The Effectiveness of Weblogs in the Classroom Essay -- Education Teachi

The Effectiveness of Weblogs in the Classroom The internet has proven that it can be a very reasonable and valuable tool for research and communication within the classroom setting. Over the past decade, it has redeveloped the way students retrieve and use information, claims Richardson (2004). Richardson continues that until now it was not very clear if the internet provided students with anything more than a vast tool for research. One application that has altered this perception is the â€Å"weblog.† The introduction of weblogs within school systems has really made a profound impact on the way children learn. According to Richardson (2004), â€Å"Weblogs are redefining the way students and teachers use the internet, turning them from mere readers into writers.†(p.1) Although educators have been slow in adopting weblogs into the classroom, they seem to be quite affective alternatives to traditional education. According to Wikipedia (2005), a weblog can be defined as â€Å"a web application which contains periodic time-stamped posts on a common webpage. These posts are often but not necessarily in reverse chronological order. Such a website would typically be accessible to any internet user. ‘Weblog’ is a portmanteau of ‘web’ and ‘log† (Wikipedia, 2005). Wikipedia (2005) states that the name for this application was created in 1997 by John Barger. During the late 90's the phenomenon of weblogs just started to become ever so popular. Most people used them for personal journal writing, but by 2004 the use of weblogs became mainstream (Wikipedia, 2005). It was estimated that in the fall of 2003 that over 4 million users subscribed and created weblogs over a 6 month period of time, claims Richardson (2004). ... ..., 2005 at http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/jan04/richardson.shtml Richardson, W. (2005, April 10). Weblogg-ed: The Read/Write Web in the Classroom. Retrieved April 11, 2005, from http://www.weblog-ed.com/ Selingo, J. (2004, August 19). In the Classroom Weblogs are a Bulletin Board [Electronic Version]. New York Times. Retrieved April 10, 2005, from http://www.nytimes.com /2004/08/19/technology/circuits/19blog.html?ex=1250568000&en=33627811ca310596&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland Stach, Michael (2004, April 1) Introduction to Blogs and Blogging. Retrieved on April 11, 2005 from http://www.techlearning.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=18400984 Trimarco, R. (2004). Use of Blogs in online College Classes. In B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology. Retrieved April 11, 2005, from http://coe.sdsu.edu/eet/ articles/blogonlineclass/index.htm