Why Blog?

Living in the foothills of the coastal range has a major drawback for computer and gadget geeks. Cell phone reception is poor at best, satellite connections to the Internet are limited in speed and volume and television is limited, especially when the user doesn't subscribe to DirectTV. This of course doesn't outweigh the beauty of nature and the privacy this location provides and the unconditional affection shown by the livestock and pets.

Monday, when one of the Oregon football teams was playing a famous game, we back-country folks had to wait for the evening news to hear what had happened. Or jump online to catch the score from time to time. The top hit on the Google search for the Rase Bowl score actually was a blog. Someone decided to blog about the game as it proceeded, or maybe it was a legitimate news media with a reporter writing a play by play article. Either way it had the opportunity for me to comment on the writing.

This got me to thinking about how are blogs used these days and are any of these uses valid for education? Some writers are reporting an event like in a news column; others are expressing an opinion or promoting an idea or cause; while some just like writing and do a darn good job at

that. Some bloggers are actually journaling or keeping a diary for everyone to see and others are sharing information they think might interest others even if it's a select group. All invite comments and feedback.

So how can educators, teachers and students jump into this maze and make it beneficial for teaching and learning? Yes, I am inviting your comments, suggestions and thought. What do you think?