To Blog or Not to Blog

First off, I do not believe that Richardson would approve of the use of this blog in this manner – I believe he would refer to it as contrived!  J  I do not think that the potential of blogs has been realized in education, for the same reasons as Richardson states.  There are inherent boundaries that as educators we must provide for our students both for their safety and the safety of others.  The recent occurrences of cyber-bullying related deaths is proof enough that there are students that meet Richardson’s grouping of people who should not be blogging.  Aside from safety concerns, many educators lack an understanding of how to integrate such a technology as true educational technology – it would in fact become what Richardson decries as contrived and would hold little or no real value to the teacher or student.  Quality educational professional development is needed to assist educators in learning to use these types of technology as integral components to their teaching and communication methods.

Should blogging be used in education?  Yes, I think that it holds value for teaching students how to communicate and share ideas, and it certainly offers those capabilities against a larger population of peers.  Students are members of society and should learn not only how to communicate, but how to do so responsibly.