For one of my units, I had students keep a blog to report and discuss their findings as they investigated the source of pollution in our watershed. At the end of the unit, I gave a survey asking many questions about their feelings on the unit. One of the questions I asked was "What did you like best about blogging? / Why should blogs be used in class?" As I was going through their responses, I noticed that several were repeated. I put together a top ten list based on their answers.
I've taken the liberty to translate their replies into educational jargon...
10. Literacy - i.e. made me read and write and I didn't mind
9. Engaged Audience - i.e. I worked the whole class!
8. Interactive - i.e. I liked reading what other people said
7. Reaches multi-learners - i.e. I thought is was going to be hard like just
for honors kids but it wasn't
6. Promotes participation - i.e. I turned in every assignment for this unit
5. Electronic record of agenda/work - i.e. everything I did was saved, I couldn't lose it
4. Distance learning - i.e. I could fisnish from home/check in while absent
3. Technology in the classroom - i.e. computers are fun!
2. Creates learner communities - i.e. talked to friends
1. Environmentally friendly - i.e. no worksheets!
