Consider Using Blogs in the Classroom

Good News! I am taking a very helpful class entitled "Emerging Technology," which has provided me with excellent guidance in setting up a blog, and it is EASY to do! There are many free sites available for bloggers to get started, and the directions are easy to follow. View the tutorial "Blogs in Plain English"  found at <http://www.commoncraft.com/> if you are a novice like me. I have admittedly tried to ignore social technology beyond email, but we all know that it is here to stay, and for good reason. People are finding more and more ways to connect, to express themselves, to communicate, to share information and to expand their knowledge base via technology. As a teacher, I recognize the value of Web 2.0 tools to reach my students on many new levels. An article that we read for class, written by Professor Henry Jenkins, Director of Comparative Media Studies at MIT, talks about "Why Academics Should Blog." He describes a pilot project that came out of a response to the bombing of the World Trade Center, where blogs were used to provoke public reflection. He goes on to describe many aspects of blogging that are compatible with the goals of academics. Blogs allow scholars to build their reputations, to share information with researchers around the world, and to hone their "skills as public intellectuals." These are not quite the same goals that I have for my at-risk high school students, but Jenkins highlights several other benefits to blogging that I do find quite appealing.  First off, as you probably know, teenagers are intrigued by technology. They are immediately engaged when they are invited to express themselves on a keyboard! Blogging is a 21st century skill, and we want to provide our students with direction in new-media literacy. We also want them to develop those old-fashioned skills like writing, interviewing, giving feedback, and collaborating--all of which are facilitated in this new, exciting way. We can even use blogs to promote our schools themselves!