An Interesting View

Today I read an interesting blog by David Warlick. The blog was entitled 2Cents Worth .  and then to Don't Like Learning Alone? After going through a few weeks of this course i have realized that we, the students, are doing the exact same thing as Mr. Warlick was... learning by ourselves. It seems as though our professor gives us a "To Do" list and expects us to learn it on our own, but by using the blogging system we are able to view other classmates work and to learn from their experiences in order to influence our work. 

I can definetly see this being used in a classroom, but it depends on the age level on who will use the system, parents or students. In a high school setting I feel that the blogging system would be most beneficial to me as the teacher, it would provide a link from student to teacher to parent. The student, by this time, should be well rounded in the ways of technology and will be able to comprehend exactly what it is that he/she will be doing and with a few short lessons on blogging and by giving a COMPLETE understanding of what we will be using the blog for, he/she will be confident in the task at hand. 

However, the student will not participate in the blogging during the elementary years of their schooling. I see the blogging system being most beneficial between parent and teacher. This would allow me to communicate swiftly between parent to parent, in order to share the lesson plans for the week and give updates on their students status.

As a teacher I realize that not all parents are literate in the way of technology, therefore there will have to be several night courses on the blogging system, where all parents meet together to learn about this intriguing system. I also realize that not all parents and students have access to the internet, much less a computer. This throws a damper on my plan, only to be corrected by the use of previous methods, such as the notes sent home or the phone call.