If a school has the resources necessary for blogging (i.e. computers, access to internet, technology related to podcasts, etc), then I think it is an excellent way for students to communicate their thoughts to others. In a number of articles we have read this term, it has been stressed that when students are aware that others are reading and commenting on their work, then they are more motivated to produce and continue posting their writing. In the Allison article, the author illustrates a situation in which a student is frustrated because they can't come up with a blog topic and they fear that their blog followers will be disappointed. Having others constantly read and critique your ideas makes students more invested in their work and as a result, work diligently to maintain their blog.
While I think blogging is a great way to get students writing, I can see it causing some discomfort for students. I, for one, don't exactly enjoy giving others access to my writing. Showing others your writing makes you extremely vulnerable, and receiving negative criticism can be potentially damaging to a students writing confidence. If blogging is an activity that teachers want to utilize in their classroom, they need to explicitly state what is and what is not appropriate when blogging or responding to blogs. Students who are hesitant to publicize their written work will be more comfortable if there are rules in place regarding how their work will be responded to.
Not that my school has the resources necessary for blogging, but if it did, I would love to incorporate this technology into the classroom. I think students will respond well to this modern approach of sharing their writing, and I think that having blog followers can increase a students writing confidence and will also motivate them to produce better work.
Here is a link to an article that illustrates the basics of blogging and also provides suggestions for how they can be incorporated into a classroom setting: http://www.bsu.edu/web/sbrobbins/Bloghandout.pdf
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