BLOG – Great
Guy Kawasaki says “People blog to change the world”. I agree with him because I believe that “Pen is mightier than the sword”. One can really change the world with the power of writing and communication.
To be more technical “A blog is a user-generated website where entries are made in journal style and displayed in a reverse chronological order”.
Blogging is a novel technology when it comes to educational uses. In the past there were bulletin boards and courseware which allowed students to discuss topics. The dialogue was always situated around the classroom and the course content. And usually, when the course was over, the content was erased. As with essays and tests, students sometimes ended up with the impression that learning was about performing for the teacher and the class, and not part of a personal exploration of growth and development.
Blogging looks at communication in a different manner. Blogging is all about “me”. The location of the discussion is on the individual, not the class. As a student blogger, one would write about ones personal experiences within the learning moment; how the lectures, discussions in class, readings intertwine with ones own reflections and thoughts on the topic. The result is that a blog post can become a unique document of the learning process; one that is particular to each learner. Blogs are extremely useful for categorising and managing a large collection of thoughts, whether they are from lecture notes, a student's own ideas, or comments on the ideas of others. If there is a group discussion in a class there will be a couple of people participating. But when everyone writes on their weblog they have a voice and the other students can also read it and comment on it.
Blogging helps draw out people who would otherwise not engage in debate. It helps students to think and write more critically. Students communicate outside the boundaries of class rooms. These web-based forums are useful for discussing ideas, experiences or opinions. Students can discuss publicly what they are studying with other students and experts outside their own university.
Blogging works like wonders for budding professionals too. People recognize passion. It is the most obvious and delighting trait in young people. A professional can show that he is passionate about what he is working on and throw his heart into it by blogging his experiences; regardless of how big or small the task.
Blogging gives you a platform to share your knowledge and expand your expertise. Since writing forces you to reflect, hence blogging helps in introspection and finding out your strengths and weaknesses as you interact with different people and evolve your knowledge. It even helps you to engage with others in meaningful conversation and gradually build a network of your own. You can use your blog to promote your own business by telling others what you are doing and how you can be beneficial for them.
One of the most powerful facilities in weblogs is pinging, which involves a person posting a comment about someone else's work on their own blog. The 'TrackBack' tool can be used to notify the author when the comment has been published, basically inviting them to discuss it.
Whether you're a newly minted blogger or a relative old-timer, you've been seeing more and more stories pop up every day about bloggers getting in trouble for what they post. Do follow the ethics of blogging and stay out of trouble. None of this should stop you from blogging. Freedom of speech is the foundation of a functioning democracy, and Internet bullies shouldn't use the law to stifle legitimate free expression. You understand your rights and, if necessary, defend your freedom.
Ref: http://thestar.blogs.com/education/
http://www.eff.org/bloggers/lg/
