Blogging...what is it good for?

I'm a talker.

Blogging is a way to "talk" to a wider audience, a way to make my opinions known. Also, it is a way to hear how others feel about a variety of subjects.  I view Facebook as a form of blogging. Isn’t it? I just didn’t create the format, but I post regularly. Each time I use a blog I feel that I learn more about the potential of the interface. 

In school my blog is on a wiki. I post weekly and ask my students to do the same we all write about our reading. It is one of my favorite ways to get to know my students. They are willing to spill a little more of themselves through the technology. I do feel that appropriate blogging is a learned behavior. Teachers most model what they hope to see. Only through modeling can students reach their full potential as a member of a digital community.

  

I think blogs can be a great tool for teachers and students. If used on just a basic level it provides a localized, easily accessed location to shared information. Students working on a research project can create an informative blog about the topic, they do not have to share the information outside of the group. However, the most powerful aspect of a blog would be the collaborative feature, creating something as a group that can be viewed by many, for example the “Secret Life of Bees” blog that Richardson mentioned on page 24. In this case students are creating for a larger audience. I particularly like the reflective nature of blogging. The style of writing and thinking that is required is not one most students are comfortable with using.  Using a blog as a tool to look at this form of writing would also be a way to use a blog in an educational setting.