I have never even given Blogging a second thought for use as a teaching tool. However, after reading the chapter on Blogging and New Literacies I can see the value in a classroom blog. Besides having the students become responsible for the writing they are publishing, it is also an effective way to reduce your classroom’s carbon foot print. I am still amazed at the amount of paper each student uses and receives from the teacher and administrators. The Fresh AIRE page is a place to go for more information about becoming green. Hopefully, at some point in my career all students will have computers to work on and not have to wait for the few in the classroom.
I like the point that Diane Penrod makes about reaching the students who are on the fringe. Blogging allows the user to create what they want to say in a way that is uniquely them. Just look at all of our class blogs and how uniquely different we all are. In my search for a meaningful connection to add to this posting I came across Blog For Students. This site could be used in classrooms for students to post blogs. I think further research into it is important before a teacher allows students free range. The site is limited but it does restrict who actually sees the blogs which is nice for added some internet safety.
