Blogging in Week 2

Now that I have created my very first blog, I have had the opportunity to post new entries on my blog site and comments on other's blog sites as well. Now, I want to focus on how blogging can be tied into the student's educational setting.

After viewing the blogs of other classmates and viewing some of the many blogs online, I have come to the conclusion that blogging does not need to focus strictly on how they can be beneficial in a teacher-student environment but also in how blogs can be used to help students and educators learn and grow individually. Today, I will focus on the benefits of using blogs in the classroom for students. Blogs seem to be a great place for students to share their opinions in order to learn from one another (various view points on one topic). Students can then focus on additional ways to arrive at the same answer (rather than just the teacher's viewpoint or method). Using blogs, students have the ability to get their voice heard when they otherwise may feel uncomfortable sharing their valuable opinions. Since blogs are archived, the learning process is ongoing and creates an environment that facilitates reflection. Students can use blogs to connect with experts on various topics while the use of blogs allows the educator to incorporate writing and communication into all content areas.

I am looking forward to learning how others are using blogs in their classrooms as well as opinions on additional strengths and weaknesses of using blogs.