Blogging and Education

I think that utilizing class blogs to compliment and enhance other classroom activities creates endless possibilities in the teaching field. When I was a high school student I had no idea what a blog was or how to use one.  However, the students I will have in my classes have been immersed in technology all of their life. Blogs can be used as a resource to reach modern students and encourage participation. For instance, I could create a blog to share information like the class syllabus, calender, assignments, documents, links, due dates, etc.  Blogs also facilitate communication between students, parents, classmates and teachers.  I could use a blog to post tasks, updates, items we worked on in class (like power point presentations) enabling parents to see what their student has been working on and learning.  Lastly I think that blogs can help students interact with one another. Often, the same students raise their hands to answer or ask questions and others stay quiet. If my students could "gather" at the blog site and post comments, ideas, thoughts, etc. on a discussion board, it would offer a less threatening method of participation. It would also be good practice for college as posting on a discussion board happens in a lot of college classes.  Blogging is an exciting technological tool that I hope to utilize in my classrooms!