Why Blog?

Writing For An Audience - I believe that it is wise for students to learn to write for a wide audience. For them to ask- What is your purpose and who are your readers? 
By blogging they also learn to write for an audience using different mediums. For example, it may be visual, abbreviated, or using an infographic.

Connecting Family With School - It is important that parents/caregivers can know where their children are at with their learning; a blog is an ideal way for them to see this. It gives an insight into not only their learning, but their skills, attitudes and work levels.

Writing Mileage - By writing on our blog regularly, I am hoping that all  students will become more skilled at sustaining their writing and producing well thought out and robust pieces.

Internet Safety (Developing A Positive Digital Footprint) - There is no denying that students now have a digital footprint. As a teacher, I don’t think we can ignore or suppress this, which is why I believe in students having an educational blog. I think it is important for students to learn how wide-ranging anything they write on the internet is. Through their blogs, they learn about using photos wisely, not using their last names, realising that what is posted can never go away. Students learn about moderating comments and spam.

Global Connections - We live in a global community. A blog is a way to begin connecting with this community. We can learn a lot about the world through the way students are educated. Through our blog, students can connect with students in schools all over the world.

Blogs Invite Feedback - It is important that we learn to both give and receive feedback. Through our blogs we have learned about giving feedback in a skilled way (A BNMS Student made a neat Prezi about how to do this: http://bit.ly/1R4QPH7). It is also important to know how to respond to feedback, blogging gives students the opportunity to practice this.

Recording Their Schooling (Both Academically & The Activities) - A blog is a great place for students to journal their school (and sometimes their lives too). It provides a record of things that can be forgotten over time.

These are but some of the reasons why we are learning to blog this year.