My blog today

I have now been using a blog for approximately six weeks. I have found it easy to use and, for me, it is an excellent online journal. I have found blogging very useful and I now regularly store information regarding my learning journey through this course on my blog. This has enabled me to write my reflective synopsis with some ease as I have all my thoughts, postings, and opinions in one place. Blogs are excellent places for people to come together as a community of practice and comment on each others views, findings and philosophies. I am following other’s blogs by using RSS aggregator feeds, so I can be notified of any additional postings made. Students would find this useful when participating group assessment items as they can view what others had prepared on a regular basis. This form of communication is invaluable and fantastic for collaboration.

I will be using blogs in my lessons with students as blogs encourage them to feel they have ownership of the information (blog) they post and they are motivated as they have people who are intersted following their blog postings. Students are able to use blogs for reflecting on their experiences. Blogs are wonderful for students to learn 24hours a day seven days a week and blogging is a great skill for their digital futures. I have family living on a farm in a remote location and feel blogs would be a good medium for the children to use for connecting with their 'school of the air' teachers and other students learning in another remote area. These children are often miles from the nearest town and have very little contact with other children, by using a blogs they would be able to form online friendships. Children with similar interests in sport, television shows etc would be able to communicate discussing the latest happenings in their particular interest.

References:
Wenger, E. (2006). Communities of practice a brief introduction. Retrieved March19, 2010 from http://www.ewenger.com/theory/