Educational Blogging

Even though the article was about "educational blogging" I was more interested in the section about how blogging became important or used more. I did not realize that an event like 9-11 created a better way for people to communicate news or thoughts in response to the unfolding events. Because it was difficult to find out what was happening in the news..this gave people the experience to share "what happened or what is currently happening" with a blog this type of information is shared instantly. Although it might not be authentic. People became part of the event happening instead of watching it on the news. As for the educational factor, it is a great tool if you are willing to embrace technology. It might give students a chance to voice their own opinions on line instead of speaking in class. This I feel can be a positive and negative issue. A blog is a great way for a student to reflect or speak about issues in a subject area. It can even help them improve on writing skills. But at the same time...are we starting to become less personal..what happened to having to speak about our thoughts in class. Is our verbal communication skills/person to person interaction declining and are our computer skills improving??? Or do I have to think of a blog as just being a tool to work on certain skills.