Blogs

Blogs can be a wonderful thing when it comes time to reflect on the learning with the added ability to share these learnings with fellow peers. They allow professional conversation with fellow peers and teachers on the specific topics which enhances the learning as students will be analysing and comparing work from other students to what they know. These are complex reasoning processes from dimension 3 of Marzano and Pickering's Dimensions of Learning: Teachers Manual.

Positives
I can see the benefits of blogging in a classroom context being used as a summative assessment tool for teachers as weekly blog reflections enables students to show the teacher what they are learning in the unit. Due to the regularity of student updates to their blogs, teachers will be able to progressively track learning of individuals and the class as a whole and tailor the remaining lessons of the unit to focus on what the students need. Teachers will have the ability to offer feedback to students throughout the blogging process on both the skills of blogging and the concepts learnt via posting comments. This process of reflection could be incorporated through all the KLA's to some extent and brings with it the other advantages that digital technology possesses e.g. use of photos/videos of design challenges and experiments, incorporation of animations etc.

Negatives
A few threats/problems that may arise from classroom blogging is cyberbullying. It is a serious issue that would affect all schools whether they are aware of it or not. Though as the teacher would also be making comments on students blogs they will be able to monitor any of these indescretions that may arise and deal with it appropriately.

Another issue I have personally found with blogging is putting it off and not getting around to actually doing it. Though this would be nullified in the classroom if students are provided with time to completing them during school hours rather than in their own time (homework).