Blogging - A Reflection

Blogging seems like such a great way to write and reflect.  It is easy to set up a blog, which is an online space that you can share, or not, and allows for feedback to be made by viewers by commenting on your writings, known as posts.  The posts are listed chronologically and you can link to other images, websites, wikis, etc.  One thing you can't do with a blog is add audio files, however you can always to a link to a wikispace or website which has the audio files embedded there.

I used Blogger to set up my blog.  However, there are several other blog sites which offer free and chargeable sites to create your own blog.  As with most technology today, the more time you have to explore and play then the more features and information you can utilise to create your blog. 

Being an online space, blogging allows for flexibility of access, but also brings the need for being safe when using it, by not divulging inappropriate or personal information.  It also raises the issue of netiquette, that is, using appropriate etiquette when online.  For example, the writer needs to ensure that they use the right tone in their writings.  In a classroom environment there are various policies and procedures set down by schools and education authorities which details what is acceptable use of online spaces.  There are also the copyright implications of imbedding other people’s information in to your blog.  The Smartcopying website is a place where you can get guidance as a teacher as to what information you can put in to a blog, or wiki, freely and when you should seek permission to use information such as images, videos, etc.

Blogs could be used in a classroom to do journal writing, book reviews, presentations for topics, group brainstorming, and fellow student being able to comment or critique posts.  Blogs seem to be a great way to scaffold the learning with technology so that students can develop higher order thinking, and create, analyse, and reflect. 

Being able to use blogging in a classroom would obviously be dependent on whether there were sufficient resources to be able to provide the hardware (computer, ipad, etc) and the internet access.  Whilst it is certainly a lot more prevalent today, not all classrooms or students have access to this technology.