Teachers and students today are using blogs at home and in the classroom all over the country and even the world.  You ask...What's a blog?  Read all about it at http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/weblogs/.  Anne Davis' article titled "Weblog Think-abouts" will help a teacher just getting started with blogging.

Some of the concerns that educators have had in the past have now been addressed so there is no reason not to use this great tool. Safety is a concern for many especially with younger students. Several blog hosts now give teachers control of their blog. David Warlick, a pioneer in blogging, has created a site specifically for classrooms called Class Blogmeister. This is my recommendation for the classroom. 

Another site created by educators for educators is EduBlogs.  This site required a student email address to sign up, though. 

Even the public site, Blogger, has many controls for teachers using blogs in the classroom. Blogs can be set up to only be seen by "users." Comments on blogger can be submitted anonymously so students' names do not appear on the www or teachers can delete names before publishing the comments. Comments can also be submitted to the teacher (owner of the blog) for review before being posted.

Using technology is a motivator for students who are growing up in this digital age. Blogging is just one way to use available technology in the classroom.

Happy Blogging!