Using blogs in the classroom

After reading about the huge array of ways that you can use weblogs in the classroom to assist in learning, there are several that I would love to one day use in my own classrooms. Using weblogs as an online filing cabinet are useful becaused students can post their work for peer and teacher editing. Students can give each other feed back on what they have written and students get to see their progress throughout the year as they become a stronger writer. Its important for students to get feedback from their peers on their ideas and thoughts to make learning even more collaborative. Next, I love the idea that all assignments and resources can be posted to the weblog. Parents can view the easily updatable sight and see what their child should be working on. Students no longer have excuses for not knowing when assignments are due or even what is due. Everything being posted to a weblog also makes the students responsible for checking it daily. It holds them responsible for their learning which is important in the upper grades and transitioning into college when they will be using websites like blackboard.com for their course work. My favorite way to use weblogs in the classroom was to use it as an open communication system to discuss topics that are being studied. I loved the idea in Will Richardson's "Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts" that explained how one classroom created a readers guide to a book they were reading. The author got involved and throught he blog answered questions that the students had and she was able to give insight as to her character development and where her ideas had come from. The author even said that this was interesting for her too to be able to hear ideas about her own work!