Blogging With Thy Neighbor

Throughout the semester every student of Dr. John Strange of the University of South Alabama was required to start and maintain their own personal blog. The blog consisted of numerous subjects that Dr. Strange arranged for the students to complete. The blog topics were responded to in a different manner by each student, allowing many points of view on the subject.
Blogging in the classroom could be a very useful tool. Not only for communication with teacher and student, but also assignments and outside response would aid in the learning process. Although, coming from a family of teachers one thing seems to play a major role in the consideration of blogging, TIME! As busy as you are with daily lesson plans and activities outside of the classroom, having time to create and manage a blog seems to be impossible. The time and effort needs to first and foremost be directed for the education of the students. Taking valuable time away from students is not the way I intend to teach.
Furthermore, as much as we all know the future of computer technology usage in inevitable, I firmly still believe that there is a source of knowledge and influence greater than any form of technology. The human being. Teaching students something they will always remember comes from the inspiration of an excellent mentor. I cant recall a thing I did with computers in grade school except playing Oregon Trail.
No one knows what the future may bring by the incorporation of blogging and other technology into the classroom. Hopefully the students have evolved with the information and will not have the constant will to play games on the computers and talk with their peers. I know that in my behalf if the students are learning not just "doing" the work with blogging than I am all for it. On the other hand if they are distracted and failing to learn blogging can stay with the thousands who use it everyday to complain about the restaurant they ate at last night!