Blogging

It is no secret that this generation of students have been raised with a computer in front of them. Most kids these days can perform typical tasks on a computer such as accessing the web and using it properly to aid them. It is also no secret that our world will only move forward in the discovery of technology and depend on it more and more for every day needs. For this reason, engaging students by using technology is a wonderful idea. A new and trendy current teachers are doing so is by encouraging their students to blog.
Blogging has been around for quite some time now. Today, many people including journalist, teachers, and even people at home are blogging on a regular basis. Blogs have no limits or expectations and are not always written in a professional manner. The idea of a blog is get your thoughts out in a conversational sort of way in hopes of engaging another reader. Schools are now using the idea of blogs to their advantage by encouraging students to write their thoughts on particular subjects, or just as a tool to help with creativity.
A high school teacher in Connecticut, Frank LaBanca, incorporates blogging into his classrooms by having students use it to apply science research. This often challenges his students with short writing assignments which are designed to help them with critical thinking and using technology. One concern with blogging in this fashion is that the student's work will not be original. For that reason, LaBanca requires his students to use multiple sources which in return also helps the students to learn how to research.
Bill MacKenty, a computer science teacher in Massachusetts, said he enjoys the idea of blogging because "It's not about...who you are, or the color of your skin--it's about what you have to say. There's something utterly beautiful and noble about that." This sense of equality has motivated many other schools to use blogging as well.
In my opinion, blogging is a great way to encourage students to use computers and familiarize themselves with technology in a positive way. Too many kids these days simply log online to use popular trendy websites such as Myspace or Facebook. Hopefully by using computers for positive assignments in the classroom will inspire students to do the same outside of the classroom. I also think this is a great way to get students to get their feelings out in a creative way. When I was in middle school I can remember having a journal that I had to write in every week. Nothing great ever came of it besides the teacher reading it and giving me a grade. By utilizing blogging, students are able to communicate with one another and share ideas and thoughts.
I would like to see more research done on how safe this new trend is. Do schools put a limit on what students can say or reveal about themselves? I would like to know if teachers read over the blogs before they are posted to check for personal information which might help an internet predator to find the students. Using the blogs in a high school environment would probably be safe, but young kids do not always think about the consequences simply because they are not aware of them. For that reason I would like to see a sort of instructional speech given to the children to insure that they are being safe online as well as learning.

Article: http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=36898&page=1