Blogging in the 21st-Century Classroom

Every classroom needs a moderated, online space where students can share their ideas with others and receive feedback. While blogging has ?been around? and used in classrooms all over the world for more than ten years now, classroom blogs are still rare in many schools and communities. Blogging is a fantastic way to strengthen the connections between home, school and the world. Like other kinds of technology, blogging platforms have continued to evolve and change, but the reasons why students should regularly blog have remained consistent. Blogging, as assignment can be adapted to every grade and subject area. Encouraging students to blog about topics from other classes helps them see connections among subjects and realize that writing is a worthwhile skill in any field. Blogs have the potential to expand student creativity and their writing skills. These are 21st century students and are adapting to a digital world that they are eager to learn from. Educators are using blogs in many ways including as online portfolios, for student personal reflective journals, as a record of field notes, as discipline specific spaces for knowledge sharing, as a space for student dialogue and for class administration. These days there are so many social networks, but there's something about having a space, potentially free from the distractions of a billion adverts and countless competing status updates.