Blogls as an Instructional Tool

I like blogs and I think they have a place in schools; however, I don't think they are the be all, end all writing tool. Blogging in first grade is just wrong. First graders need to learn reading and writing and math. The teacher or classroom could maybe have a blog and students could post a one or two word comment, but first grade students creating and writing their own blogs would be, in my opinion, a waste of time. I have been a keyboarding teacher, and until students are trained and have time to practice their keyboarding, they should be discouraged from keying more than a short sentence.

I like blogging, however, for older kids. I like the idea of teaching the skills necessary to read blogs, and then starting with a classroom blog, and then the next step of students actually creating their own blog.