"Because blogs are connected, they can foster the development of a learning community" (Downes, 2009). When things, people, or ideas are not connected, they can end up like the rusty old truck in the woods... they fester, and eventually die. Ideas need to be shared, and through sharing comes innovation and progress. Ideas are built upon, something I have found first-hand with my "critical friends" and group project teams at Full Sail.
Blogs are a wonderful tool for the classroom. I am fortunate to have a decent amount of experience using them. The school where I teach is actively using Moodle ® and MoodleDocs, where teachers can create assignments, allow student work submission, and create interactive blogs to communicate with their classes.
Interestingly, I have heard some people refer to Instant Messaging, or even text messaging as "Microblogging", because essentially they take on the format of blogs. They are limited to under 200 words in most cases, and provide updates just like a web blog would.
In 2006, Charles Nelson wrote that, "Blogging creates networks of learning that promotes reading, writing, and critical thinking." The critical thinking piece is key to why I believe that blogs are valuable in the classroom. Any time you can get your students to think outside of the box and use their artistic abilities to create interesting blogs, they will benefit and excel.
Allowing students to add a section to their blog that includes their own artwork, music, or other item of interest can really make the process enjoyable and more relevant for them. Tools like Blogger, and iWeb allow the addition of several media types that will ensure individuality and creativity are preserved.
References
Downes, S. (2009, April 13). Blogs in Education. In Half an Hour. Retrieved May 4, 2010, from http://halfanhour.blogspot.com/2009/04/blogs-in-education.html
Nelson, C. (2006, June 19). How to use blogs in the classroom. In Explorations in learning. Retrieved May 6, 2010, from http://secondlanguagewriting.com/explorations/Archives/2006/Jun/HowtoUseBlogsintheClassr.html
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