Assignment Blog Williams article

Blogging to me has been centered around a fun group of mainly women knitters. I have enjoyed this form of communication with others for over a year now and it has become a time of laughs and pure fun and at times cathartic relief when we discuss our latest mistakes or frustrations. I recently had a opportunity to present the idea of blogging in a school project and had it shot down by the network administrator. She stated that she was worried about "predators" gaining access to the students blogs and therefore would not allow us to continue with the project. It was a good example of how misunderstood a form of technology still is and what a learning curve some people are still on..Careful considerations were in place to keep this as safe as possible and the actual process of safety on the net was to be taught to the students as part of the project. I will be sending her the Williams article for I often said aloud Yes! as I read it. The students that I teach are young but are growing up in the electronic age. Journaling has always been a part of the writing process in my classrooms and so has responding to their entries. How much more power I can see in having not only my response but that of others available to them. For those students who must gather their thoughts before responding the blog is truly a tool that will allow them intellectual exchange in a safe and meaningful envionment. I especially took note of the student in the article that commented that he had to read and think critically about the subject before he responded. Isn't this what we want all of our students to do yet they can often sit back in a classroom of 32+ students and not ever feel confident enough to speak out.