Best tool for online student publishing

Blogging, blogging, blogging..

So, was my reply to a query on classroom2.0 recently about the best tool for online student publishing. The lively discussion has centred primarily around blogs, wikis and nings but I would like to justify in this post, the use of blogging as the number 1 tool.

A student blog is a far more personal interactive website than any of the others. It may be used for journal entries and for publishing school work across many subject areas. It becomes the student’s own webpage, a page that will not be lost in lockers, school bags, left in the classroom, on the table, forgotten about etc.

Students love to have their own space and love to make it look good. On their personal blogs, they can feature and publish:-

• their class work eg English stories (chacha, year 7) LOTE sample 1 (voki by fluorgreen, year 9)  sample 2 (Shezza yr8), home economics (leecie yr 10) and school work in general (skippy, grade 6)
• Display work eg MS Office documents (Jade, year 8 student)
• Spreadsheet work
• art work eg sample 1 (Che grade 5) and sample 2 (Tadfish, year 8)
• digital storytelling
• podcasts
• photography (yr 7 honka) and
• mind mapping (grade 6 skippy)
• Show extracurricula activities eg school camps sample 1 and sample 2
• Record outside school involvement
• reflections (yr 9 flurogreen)
• work students just want to publish sample by  grade 6 student

The list could go on, but publishing by this means gives parents, grandparents and other teachers’ access. It allows students to connect, communicate and collaborate with the globe. What greater audience could students have for their work. Comments allow feedback, communication, reflection etc/