Pluses and Minuses of Blogging in the Classroom

For this assignment I read my classmate, Joye Wiggin's, blog. We did our podcast together and during that time we shared a lot of the same ideas about blogging in the classroom. There are definately two sides to the equation in this situation.

First off, blogging in the classroom introduces students to technology in the classroom. This is a easy and fun way to get them learning. Blogging is a really easy tool to get them started on. The teacher could have each student have their own blog and write out their own opinions on things. The teacher could either have them do a journal type of blog or an assignment type, like we do in EDM310. By having the students do these blogs they are getting a feel of what its like to use technology with learning. Blogging is especially good for the quiet and shy kids. They can type out what they are thinking instead of having to talk in front of the whole class.

Although blogging has a lot of good things about it, it also has some cons. One thing that is a major factor is the security part of it. With having the students do blogs, they are putting themselves on the internet. We all know that when you place anything you've written on the internet, it is free game for the world to see. Even people you don't want seeing it. Teachers and parents can take the necessary precautions with this issue and it can be overruled. Another con that blogging in the classroom has is that some students might not be readily accessable to computers. Even in this time of technology not all homes have a computer. Those students without a computer in the home would either have to do their work at school or travel to a public place that has computers. This could become a potential problem.

Even though blogs have pros and cons, I think that the cons outweight the pros. Teachers should start getting students used to using technology and blogs are a great way to start. I know while using blogs in our classroom I really got the feel for computers. Before this class I wouldn't have known how to do a lot of things.