Blogging was something that I've heard about and was familiar with, however, not something that I have ever used personally or even really read much of to be honest. But, after using this tool I actually began to really grow interested in the idea of a blog, not only for my own writing but in reading other people's blogs as well. I really enjoy the independent atmosphere of it, the fact that you have the power to truly express your thoughts into words. A blog is a creative writing process that really gives you an opportunity to reveal your mind. It is really beneficial for people to have access to, especially those people (students) that might have trouble speaking outloud in groups or just straight up find it uncomfortable, but with a blog it gives them ability to speak their mind without the added pressure of an audience. "Hiding behind a screen" isn't necessarily always a bad thing, and in many cases such as this one, it provides great things for those who have so much thought but might not ever have a chance to share it. People have unlimited thoughts day in and day out that come and go whether we think about it or not. Using a blog enables us to capture our thoughts at any given moment and talk about whats on our mind. Using blogs in the classroom would be a great way to get your students to reflect on their learning and express their thoughts without the pressure of their peers listening in. Also, you can save so much time since every student could blog at once as opposed to only being able to have a select one or two kids share their thoughts.
What I find to be most difficult using this site, is honestly creating the blog itself, each time I have to create a different link to the same blog site to have access to my blogs. Maybe I just need to learn about it more, but seems like there should be a much more efficient way to do things. Overall it has been a great experience using blogs learning how to use them personally in writing and reading!
