Incorporating Blogs in the Classroom

Blogs can be incorporated into classrooms in a variety of ways, especially with the technology that is available to most school districts today. Elementary schools have the opportunity to broaden the subject content that is taught on a daily basis in a technologically fun way.
One way this can be done is by having a homework help blog where students have until a certain time at night; let’s say 9:00 pm for elementary students, to write on the blog if there was a problem with the homework that was assigned. For example, if a student is in fourth grade and learning long division, and is confused on one of the problems, or even a concept, then he or she can write on the blog explaining how they tried to do the problem, or what part they do not understand.
The teacher will then, the next day, be able to help the student before the lesson, or at least anticipate that the student will not have that problem done. The teacher could also respond back to the blog, if it is seen early enough, and the student could then complete the assignment. If the blog is an open blog to all students, then other students could go online if they are also having problems and see if the question that he or she has is already asked and answered.
The advantages to using this technology in the classroom is that it open up a new world to some students, it makes learning fun, and with a homework help blog, students will feel more comfortable completing the assignments and asking questions about lessons.
One of the disadvantages of using this technology is if the school district is a lower economic district and the students do not have computer access. The library is an option, however, if the student is home alone while parents are working and cannot go to library, then they will not be able keep up with technological homework or a homework help blog.