Chapter 2: Weblogs-Pedagogy and Practice

   Up until taking this course, when I heard the term blog, I though I knew to what people were referring.  My conception was a bit off.  I thought of blogs more as personal journals, which, according to Richardson, don't even qualify as actual blogging.  Needless to say, I learned a lot from this chapter about what blogs actually are, and how they can be used to enhance student learning. 
   One key aspect of blogging that I never acknowledged is the ability "to share resources and ideas with a Web audience that [is] willing to share back what they [think] about those ideas."  I didn't really understand or value the conversational aspect of blogging.  I love to enrich my own knowledge and understanding, especially on topics that I'm interested in, so the idea of learning more from others excites me.  I can see how this could be a powerful motivator for students. 
   I also didn't know that a good blog is full of links.  I did not understand the value of connecting thoughts and ideas in this way, and also validating what the blogger is saying through doing so.  Blogging really is an interactive process, and I had never seen it that way. 
   Richardson says that "students are learning to read more critically, think about that reading more analytically, and write more clearly."  In this way, blogging can profoundly impact student learning.  For my eighth graders, I would expect an increase in the effort they put into producing what they know and understand.  When other students, teachers, their parents, and really the whole world is viewing their work, I think that they will want to put their best work out there, something we don't always see from our students.