Blogging

Although I'm new to this concept (note the screen name :) ), I can definitely see the value of blogging to teach writing. Children can see this avenue as an "adventure" and therefore are motivated to write often. It also has the advantage of allowing the students to write to an audience that is different than their teacher.

One real concern that I have with blogging, however, involves the potential "free for all" mentality that allows students to hide behind the curtain of anonymity and write negative statements that could be damaging. The article ("Writing and Technology" by Colette Dauite)refers to this, also, and encourages teachers to always set guidelines and present "purposeful activities". We, as teachers, need to learn more about this concept so that we can help our students avoid the potential pitfalls and gain writing skills while blogging.