I am an English teacher and I always incorporate different forms and genres of daily writing into the lessons and activities planned for my students. As a routine procedure, students are usually asked to respond to a writing prompt in their notebooks. Prompts are usually in the forms of questions or ideas related to articles, online content, or issues tied to course materials (novels); as a teacher I design prompts to foster critical thinking and analysis, rather than simply soliciting student journaling. This approach is supported by innovative educator Will Richardson as he breaks down the dynamic identity of weblogs in his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. Yes, a mouthful to say the least, but when has technology ever been anything less? But we do eventually wizen up to acronymize everything: isp, http, html, css, and dare I forget http://www. So, what can I do with blogs?
Working with 10th grade English students, I would have students set up a class blog to create a community literacy project involving the powerful memoir Night from Elie Wiesel. Students would research personal accounts from other Holocaust survivors and post links to them on their blogs. With their links, students would reflect and draw comparisons between the lives of various Holocaust survivors, and in doing so contribute to the community’s knowledge of this historic tragedy. One rationale point, which is very important, is the community literacy component. When students write reports, it is not usually customary for their peers to read and comment on those reports, unless specifically doing peer evaluations. However, with blogging these assignments students can read, contribute, and “share” as a classroom community. Richardson explains, “Blogs are a collaborative space, as readers become part of the writing and learning process” (Richardson, 2009, p.18). Students collaborate within their classroom and beyond their classroom. This blog activity could be opened up and collaborated on with another school in another country, or another high school. In this way, blogging this activity will globalize the classroom and allow students to see themselves as citizens of the world. The entire community could be opened up and extended to Africa as students research historical genocides in Rwanda and Darfur; the potential expansion and application is unlimited!
Finally, to close the activity I would have students post final reflections as video weblogs using my classroom webcam. These video weblogs would personalize the information and understanding and solidify the “human” experience into students’ minds. And, not only would students benefit from such a communicative-rich lesson, but they would see the educational power of technology through globalized, networked communication. No matter which way you look at it, this definitely offers a lot more than a spiral notebook and pen.
References:
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Well I figure it is time to post and comment on my site. Much of what remains at 
Read Speak Blog @ WordPress 