This is another first for me. Before this assignment I figured there would never be a reason for me to write one. However I can see how this could help bring a classroom closer together, as well as expand a students exposure to outside sources. One thing just about everyone can agree on is that the internet makes people bolder than they are in person. In the required reading for this assignment, the articles spoke of how blogs can give everyone an equal voice as well as create real time dialogue. Blogs offer people a voice that they might not have shared with anyone directly. It seems that a lot of people find it easier to speak their mind to a computer screen than they can to another person. While writing in a blog a person can forget their insecurities for a few moments and not worry about how they are dressed or if they are making weird facial expressions while expressing themselves. It gives a person time to articulate what they would like to say. This goes for the reader as well, because they can only focus on what the blogger has written. The reader is given time to respond with their own formulated thoughts, and now a dialogue has been created.
My only concern with Blogging is that it seems like the word 'blog' has been around for a few years now. This makes me wonder if blogging is still relevant to young students. Is blogging now the MySpace of yesterday? Technology moves at such an incredible rate that anything over a year usually becomes irrelevant. If I try to introduce this to my students will they respond with, 'ah maw gawd. Who blogs anymore?" I suppose that for a teacher such as myself who will be working with young elementary children this might not be a big issue because it could very well be new to them. However it could be something I would consider if I were teaching middle or high school.
If you are able to get your students interested in blogging, I can see how it could become a powerful tool. I feel that students would learn a lot about each other, and perhaps break down some preconceived barriers they may have put up. Another interesting concept is how blogging could easily be connected to the Glogs and Portals that we have designed. A student could easily link them together with a similar theme to share their thoughts and creations.
