Blogs for the Classroom

In my last post, I discussed some possibilities for the use of a wiki in the classroom. After giving some thought to possible uses of blogs, I came up with the idea of implementing a student-run blog during my nutrition unit which lasts about 2 weeks. I would divide my classes (about 24-25 students per class) into groups of four. As the unit on "Nutrition for weight control" is the central them of the unit, I would assign each group(of 4-5 students) to create a blog, and take a "position" on the topic of which 'dietary strategy' is the best for weight control; "Low Carb", "Low Fat", or "Balanced Diet". Everyday, one group member is responsible for posting a 'thought' on their groups blog, and posting a comment on one of the other group's blog. This is manageable for me as a teacher, as I won't have to keep track of 150 blogs, instead i'd have to follow only about 20-24 total blogs, and I'd only be doing that for one two-week unit. Also each student wouldn't have to post everyday, but by the end of the unit, they'd have made 2 postings and 2 comments, which is doable for them too. I think the 'small group' format is the way to go......