Blogs----are they useful for discussions?

Week Three Discussion-- On Krause’s “When Blogging Goes Bad..”

The name of the article caught my eye because I’m having a hard time keeping up with technology so when I saw the “bad” in the title, I felt vindicated for all my feelings of inadequacy with computers. But the truth is, the more I read what Krause had to say about blogs, the more I understood their benefits and usefulness. Krause just had a problem using them with a particular classroom.
Krause gives multiple examples where blogs can play a major role in a writing classroom. One of the most important features a blog has is the ability to change the whole dynamic of a classroom. (p8) Krause explains how blogs encourage and transform student writing. Instead of having to write the same old, unexciting ,academic assignment for class, students create and write blogs knowing their work will be read by many instead of just the teacher. The expanded reader audience makes a huge difference in their writing, according to Krause. He uses words like authentic and unique to describe his students‘ writing.(p12)
Krause also quotes two educators, Delores Schriner and William Rice who also noticed a huge difference in students when they posted online, saying, “ they knew they had an audience beyond the teacher, and as a result their writing emerged as ’real, volunteered’ and even urgent.”(p8)
These writers all reinforce the argument for blogs citing more commitment, participation, purpose and effort in their student writers. I personally agree with their assessment because I definitely think twice and reread what I am writing before I post knowing everyone is going to be reading what I wrote. Whether it makes us more conscientious or more paranoid, using blogs and writing online makes writers more aware of what they are writing.
I can’t end this discussion without bringing up the “bad” that Krause touches upon. Although Krause reiterates how valuable and useful blogs can be, he also restates his belief that blogs are not “interactive and collaborative” (p.2) writing tools. He gives the example of having to “invite” users in order to write on blogs. I personally can attest to this downside. I wanted to get a jump start on the discussion and post it earlier than Thursday but was unable to use the Engltech697 blog, because I hadn't been invited yet. This is no reflection on Professor Kutz. I am just agreeing with Krause that there are limitations to interacting with blogs.
Krause argues blogs are not an effective discussion form and compares them to printed books and texts, saying “blogs have the distinct advantage of allowing individuals to easily publish texts that can be responded to by others to be sure, but those texts are not more ’collaborative’ than texts published in conventional print.” (p11)
So, keeping Krause in mind and his discontent with blogs being used effectively for discussion, I think this weeks posting will be a good test to see if we all can “interact” and “collaborate” using blogs.