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Why Should We Blog in Education

September 2, 2008 at 10:18 pm | In Web 2.0, Web2.0, blogs | 2 Comments
Tags: blogging, blogs, Web2.0

Why Should We Blog in Education?

Publishing and sharing content regularly through blogging keeps readers in touch with current ideas, news, and information. It allows educators to discuss relevant professional issues and then share that conversation with those who are interested.

The primary value of blogging isn’t just the networking with peers, it is also a tool that helps students express their knowledge and insights. Another important benefit of blogging is communicating and interacting with members of the community who they may traditionally have had a tougher time reaching such as parents, voters, and anyone in the community who is concerned about education.

School administrators have an ever-increasing motivation to encourage communication with the community due to the pressure of developing and implementing policy, as well as defining the direction and purpose of their school. In order to lead an educational institution effectively it is essential administrators know what their constituents think. If their leadership and ideas are to be productive, school administrators need educators to help disseminate information and evidence freely.

Blogging has numerous advantages for administrators, teachers, and students alike. Blog content can be timelier, easier to create, more interesting to the audience, and more available than traditional communication tools. Unlike unidirectional print or online newsletters or web pages, blogs are archived automatically. Blogs are searchable, and encourage feedback through their ability to handle comments.

Administrators are discovering that blogs are extraordinary vehicles for school publicity, public relations, and community building. Teachers are using them for collaboration, professional development, and student instruction. Students are finding blogs an excellent tool for exploring their thoughts and expanding their ideas. Whatever level of education one is at; there are numerous advantages to blogging and the tools to do so are readily available. It only takes a few minutes to develop a blog and the benefits are unending.

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Educators and school administrators should be more open to change and add more technology in the classroom. Technology is a big part of our students lives. We can better engage students in learning if the lessons are relevant to their world. As a language arts and social studies teacher, I have thought about having my students blog about a book or use the blog for some writing assignments. It is an excellent way to have students write, without saying “this is a writing assignment.” My students would enjoy using the computer to do their work. Have you used blogging in the classroom?

Comment by AlishaC — March 9, 2009 #

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My school administrator requires that her teachers use some form of technology in the classroom to teach the content material; however, only a few classrooms are equipped with such technological devices to complete this requirement. One way that I could integrate technology into my classroom would be to use my two class computers to create and maintain blogs for my students. Quite a few of my students do not have a computer or Internet access at home so they would be able to use school computers to blog about a specific topic. Those with the benefit of having Internet access could blog from home. Using the blog would allow my students to interact with each other and complete their homework in a more exciting way other than using partner discussing or completing worksheets. The fourth grade at my school is hoping to become departmentalized next year and I would be teaching social studies to all three classes. I would like to know if anyone has used blogging as a social studies teacher and if so, how did you use it?

Comment by Carrie B — May 7, 2009 #

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