Potential of Blogs in Education

I am new to using blogs and Now realising the potential of blogs in many situations. I have used the PMI tool to examine the potential of blogs in teaching: 

 PLUSES:

• I may use a classroom blog to share links to useful websites related to current topics being discussed in class
• It may be used for students to add comments made by the teacher on recent work completed in class.
• Podcasts may be shared with students, these may be created by the students themselves.
•   It may be a record of current work or homework set for students
• Sharing of videos on difficult tasks or concepts that need to be learnt in class.
• Sharing of class peers opinions on a topic

There are lots of positives with the use of blogging such as:

1. It is available 24/7 from anywhere
2. free to use and easy to maintain
3. May be used for FAQ
4. Ongoing archive for resources and materials
5. communication to parents

MINUSES
There are some negatives to the use of blogs also:

1. Not all children may have access to a computer
2. Maybe confusion over its use initially, careful consideration of  how it fits into the learning program is required.  This may not be sucessful initially.
3. Confidentiality/ Privacy/ethics all need to be considered.

INTERESTING
Interesting points about blogs:

• Many special interest groups have blogs that enable you as a teacher to put students in contact with real life situations and receive current topical information Eg Food and Nutiriton blog  http://www.nutritionblognetwork.com/  these can list many useful websites for reference material.  Encouraging global interaction!
• Blogs may be research based, collaborative, institutional or educational.
• Can inspire creativity in it's use.
• Encourages use of literacy and grammar.