2012), blogs is where “students

could ‘debrief’ – write their thoughts – after our daily classroom discussions, and they would be

a jumping-off point for future classroom interactions….I would post questions, as well as

primary and secondary resources, to encourage students to explore their questions and

conundrums.” Dyck had her students complete a telecollaborative project on homelessness, but

this could be used daily, weekly or any other schedule with students to help them achieve in

class. This allows the students to prepare for class discussions, continue class discussions, or

work together to clear up concepts and ideas from class. This can also be a great formative

assessment for teachers to help guide their teaching. This can also be a way for the teacher to


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create a stronger learning community and give more control of their own learning to the students.

In this same space, students can comment on each other’s blog or the class blog to help teach

each other. This interaction will create a stronger learning community because they share

experiences and according to Yang & Chang (2011), “students learn as much from each other as

they do from an instructor or a textbook” (p. 127).

Advantages to using Weblogs in the Secondary History Classroom

Teaching today’s Net Generation requires teachers to reevaluate their teaching

techniques. For many history classrooms, there is not a lot of interaction with the content. The

“typical assessment cycle involves the teacher lecturing followed by a test administered at the

end of the term, after which students forget nearly all that they have learned” (Chen & Bonk,

2008, p. 41). This traditional method of teaching has been criticized because it does not teach

skills to the students in order for them to become lifelong learners and have the ability to learn

how to adapt to new situations where they need to think on their feet. The teaching technique that

is being encouraged across the globe and in all subjects is constructivism, where students

construct their own knowledge through experiences. The teacher’s role shifts from “knowledge-

teller to coach or learning guide” (Chen & Bonk, 2008, p. 41). In order for students to construct

their own knowledge in a history classroom several things need to happen. On the students level

they must learn to reflect and analyze their own thought processes and critique their analysis.

Cheng and Bonk (2008) argue that a blog can help achieve this task because blogging is based on

reflection and self-evaluation, which gives students a technique to improve their own learning

and ideas. This is also a great formative assessment tool for teachers at the same time because it

allows teachers to examine the student’s thought process as the course is in progress. Teachers


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can then stop to address any misconceptions or errors in their learning. Teachers also can use the

blog as a permanent record of students’ progress.

Another benefit of blogs is that they allow individuals and groups to share ideas over the

internet in various and multiple formats (Poyntz, 2010, p. 37). When students collaborate with

peers and experts, everyone shares their collective knowledge for the good of all. According to

Stonehouse, Keengwe, & Shabb (2012), blogs are “preparing us for a future driven by peer

production and networked learning” (p. 45). The Common Core Standards stress preparing

students for the work force and for college. Students will learn how to “communicate, discuss,

and co-build knowledge from the collected information, through online communication, to seek

solutions to problems in learning activities” (Lo, 2009, p. 212). Constructivist and problem-based

learning that starts in the classroom can be easily extended online in blogs because they are

interactive according to Risinger (2006). Since blogs have an interactive and collaborative

nature, many teachers are using them in the classroom to improve skills in the classroom. One

teacher spoke of their personal experience with blogging with their class in an article by Ferriter

(2009), “I teach my students to challenge the thinking of digital peers with their comments—and

to enjoy the challenges that others make to their own electronic thinking. At the same time, my

students are learning to create, communicate, and collaborate—and to manage and evaluate

information found online” (p. 37).

Since blogs can be interactive, constructivist, and collaborative in nature students gain

skills in directing their own learning, thus creating a more democratic learning environment.

They also gain reflective skills that will help with their reading and writing abilities. Students

expect teachers today to be more responsive then they have ever been in the past, since

technology and communication tools are constantly at our fingertips. Blogging helped a history


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teacher at Hayfield Secondary School to become a “better teacher and connect with the kids”

(Hobbs, 2011). This better connection with the students can also allow students to be more

creative in history assignments, which in turn will be more fulfilling and motivating for students

according to Hofmann (2009). This idea is also supported by Lai & Chen (2010), they state that

blogs “help promote more constructive and enthusiastic discussions and enable students to better

regulate and enhance their own learning” (p. 948). Reflection is a very important tool in helping

a history student become more successful, particularly in reading and writing, which are the key

aspects to the new Common Core Standards that will soon be implemented in Maryland schools.

According to Martinez (2012), “reflection allows recapturing and evaluating experiences’

transformative impact on individual’s personal or professional development” (p. 202). Martinez

goes on to explain that reflective learning uses what is known as double loop learning, which

focuses on the process of “learning to learn” and it develops metacognition. The development of

metacognition is extremely important in history because it strengthens a student’s ability to

complete a task using strategies that they have learned. Metacognition will help students learn

how to decipher primary sources and create an argument in a written response. History courses in

the secondary setting are not meant to imprint facts in a student’s mind, it is meant to help

students become active citizens of a democratic society. “An education for equity enables

students not only to acquire basic skills but to use those skills to become effective for social

change” (Manfra & Lee, 2011, p. 97).

The constructivist, collaborative, interactive, and reflective nature of the blog allows for

the development and improvement of skills that are crucial for students to increase their

achievement in reading and writing in the secondary history classroom setting. Reading a

primary source document or text in a secondary history classroom class can almost feel like you


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are reading a foreign language, especially to a student. In order to navigate through these texts

and improve their reading skills, students need to develop critical thinking skills. Some

indicators of critical thinking in history is “making comparisons, analyzing and drawing

conclusions through an examination of different types of source materials,” according to Woo &

Wang (2009, p. 431). Woo & Wang argue critical thinking skills are improved through writing

reflective blogs and through their initial research they found their findings “provide good

justification to believe that students do apply critical thinking skills in writing their weblogs and

by doing so, their critical thinking can be improved over time” (p. 438). Blogging can also be

used to help improve students’ academic research. According to Chong (2010), academic

research requires “critical processing of knowledge with the application of any attendant

discipline-specific skills to produce new understanding, ideas or products” (p. 798). Chong

studied to determine if blogging about the research process enhanced the initiation into academic

research. He found encouraging results because the blogging helped students think about the

writing and research process and comments from peers and the teacher helped to improve their

research. Blogs can also be used to complete their research. According to McClurken (2012),

who happens to be a former professor from my undergrad years, “many historical scholars are

blogging their research, which can be incredibly valuable for students to learn about the research

and for teachers to find out the newest scholarship.”

Disadvantages to using Weblogs in the Secondary History Classroom

While the previous section of this literature review focused on the advantages to using

Weblogs in the secondary history classroom, this section will focus on the difficulties that

prevent weblogs from fulfilling the goal of increasing student achievement, particularly in

reading and writing. Teacher training, technical issues, curriculum, assessment, and student


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attitudes towards blogging can all have adverse effects on the effectiveness of blogging in the

secondary history classroom.

Many teachers already use blogs for personal and professional uses, but others have never

used blogs at all and some may feel that blogs positive effects do not outweigh the negative

effects. One of the main issues that teachers have that prevent them from using blogs in their

classrooms is time. According to Lai & Chen (2010) many teachers feel that the “effort required

to compile, input and explain knowledge in blogs…Teachers may also have to respond to

extraneous requests (from students)” (p. 949-950). Many teachers feel that there is a strain on

their time already and blogs would add to amount of work they already have. Teachers who have

never used blogs may also fear using a new Web 2.0 tool because they are unfamiliar with it and

online resources always change at a fast pace. According to Martinez (2012), “teacher training

programs have incorporated ICT (information and communications technology) skills and TEL

(technology enhanced learning) training for new teachers to some extent; however…with various

degrees of weariness” (p. 202-203). Besides lack of training and time for teachers, there is a

technical issue that can also stand in the way of using blogs effectively in the classroom. In one

study of using blogs in a U.S. History class, if multiple users tried logging onto the blog site at

the same time, it often resulted in an error page stating the site was temporarily unavailable

(Manfra & Lee, 2011, p. 98). These small technical issues can lead to frustrations for both the

students and teacher, which can diminish the impact of using blogs.

Another issue that can cause problems when trying to implement blogs in the classroom

is the curriculum itself. While the Common Core Standards address reading and writing skills,

there are also content standards that are required for history courses and some have very strict

pacing guides and high stakes standardized tests at the end of the year. According to the study by


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Manfra & Lee of a United State History class, “Mr. Jones normally embraced a defensive

teaching strategy, perhaps as a consequence of a high structured, centrally organized school

curriculum. He, like other teachers, faced the tension between preparing students for the end of

course test and teaching them life lessons” (p. 100). Teachers find that sometimes they have very

little control over what they can teach, which in turn can limit how they teach it, especially with

time constraints.

Another issue with using blogs in the classroom is assessment. Many teachers and

researchers found that they “experienced a low participation rate of students using the blog”

(Stonehouse, Keengwe, & Shabb, 2012, p. 45) and they also do not get the desired outcome of

critical thinking, reflection, and improved reading and writing skills (Woo & Wang, 2009, p

433). Teachers also face the issue of “how do I take a qualitative-based activity like a blog and

turn it into a quantitative grade?” (Dyck, 2012). Student attitudes towards blogging are another

issue, which may cause the lack of participation and inability to meet desired outcomes as

discussed earlier. According to Hofmann (2009), some students see participating in class blogs

as an encroachment on their private time or as a burden, while those who do participate do not

engage their peers and only wrote for the teacher. The last part that Hofmann discussed prevents

students from learning and collaborating with each other, which is one of the strongest features

of blogging in education. Some teachers feel like mandated blogging or “flogging” does not

work and that is why students do not always achieve the goals of increased achievement (Chong,

2010, p. 800).

Solutions and Research Needed

While there are disadvantages and issues with using blogs in the history classroom, there

are some solutions that have been discovered. To help teachers properly use blogs in the


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classroom, Manfra & Lee (2011), suggest new standards for teaching in which the teacher is

more of a facilitator instead of a dictator; where they use the constructivist teaching model.

While there are technical issues in using blogs, the best advice is deal with it as best as you can.

You should teach your students how to use the blog and its features to make blogging as smooth

as possible. If the site becomes temporarily unavailable due to too many people logging on at

once, you could have the students try later, or create a system where some students are blogging

while others are working off-line. Always having a back-up plan is vital when teaching with or

without technology.

The biggest issue that was discussed in the research was meeting desired outcomes and

assessing the blogs. Multiple articles cited that students did not analyze historical texts, and their

posts were superficial. According to both Manfra & Lee and Stonehouse, Keengwe, & Shabb,

students did not meet the full potential of improving their writing and critical thinking skills.

However, Stonehouse, Keengwe, & Shabb offer some solutions. They noted that it is “very

important to provide learning objectives prior to blogging so students understand its purpose”

and if students feel blogging is useful to their learning; they are more likely to accept it (p. 45).

So teachers must scaffold blogging and cite specifically what they are looking for in a post while

inciting enthusiasm in the students. Woo and Wang (2009) created a list of ten categories of

critical thinking characteristics they were looking for in blogs and developed an equation called

the Critical Thinking Ratio (CT) to determine the criticalness of blog posts (p. 432). Dyck (2012)

also offered her own blogging rubric in her article in Education World. As long as you have

standards that are clear with students, they are more likely to meet them.

In conducting the research for this literature review, there were very few articles that

specifically addressed blogging in the secondary history classroom. Several of the articles


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analyzed were either about college level history courses, addressed blogging in education in

general, or were for other subjects other than history. However, all of the articles could still be

applied to the secondary history classroom because the strengths and weaknesses of blogging are

similar in all subjects and levels in education. More research is needed in order to understand the

full impact of blogging on reading and writing skills on secondary history students.

Conclusion

Despite disadvantages in using blogs in the secondary history classroom, the benefits

outweigh them. Blogging increases student achievement in reading, writing, and critical thinking

skills that are pivotal to the Common Core Curriculum Standards that have been adopted in

several states across the nation, including Maryland. Blogs allow for constructivist,

collaborative, interactive, and reflective teaching and learning. This increases student

metacognition and their achievement in the secondary history classroom. Blogs must be used

appropriately by the teachers in order to reach these desired outcomes of increasing student

achievement in reading, writing, and critical thinking. To do this, teachers must align content

standards appropriately and scaffold the blogging process in order for students to understand and

appreciate the benefits of blogging. More research and discussion on how to teach the blogging

process in the secondary history classroom is needed in order to assess the true impact of

blogging on reading and writing skills on secondary history students.


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Works Cited:

Chen, W. & Bonk, C. (2008). The use of weblogs in learning and assessment in Chinese higher education: Possibilities and potential problems. International Journal on E-Learning, 7(1), 41-65. Retrieved from http://www.aace.org/pubs/ijel/

Chong, E. K. M. (2010). Using blogging to enhance the initiation of students into academic

research. Computers & Education, 55, 798-807. doi:10.1016/jcompedu.2010.03.012

Dyck, B. (2012, February). Log on to a blog. Education World. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/

Ferriter, B. (2009). Learning with blogs and wikis. Educational Leadership, 66(5), 34-38.

Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership.aspx Hobbs, H. (2011, November 11). Teachers connect with students using technology. Fairfax

Times. Retrieved from http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/ Hofmann, J. A. (2009). Blackboard or blog? Some thoughts about creating and assigning on-line

components in college history courses. Teaching History: A Journal of Methods. Retrieved from http://www.emporia.edu/~teaching-history/

Lai, H. M. & Chen, C. P. (2011). Factors influencing secondary school teachers’ adoption of teaching blogs. Computers & Education, 56, 948-960. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.11.010

Langhorst, E. (2007). After the bell, beyond. Educational Leadership, 64(8), 74-77. Retrieved

from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership.aspx Lo, H. C. (2009). Utilizing computer-mediated communication tools for problem-based learning. Educational Technology & Society, 12(1), 205-213. Retrieved from http://www.ifets.info/ Manfra, M. M. & Lee, J. K. (2011). Leveraging the affordances of educational blogs to teach

low-achieving students United States history. Social Studies Research and Practice, 6(2), 95-106. Retrieved from http://www.socstrp.org

Martinez, C. D. A. (2012). Developing metacognition at a distance: Sharing students’ learning strategies on a reflective blog. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 25(2), 199-212. doi:10.1080/09588221.2011.636056 McClurken, J. W. Just about it! Part 1 [Web log post]. Retrieved from

http://teachinghistory.org/digital-classroom/ask-a-digital-historian/24545 Poyntz, N. (2010). History blogs. History Today, 60(5), 37. Retrieved from

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Maryland State Department of Education. (2010). Maryland Common Core State Curriculum

Frameworks. Retrieved from http://mdk12.org/instruction/curriculum/reading/index.html

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.

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Literature Review_A. Newton

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