The Educated Blogger: Using Weblogs to Promote Literacy in the Classroom

Huffaker, D. (2005). The educated blogger: Using weblogs to promote
literacy in the classroom. AACE Journal, 13(2), 91-98.

Summary:
In the article, The Educated Blogger: Using Weblogs to Promote Literacy in the Classroom, Huffaker “explores the role of weblogs in promoting literacy in classroom settings.” Research finds that roughly half of those in the blogosphere are under the age of 20. With this in mind, Huffaker proposes that “blogs can be an important addition to educational technology initiatives because they promote literacy through storytelling, allow collaborative learning, provide anytime-anywhere access, and remain fungible across academic disciplines.” In deeper examination of each point then follows.

Reflection:
This article was great for someone like me, a “newbie” to the blogosphere. As a teacher on the verge of receiving the i21 technology that will equip each one of my students with a netbook, this article caused me to reflect upon the power blogs have to foster both verbal and digital literacy. I began wondering, “Will the writer’s notebooks my students have used for the last 20 years. the pencil and paper, be replaced with keyboard and blog next year?” I love the idea that “blogs provide an arena where self-expression and creativity is encouraged. Its linkages to other bloggers establish the same peer-group relationships found in nonvirtual worlds. Its “underdetermined” design, where a system is engaging, yet intuitive and easy to learn Cassell, 2002), makes it equitable for many age groups and both genders, and simple for teachers to implement. Being situated within the Internet allows bloggers to access their blogs anywhere and anytime an Internet connection is available.”