Educational Uses of Blogs

The first main use of blogging for educational purposes is to use it as a student journal for reflecting and observations. This is something that teachers have made their students do for many years. The ability for a student to actually go home and reflect on a subject after processing it for a while and thinking about the topic I feel is great. People can reflect better allowing them to have some think time. Another advantage to blogging is that people can read their previous posts easily because they are dated and easier to go through than a traditional journal.

The second main educational use of blogging is that now a reflection or observation becomes a two way communication model. A blog has the ability for student student, student teacher, and teacher teacher interaction. Students and teachers have the ability to comment on reflections and observations. The original blogger then has the ability to reflect and repost on the topic. Many students and teachers then have the ability to read the blog at the same time and post comments which is virtually impossible with a traditional journal.

The other important communication method that blogging offers for educational purposes is the ability of a teacher to communicate many ideas to an entire class and the students are able to read them at their leisure and many times. Students can see the blog any time they go onto the internet. The blog can be set up so that the first window that pops up when they go onto the internet shows the teachers blog.