MAINEVILLE, Ohio - If you've never ventured to the Great Plains of North America, you might have trouble imagining the sprawling landscape. According to an Ohio fourth-grader named Ryan, the plains are so big, "your eye can't see the whole thing." By publishing his own description on a class weblog, Ryan is helping others gain a better understanding of regional geography.

Debbi Contner, a fourth-grade teacher at Hamilton-Maineville Elementary, has created a weblog to support her social studies unit with technology. She explains: "As we learn about U.S. geography and Ohio state history, we write about what we find interesting. We have covered every state by the end of the year."

Having a real audience motivates student writers.

Because the weblog can be read by anyone with Internet access, students are motivated to contribute their best work. "My students have a real audience to write for," the teacher explains. Parents and other family members, for instance, "love reading what is on our site." The content sometimes prompts feedback from students in other states. "They tell us about the geography of their states. We also got a response from a boy in another city in Ohio. He thanked us for providing him with information about Ohio Indians that he needed for his fourth-grade class."

Contner's 20 students have six classroom computers to use for working on weblogs and other projects. Most students also have access to computers at home. Maineville is a small but fast-growing community. School crowding meant a move for Contner's class into a modular building this school year, and the relocation caused a delay in getting an Internet connection. "Students were very excited when we were finally able to log on and start posting our stories."

Contner has been teaching at the same school for 25 years. "Technology has come a long way since I started working here," she reflects. "I can remember trying to share one computer on a cart for three classrooms! We had a computer club that met during recess time. The students were amazed by the games that we played. Now, my students are very comfortable working with our classroom computers. We wouldn't know what to do without them. They have had a huge impact on teaching for me."

Creating a class weblog was a natural next step for Contner. "I have had a classroom Web site for several years and have always been looking for things to add to it," she explains. On the Internet, she happened upon a class weblog used by another elementary teacher in her district. (Fellow Ohio teacher Pam Pritchard is featured in An Innovation Odyssey, Story 302). Contner started with the social studies weblog and now uses the same technology to have students write responses to the literature they read in class. The teacher also has her own weblog. "I share my thoughts about teaching and news about educational events," she says.

Although Contner has been the first teacher in her school to use weblogs in the classroom, she sees potential for the idea. "I guess I could be called a pioneer in this," she says. She has agreed to help train other teachers in using the technology in their classrooms.

To see Contner's class weblog, go to: http://contner.weblogger.com*.
To see her own weblog, go to http://contner.manilasites.com*.