The arguments for blogging in this particular piece to which I was responding sounded like arguments for traditional essays, not for blogging.

There are definite applications for such technology, but we need to be sure that the assignments we are giving students match the goals of the assignment.

Yes, kids will be exposed to information in sound bytes, but that is not an argument for them to be taught to do so. Instead, they need to be able to sort through the massive amounts of information they will be bombarded with and learn how to get more information in order to form a more informed opinion.

If you want to see more what I am talking about, Matt covers it well in his commentary.

how is that any different than asking children to get out their notebooks and begin writing? Can’t you grade and comment on those? Interestingly, on paper you can even underline things and comment in the margin along with using those little editing marks I was required to learn starting in the fifth grade. Commenting on a blog really only provides the ability to leave a general comment, without the advantage of pointing out specific strengths and weaknesses in the paper. Er, blog entry.

Actually, there are a number of new technologies that allow users to comment on individual paragraphs within a web text. Diigo for one. There are others…

Let’s teach our students to think in sound bytes, and express themselves in a good two paragraph blog entry. Short, eye-catching but not terribly deep.

I say let’s teach them to think in sound bytes as well as extended-length forms - and everything in between. Kids today will be exposed to texts with a variety of lengths, formats, biases, and purposes. We have to prepare them to live in a world of sound bytes as well as 700-page monographs. And who says blog posts should be limited to two paragraphs?

I would argue that the blog is an effective extension of the notebook because it can be shared. The notebook would typically be read by two people: the teacher and the student. Blogs can be shared and they can link to one another. When students blog, they are inviting a real audience of (potentially) millions of people to critique their work, respond, question, learn.

Also, as a teacher who used to haul 20-30 salt-and-pepper composition books home on the weekends to read, I have to admit that student blogging may save teachers millions in chiropractor bills!

That’s funny, Anna-Marie. I think “common sense” is no longer in vogue. Maybe because it is because we are so bent on trying to tear at the fabric which ties us together, leaving so little in common.

Educators are grasping at straws. There was a *study* recently that over 80% of teenage girls now communicate mostly via MySpace/Facebook. Many college students we work with now don’t use email, and no one has a blog. They use Facebook instead to communicate to one another. Blogs are already “out” among that age group.

Also, it seems funny to me that they would use spell checks, etc. with this “educational” blogging system. For years now, people communicate via email, text-messaging, Myspace, etc using all lowercase letters, no punctuation, misspellings, shorthand, etc. And Educrats think they will get teens to turn ship and start using proper English?

I do feel bad for the Educational system in some respects. What are they to do short of some type of Tough Love program starting in 1st grade. Like instead of a program to turn in your weapons, have a “Turn in Your X-Box program” or have a black out on Cable TV during the week. Make kids start diagraming sentences again. Memorize math facts….have parents actually get married when they have kids and stay married….for starters…