Blogging in the classroom

I have been in classes before where we were required to post on a discussion forum site, and it always seemed like a chore. I think allowing students to create their own blog for class discussions is a much better idea. First of all, a blog gives students their own creative space. The discussion forum is owned by Blackboard, or whoever, and students don’t have much control over the look and function of their posts. The discussion forum is also under the professor’s control, who sets up the categories under which students are allowed to post. A blog, on the other hand, allows students to organize their thoughts in any way they choose. They can also link to other information on the web, or other students’ pages, and create a more interactive web than the bulletin board style that is used on most discussion forums. The freedom of a personal blog will not only make students more invested in their work, but will hopefully foster meaningful discussion, instead of just posting to fulfill an assignment.