Weblogs

Blogs in Schools
It may seem strange that I am writing about blogs on my blog. After our readings from Hendron I felt that blogs can be a very important part of education success. I wanted to explore the benefits and find out why educators wouldn’t want to create and maintain a blog to keep in touch with their students and parents.
A weblog or a blog is an online journal or log. It is a collection of information called posts that the author also known as a blogger writes. A blog includes text, pictures and links to other blogs or websites. (2008, Hendron) Blogs are unique in that readers can comment on the posts on a blog. If I am reading a blog and I want to comment about a post I can comment and start a discussion with the blogger or other readers of the blog. This feature is a great way to communicate with the readers and create open channels to keep information flowing.
The blogger can write about anything he or she finds interesting. Some people like to keep blogs about their favorite books or music and some enjoy blogging about politics or current events. I have personally found blogging to be great fun and a way to keep track of things happening in my life that I want to share with friends and family. Honestly I find myself thinking, wow I need to take pictures of that and put it up on my blog. A few short years ago I never would have had such a thought. You can view my personal blog at www.angielizandre.blogspot.com
Why would we want to use blogs in schools? I say they are a great way to foster creativity and communication. For example a study in "June 2008 from the University of Minnesota found that regardless of family income level, students that use social networking sites…demonstrate creativity, learn technology, and communication skills, and come into contact with diverse viewpoints. " (2008, Boule) Just think about all of the possibilities there are with blogs. We could post homework assignments, post extra credit assignments, create collaborative projects, and keep in touch with parents about what is happening in classrooms. I’m sure the more we use blogs the more uses we will find. Our students will certainly help in coming up with new and creative ways to use blogs.
Now I ask the question, why would we not want to use blogs in schools? There will always be those uninformed people who don’t realize the ease of setting up and maintaining blogs. Administration is always thinking in terms of cost but blogs are free. We must teach our students not to divulge too much personal information and to use blogs safely. Also we can ensure that student’s posts are positive in nature because each post can be traced back to the student that signed in. If students post hurtful or mischievous information they can be blocked from posting. (2008, Hendron)
School Library Journal, 54 (11), 50-52. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=35226113&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Citations:

Boule, M. (2008). Go with the flow.

Hendron, J. (2008). RSS for Educators: blogs, newsfeeds, podcasts and wikis in the Classroom Eugene, OR:ISTE.