Thing #2

For what it's worth, I haven't had much experience with blogs. A few friends keep them about their family life, one friend uses it with her business -- a website with local activities for kids, and every once in a while I'll read a story from the Yahoo news feed that will have comments and replies at the end. In looking at other blogs for this assignment, I was surprised at how few blogs had comments connected with them.

So what makes a good blog? One that is...

• easy to read
• focused in topic
  
• interesting and/or informative
  
• updated

One of the points of, "Blogs in Plain English,"suggested successful blogs work together as bloggers read each others contributions, quote each other, and support links to one another's blogs. This could be particularly helpful in the context of education as teachers work with one another and as classes create projects together. Blogs can enhance existing web sites due to the option of interaction, asking questions, and offering responses. I'm excited about the potential for blogs in today's classroom: posting resources for students, offering a place for discussion outside the classroom walls, connecting students with multi-media resources, saving paper with no more need for newsletters, etc. Blogs are not only an easier way to self-publish, they are the smarter way to self-publish in a time when everyone seems to have something to contribute.