Some Educational Uses for Blogs

Hmmm...let's see isn't that something like: Some Educational Uses for Reading and Writing? Besides using and encouraging those two quintessential educational skills, with Blogs you can easily add multimedia, hyperlinks, and cool “widgets”. The possibilities for educational uses are limitless - and so it seems are the blogs/webpages that discuss educational uses for blogs like what you see here and here and here and here (and I could go on ad nauseum).

So what did I find ‘out there’ that was interesting or insightful? I liked a Reuters article about businesses use of blogs. Think about it: in many ways students are educational clients, and hopefully consumers, if not paying customers. Read the following excerpt and see how it could apply to education:

'Indeed, one of the best ways to achieve credibility when your business is small is through an informative and educational blog, say veteran business bloggers. Let key debates and other important topics affecting your industry drive the content, and always provide a way for readers to become part of the discussion. Post frequently and monitor your traffic. "It's really just information and talking about all areas of the process," says Robin von Halle, Conception Connection's president. The blog "does foster a sense of community and enlist people in every facet that we work with...' (emphasis mine)

The one blog about educational uses for blogs that made me want to comment the most (though I didn’t there so I will here) is this posting on how NOT to use blogs. Though there are probably some useful guidelines about any type of technology, I really couldn’t decide whether the author of the post was trying to be the 'blog police' or truly wanted to ‘rescue’ others from spending time in an effort that is doomed for failure. Sorry, no rescuing necessary. I’ve observed that just as much (often more) can be learned from a failure as from a success. So I think bloggers will soon come to their own conclusions from their own experiences about whether or not a particular use of a blog is an effective educational use.

I really need to say at least something about three of Christoph Merrill's four 'rules':

• 1) Never never approach blogs as discussion boards, listservs or learning management systems

First of all, should you ever say “never” (much less “never never”)? Yes, the learning management system seems a bit of a stretch, and granted if all you have is a hammer, everything is going to look like a nail, but “never approach blogs as discussion boards” – really? Does he mean to say that if you want the function of a discussion board (discussion in a particular format) don't use blogs? Why not? He doesn't really say. Maybe I’m totally missing his point – but to me it still seems to be a sweeping (and misled) generalization.

I think Mr. Merrill’s second rule rates (only) a flat-out “HUH?!?” from me:

• 2)Group blogs are a bad idea and don’t work: Sure there’s a place for collaborative/group blogs but that place is not in education.

“HUH?!?”

Lastly I must take issue with his third ‘rule’:

• 3)Don’t try and force blogging into something else.

Though potentially dangerous, using something for which it was not initially intended* is how many great ideas are generated. If you're using a blog for a web-site because it’s easier, so what? It re-confirms the Simple Wins article.

In fact, in opposition to this “rule” what I’d really LIKE to see (but haven't yet) are any off-the-wall, out-there, ultra-creative educational uses for blogs. You know, the kinds of ideas that are catalysts for other similarly ‘non-conforming’ ideas that may end up generating a whole different type of application or use. Ideas that are usually so different, yet so simple that everyone says: “I wonder why no one thought of THAT sooner!” So...do you have any of those types of ideas spasm-ing just outside your consciousness that you could bring to the surface with a little extra thought (or sleep deprivation :-) ) ? Please…by all means…share!! And maybe in the morning I’ll have a few too. For inspiration try something like Cahlan Sharp: BLOGS = DONUTS?

*As a mother of five (four of which are boys) I have ample personal experiences with this - but those are being saved for a future 'I survived Motherhood' blog. If you're curious - ask me about the vacuum cleaner used as a novice exterminator's tool.