Just exactly what is a Weblog?

Wikipedia defines it:

A Weblog is a Web site which an individual or a group frequently generates text, photographs, video or audio files, and/or links, typically (but not always) on a daily basis. The term is a shortened form of Weblog. Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called "blogging". Individual articles on a blog are called "blog posts," "posts," or "entries". The person who posts these entries is called a "blogger".

My definition is similar:

A blog, short for Weblog, is a Web site of frequently updated, reversed chronologically-ordered entries. (A blog entry is similar to a traditional journal or diary entry.) It is a place to share your thoughts, opinions, and links with others. Students can use blogs to practice writing and communication skills; teachers can use them to post assignments, share thoughts, stimulate classroom discussion, and much, much more.

Merriam-Webster selected "blog" as its 2004 word of the year.

How a Teacher Views Weblogs

Written by Anne Davis: (Used with permission)

I see Weblogs as a…..

• A way to improve my own writing
• A just in time learning arena
• A place to share
• An easy way to create a Web site quickly
• A way to connect with others and make connections to learning
• A perfect spot for quick writes
• A writing room in which you can make it be what you want it to be
• A perfect place to think outside the box
• A place to go to each day that provides elements of surprise and anticipation
• A way to give students ownership of a personal space
• A Web site that encourages active engagement by the students and teacher
• A place to collaborate
• An upclose and personal way to include parents in the process

(Source: http://anvil.gsu.edu/NECC2004/stories/storyReader$14)

Ideas for Blogging in a Classroom

Blogging and the Media Specialist - Article by Doug Johnson

NEA Article - http://www.nea.org/teachexperience/ifc070529.html

Blogging Basics at TeacherFirst