Education Blog Article Critique

I thought that this article was an informative article regarding blogging. First, I thought the article was fair regarding the advantages and disadvantages of blogging. Obviously, an advantage is that students get experience with writing and technology simultaneously. A disadvantage is the "ever so popular" and entirely possible "blog slam". You know, the inappropriate commentary that potentially borders on slander or bullying. Strict guidelines would absolutely need to be implemented, discussed and reinforced with students to ensure that this type of blogging never occurs.

Another important aspect of the article was the history of blogging. It is interesting to note that some people do not consider anything that is "contrived" (like school assignments) to be blogging. This group of people tend to think that blogging should be stream of consciousness, like a diary. Therefore, school assignments, which have guidelines, restrictions, are written for a grade, etc. would not constitute blogging. While I understand this group's point, I do think that you can use the blog format for school assignments. Granted, I understand that many students would not completely "open up" for fear of teasing or not wanting to share their deepest thoughts, but they might not do that anyway with a "paper and pencil" assignment. I do think that "thrill of the blog" would excite many students to use this technology for some school assignments. Let's face it, as teachers, we would surely be deemed "cool" if we allowed our students to use this medium for some of their work. And connecting with students is a surefire way to gain their respect, which leads to a richer learning environment!