blogs...

Although I have had either a Myspace or Facebook account for a couple of years, I have never created a blog before this semester at school. Now I am required to keep blogs in two of my classes. At first, I was confused as to what the purpose of these blogs would be, but I think I am starting to see why they are useful.

In my technology class, we are using blogs to discover how they can be used in a classroom for students in grades K-12. As an English major, I think blogs would be a great way to have students keep an online journal for class. Teachers could give a topic each day or week, and the students would be required to write whatever they wanted about that idea. As a result, teachers would get the opportunity to get to know their students better because they are getting an inside look at what is going on in students' heads. I think many students would find that they enjoyed blogging because it gives them a chance to get their feelings and ideas out in an easy and convenient manner and would continue blogging even after the assignment was over.

In my art of culture class, we are using blogs to post some of our homework assignments and questions we have about the class. I think this is also a valid use of blogs for a k-12 classroom. Rather than students printing out homework, they could simply post it on their blogs. The teacher could access each blog and see what students are doing. This is also a great way to begin a portfolio to see what kind of work students have done over the course of a school year and the progress they have made.