SWOT+ANALYSIS

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Strengths:

 * Easy management, able to track personal reading of students
 * Students can interact with each others writing
 * Discussions continue beyond the classroom walls
 * Students write better when they know they are writing to an audience
 * Creates excitement while blending learning and playing
 * Invites collaboration
 * Good for assessment
 * Students see teachers as learners as they work through the logistics of incorporating new technologies together.
 * A professional learning community is created within the school as well as beyond it.
 * Allows students to go beyond just interacting with technology to participating and learning in a collaborative way with other students.]
 * Educational Blogging is a media outlet aimed at academic accomplishment or professional development (BE 10/25/09)
 * Blogging allows for the sharing of ideas and community support for education, political and community improvement (BE 10/25/09)
 * Motivational tool for students since they will be using a computer to write.
 * Teachers can set the option to preview posts prior to having them public. (A great way to monitor appropriate and inappropriate subject matter.)
 * Students can contribute at school, at home, while they are on a trip, etc... Blogs extend the learning experience outside of the classroom walls.
 * Easy to use, do not have to be a computer guru. Student success and accomplishment.

Weaknesses:

 * People can easily post hurtful or even harmful comments and opinions that can even come back to haunt them later in life!
 * Sometimes the links said, "Page Not Found", "403 Forbidden" message
 * Blogs definitely have a life-pursuing potentially interesting links only to find them no longer available can be frustrating.
 * More reading is certainly involved (which is a good thing), and comment moderation should take care of anything inappropriate.
 * Younger students need direct, guided supervision and instruction in using this aspect of technology appropriately and safely.
 * Really need to make a commitment to maintain it - easy to forget about it
 * It may be difficult for young students to write when they are still at the invented spelling stage.
 * Need to have access to technology, computer and internet
 * Keeping focus on topic

Opportunities:

 * With an online journal, people have the opportunity to express themselves and reach a wider audience.
 * Creates a sense of belonging
 * Allows for universal responses and opportunities to exchange ideas with others not in immediate environment
 * Students see and learn from the view point or perspective of others.
 * Creates more classroom learning time, because discussions continue "after hours."
 * Literacy is enhanced by students having immediate exchanges of information.
 * Another way of empowering students... helping them feel that their thoughts and idea are important and allow them to gain respect for the ideas of others.
 * Can be used instead of wasting more paper (S. Newman)
 * Excellent tool for marketing and sharing ideas (BE 10/25/09)
 * For students, develop strategies for courses and solve problems as a community (BE 10/25/09)
 * Creating an online diary or journal like a blog helps reduce stress and alleviates tension (BE 10/25/09)
 * It can be utilized to teacher the writing process and at the same time practice by blogging.
 * Promotes communication betwen teacher and parents with daily/weekly posts (study tips, reminders, student progress, pictures of classroom memories, update on current curriculum units)

Threats:

 * Time needed for planning,maintenance and comment moderation
 * Does this take time away from other activities we want students, especially younger students, engaged in...do some children already spend too much time on the computer and not enough time reading for example? (Will I be punished for such heresy?)
 * Students might not always be honest on a blog for fear that other students will judge them (S. Newman)
 * Difficult task for students who lack computer skills or acces to one.
 * Protecting the privacy of individuals if pictures are posted (need private page with password)

= IDEAS FOR THE CLASSROOM =


 * Literature Circles
 * Online journal on any topic(s)
 * Reflect on observations in nature
 * Creative writing
 * Discussions involving independent and classroom reading
 * Existing mathematics blogs allow students to get help or help others with homework problems
 * Opportunities to examine other media aspects related to literature
 * Teachers can use blogs for students to respond to a questionnaire or to state their opinion on an assignment (S. Newman)
 * Students can keep personal blogs about what they are learning in math throughout the year. They can respond to each other to pose questions, comments, reflections, or challenge one another's thinking.
 * "Show & Tell" for student work samples (take digital pics/video) of activities (artwork, classwork, assessments), presentations (reader's theater, drama, journal read-aloud), and projects (for holidays, special events, curriculum units)