Educational Blogging by Stephen Downes

I think this new genre of writing (educational blogging) holds vast potential for engaging learners. By default, it is less restrictive and more informal, two key ingredients for an authentic learning environment. I like the fact that Weblogs provide a safe and easy way to communicate with a group of people who are gathered together for a central purpose, whatever that may be. Sharing in a process and connecting to one another empowers learners and I would think that my students could benefit by considering points of views from their peers that pertain to the topic at hand. Blogging could be a great way to mature young students!

In the educational setting, it's power is rooted in the immediate publishing nature of blogging. Students of all personality types will sense that who they are writing for is a larger audience than merely one teacher...that alone is a huge motivating factor.

It is a great tool for pooling thoughts and reflections, and as the author pointed out it should be used as a place to post reflections on readings once the readings are completed and mentally digested. :-)