Usefulness of Blogs

After completing my NCLB Paper today (YAY!) I have spent some time exploring the links on the Wiki. Just now I ran across some information that I thought was interesting.

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From website:

Using the Blog in the Classroom
As an educational tool, blogs may be integrated in a multi-faceted manner to accommodate all learners. Blogs can serve at least four basic functions.

Classroom Management
Class blogs can serve as a portal to foster a community of learners. As they are easy to create and update efficiently, they can be used to inform students of class requirements, post handouts, notices, and homework assignments, or act as a question and answer board.

Collaboration
Blogs provide a space where teachers and students can work to further develop writing or other skills with the advantage of an instant audience. Teachers can offer instructional tips, and students can practice and benefit from peer review. They also make online mentoring possible. For example, a class of older students can help a class of younger students develop more confidence in their writing skills. Students can also participate in cooperative learning activities that require them to relay research findings, ideas, or suggestions.

Discussions
A class blog opens the opportunity for students to discuss topics outside of the classroom. With a blog, every person has an equal opportunity to share their thoughts and opinions. Students have time to react to ideas and reflect on learning. Teachers can also bring together a group of knowledgeable individuals for a given unit of study for students to network and conference with on a blog.

Student Portfolios
Blogs present, organize, and protect student work as digital portfolios. As older entries are archived, developing skills and progress may be analyzed more conveniently. Additionally, as students realize their efforts will be published, they are typically more motivated to produce better writing. Teachers and peers may conference with a student individually on a developing work, and expert or peer mentoring advice can be easily kept for future reference.

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I could see blogs to be used as many different tools in the classroom. Since I would ideally like to work with younger elementary aged students, I think a blog would be a perfect communication for parents. I could relay important information to parents about upcoming events and provide them information about what we are doing in class, complete with pictures.

I, as a parent have heard so many times "I didn't do anything" in response to the question "What did you do at school today?" This would be an ideal resource for me to see what my child is learning, and what they are really doing at school (since we all no they aren't just sitting there doing "nothing" all day).