The author experienced the introduction of the Internet as a high school student. Reflecting on that experience, he now realizes that he did not understand the possibilities offered by chat rooms, instant messaging, and other Internet-based communication tools to increase sociopolitical connectedness. As the teacher of an eleventh grade social studies course, the author hoped that integrating a blog space for online discussions between his students would encourage them to interact with each other in ways that promote "democratic talk." By "democratic talk," he means interactions between students who are engaging in discourse on relevant sociopolitical issues for the purposes of developing knowledge and understanding of these topics. In order to guide students toward this kind of democratic talk, a teacher needs to structure discussions to promote constructive exchanges and ensure that students work toward solutions, or ways to address an issue, as a community. (Contains 3 tables and 12 notes.)