Blogging

Are you wondering about blogging?

Note: As of October 1, 2010, vox.com is no more. Here today, gone tomorrow. That's the way of the Web.

Now for more background information on blogs. The word "blog" is a portmanteau word that combines the words "web" and "log". Hence, a blog is an online journal. Blogs allow everyone to be a sort of journalist and have an audience for their version of what's news and their opinions of the news. Blogs are a Web 2.0 technology, which means they allow users to interact through posts and pictures and sometimes videos. Blogs tend to be organized like articles in a newspaper along with a collection of posts, or responses.

The appeal of blogs in education is that they facilitate student-to-student and student-to-teacher interactions in a non-threatening format. Students can post opinions and comment about topics raised in class. The beauty of blogs is that they are available 24/7, which enables students to access them wherever/whenever they feel so inspired to post their comments.

How does one search for blogs on particular topics? Try
 * www.blogsearch.google.com
 * www.technocrati.com

How does one start a FREE blog? Try
 * www.blogger.com
 * www.wordpress.com

Remember that Blackboard has a blogging feature that you may choose to use instead of one of the "open" blog sites.

(For those of you who like visuals, Common Craft's "In Plain English" series features a video about blogs.)