Blogs: promoting literacy and participation in todays classrooms

I really enjoyed the article “The Educated Blogger: Using Weblogs to Promote Literacy in the Classroom” by David Huffaker. Huffaker hits on many key ways educators can use blogs to encourage students to read and write. The success of any teacher is often measured by their ability to engage their students to such an extent that they don’t even know they are learning. I am most proud of my students when I hear them arguing about proper methodology, through this dialogue they are learning most.
The online blog creates an atmosphere that encourages discussion through reading and writing for any age and discipline. What I think is most exciting about edublogs is their potential to break down some of the social discrimination that happens within a classroom. Many students do not have the social skills to engage in an open discussion within a classroom. Online blogging may very well give them the platform to have the confidence to speak (write) openly with students they otherwise would not have. Breaking down this social walls within a classroom may be the greatest benefit that edublogging can offer.
Students today are “plugged in”. There are few students who do not have easy access to the internet, many within their pockets in the form of iPhones and Blackberries. As Huffaker states “being situated within the Internet
allows bloggers to access their blogs anywhere and anytime an Internet connection is available, an opportunity for learning to continue outside the classroom.” (Huffaker, page4) This may be the single greatest asset of the blog. Students today do not value homework that straps them to the kitchen table for hours. Blogging allows them to participate and reflect of their classroom learning at their convenience.