What Is a Blog?
The term blog is short for Web log. The basic function of a blog is one of a Web site and a journal combined (Kennedy, 2003). In the educational realm it can be used for teachers to post syllabi, course information, assignments, reading material, project tips, personal information, and related links. For a teacher, the classroom management functions a blog can provide are limitless. Students have the ability to post their work to the blog in journal format, as a graphic, or as a multimedia project. This communication tool allows for instant dialogue and feedback between the classroom teacher and his/her students or between the students themselves. Students can interact outside of the actual classroom and continue discussion or post comments when class is dismissed (Glogoff, 2005).
Web sites versus Blogs
Time, prior knowledge, and publication abilities are the key negotiators between a teacher creating a Web site or a blog. Learning how to use software programs such as DreamWeaver or memorizing hundreds of tags in HTML to create Web sites can be time consuming and overwhelming. Blog software is a content management program that is built to be a “personal publishing system”. Knowledge of HTML is not a required component (but can be helpful) and most programs are designed to be as easy to use as word processing applications, but with additional collaboration and communication features (Kennedy, 2003).
Most teachers who create and post a Web site do so for personal relations purposes. It offers the ability for the teacher to communicate with students and their parents. A teacher can place assignments, announcements, educational links, a course outline, and even student work on Web site. However, teachers are limited to only publishing written work or images on a class Web site (Valmont, 2003). A blog would allow for all the same elements of a classroom Web site, but would grant access to group communication (the teacher is not the only one that can “speak”). This would provide an opportunity for learning to continue outside the classroom and the ability to publish all types of student work.
Blogs in the Classroom
Blogs provide an arena where self-expression and creativity are encouraged. Students have the ability to access their class blog anywhere and anytime an Internet connection is available. In the classroom community, students can have a personal space to read and write, share ideas, ask and answer questions, and develop peer relationships (Huffaker, 2005). As a teacher, the issue becomes how to let go of the “control” in the classroom and make it student-centered where the teacher is the facilitator who creates opportunities for learning. Modeling becomes a valuable technique to engage students into the communication process of blogging. An important aspect of this approach is to see the act of blogging as something fun, expressive, enjoyable, conversational, and poetic (Campbell, 2005).
Blogs can be multidisciplinary. Reading and writing can be used in a variety of curriculum, not just language arts. Students can express not only their ideas in any subject, but post images (art or social studies) or multimedia projects (business, social studies, physical education). Blogs can be used to promote reading and writing, to showcase the work of students, or to exchange ideas among students, teachers, or school administrators (Huffacker, 2005).
Literacy
Technology has added a new type of literacy called digital fluency. This type of literacy refers to the way people become comfortable using technology as they would any other natural language. Some scholars suggest digital fluency will be another prerequisite for sociability, lifelong learning, and employment opportunities (Resnick, 2002). The execution of a classroom blog enables the teacher to bring together technology and literacy as students learn to communicate both visually and verbally on the blog. The use of educational technology promotes the type of literacy traditionally encouraged in learning, as well as the digital fluency needed to prosper in the digital age (Valmont, 2003). With literacy being such an integral part of state standards, No Child Left Behind, and standardized testing, students will have most likely improved their reading and writing skills, gotten some insightful feedback from others to consider, and have even exercised their reflective and critical skills through classroom blogging (Campbell, 2005).
The Politics of Blogging
If blogging is such a motivating classroom tool, then why are there so few teacher blogs that allows for student publishing online? The barriers are permission and server space (Kennedy, 2003). Most school districts do not want to have a space online where students have “free reign” to post thoughts, ideas, or pictures without some level of approval or monitoring system. If students are limited because of permission to publish, then they will probably not participate. Anytime a teacher decides to incorporate technology into the curriculum, some consideration needs to be given to student Internet accessibility. If your school district has a Technology Plan and/or Acceptable Use Policies, then as a responsible teacher it should be examined to make sure the classroom blog does not violate any of the school districts policies (Valmont, 2003).
Examples of Teacher Blogs
Dan McDowell’s ahistoryteacher.com hosts curriculum guides, WebQuest, class Web pages, teacher workshops, and a biography. McDowell, a history teacher at West Hills High School in California, uses blogs for both AP World History and CP World History. In both classes, projects are focused on topics such as the Civil War, World War I, The Holocaust, and the Industrial Revolution, just to name a few. His projects are focused on posting and comments to the class blog and using Wikis.
Blogs can also be used to help teachers incorporate blogging into their particular curricular area. Pattie Belle Hastings at myWebspace.quinnipiac.edu not only uses her blog for the computer science classes she teaches, but she also uses it to display examples of blogs across the curriculum. This blog provides a function for her classes and it allows other teachers to use her blog as a reference.
Blogs can be an effective tool for teachers. The Entry Year Teacher/Mentor Blog, for instance, uses a blog to “document, reflect, plan, mentor, analyze and to communicate between new teachers and mentors, providing guidance and support (Huffaker, 2005).
Conclusion
Convenience and accessibility make blogs an excellent tool for teachers. Unlike most classroom Web sites, a blog is created to be a dynamic space that allows for expressiveness and originality. Blogging creates a venue where learning is not limited to the classroom. Students and teachers can access their class blogs whenever an Internet connection is available. Students can publish their work whether it is a journal entry or a multimedia project. The accountability of publishing work lies with the student, and the teacher no longer has a stack of papers to keep track of. By creating such a forum, teachers can incorporate literacy and digital fluency into their specific curricular area. As more teachers begin using blogs, studies should be conducted that parallel using Web logs with reading comprehension and improved writing skills within the educational realm.

References
Campbell, A. (2005). Classroom Blogging: two fundamental approaches. Retrieved June 15, 2006, from Dekita Orchard Web site: http://dekita.org/articles.
Glogoff, S. (2005). Instructional blogging: Promoting interactivity, student-centered learning, and peer input. Innovate 1 (5).
Huffacker, D. (2005). The educated blogger: Using weblogs to promote literacy in the classroom. AACE Journal, 13(2), 91-98.
Kennedy, K. (2003). Writing With Web Logs. Retrieved June 15, 2006, from Technology & Learning Web site: http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2003/02/blogs.html.
Resnick, M. (2002). Rethinking learning in the digital age. In G. Kirkman (Ed.), The global information technology report: Readiness for the networked word. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Valmont, W. (2003). Technology for Literacy Teaching and Learning. Boston New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.