Blog C

I see several possible educational values of blogs in the classroom. Collaboration is one of the main points. Students can share their views on topics and ideas. Blogs are great for daily writing and allow the students and teacher to see their progress in their writing or deal with shortcomings. Blogs can be used outside of the classroom to allow students a forum to showcase their writings or views and find others sharing their same interests. The teachers role in the blogging process should be one of facilitation and monitoring. The teacher will lead the students to the topics they want them to address and monitor the bogs making sure they stay on task and do not venture off topic. Students should be active participants in the blogs making posts and editing their writings, they should actively read the posts of other students and make comments or engage the other students in discourse. In order for blogs to be effectively integrated into classrooms there needs to be more information presented to students, parents, teachers and school districts. Instead of always showing the possible dangers of blogs, show the positive ways it can be used in the classroom. Case studies of best practices using blogs should be presented to county administrators showing effective uses of blogs in classrooms. Parents need to be shown how to access and monitor blogs because they will be vital in the monitoring of the blogging process. Teachers have to be given thorough in service, along with ongoing support in the blogging process (which is fairly simple). Blogs are a free tool therefore school districts can place more money in professional development for their teachers.