Blogs: A Versatile, Powerful Tool for Teachers

When used effectively as key tasks, blogs are amazing tools for teachers to use with their students. Blogs are versatile like Swiss army knives. They allow students to practice a variety of skills while learning about and questioning course content. Blogs are also like power tools because they amp up what students are exposed to in the course of the discussion. Good teachers, who want to allow students the opportunity for personal expression while interacting with others, will find that blogs can be used to assess content knowledge, in addition to providing additional educational benefits. Blogs are a powerful, multipurpose tool for educators to use with their students.

Theodore Bernstein once said, “If writing must be a precise form of communication, it should be treated like a precision instrument. It should be sharpened, and it should not be used carelessly.” What place will require one to write precisely? The Internet, where anyone in the world can read what has been written. Words need to be chosen carefully in order to convey the intended meaning. The act of blogging will give students the opportunity to sharpen their writing skills. If their thoughts are not conveyed accurately, then a reader is likely to question them in order to gain understanding. Students' writing will require more precision in order to get their points across. Blogs give students the opportunity to practice becoming good writers.

Blogs also allow students to read the opinions of others and to learn about a variety of perspectives. Students will think about and question what has been said, sharpening their critical thinking skills.

Students can connect with people anywhere in the world through their blogs. The teachers are no longer the sole purveyors of information on a topic. Experts may join in a discussion to give insights about their work. The experience from such interactions will motivate many students to want to learn more because the topics take on relevance that may not be apparent within the classroom walls.

All students have the chance to participate and collaborate in the discussion when teachers include blogs in their assignments. The inherently shy students will have equal opportunities to share their ideas ensuring that there is total participation in the activity.

So blogs are a tool that allow students to practice and hone their writing skills, to think critically about the opinions of others, to interact with people with a range of expertise, to gain understanding of the relevance of the subject matter and to participate equally in the discussion.

Contrast the benefits of blogs to assessing students with ScanTron multiple-choice tests or even writing short responses to questions that only you will read. Which tool will you use benefit your students? What's in your teaching toolbox?