Thing #3

There are many ways that using a blog would be helpful to teachers. The first would be to post activities or units studied in class. You could talk about what went well or not so well and ask for help or ideas. I took a poetry writing class years ago and I always loved critique day. People would give you ideas for free. You could take the good ones and toss the not so good ones. I loved it. Often people would propose an idea that I wouldn't take, but would lead me to other ideas. They would be the catalyst to something else. This requires a good and insightful following. Which, I think, would take time to build up.

I know many teachers who use blogs to post to their students. This could be an excellent way to communicate outside of class and facilitate discussion. Students could discuss assignments, help one another, or find extra resources.  It can also keep parents informed about what is going on in the classroom. I know some parents feel in the dark sometimes about what is actually being taught. They also feel unsure about how to support their kids in their studies. This could be a good way to offer the extra information for the parents who are looking for that. This requires that parents have computers, internet access, and know how to get to the blog easily. These things can be obstacles.

I like the idea of each student keeping their own blog. A teacher could assign a blog as a journal while reading a particular book or story. Students could read each other's views/ interpretations of a story. This could all be done through the classroom and students wouldn't necessarily be required to have to a computer at home.