The internet has long been valued by teachers and librarians as a powerful research and communications tool, and in the last 10 years, it has brought about a sea change in the way students find, manage, and use information. But the promise of the Web as more than just a readable, searchable resource has been slow to be realized ... until now. Two new Internet technologies, Weblogs and RSS (Real Simple Syndication), are redefining the way students and teachers use the Internet, turning them from mere readers into writers to the Web as well, and making it easier to filter and track the ever-growing number of resources coming online each day. In fast-growing numbers, educators across the country and throughout the world are finding just how powerful this new interactive Internet can be.



Weblogs, or "blogs," as they are called, can best be defined as Web sites that are easily created and updated by those with even a minimum of technology know-how. What used to be a messy process for Internet publishing is now almost as easy as sending e-mail; no code, no file transfer, and in many cases, no hosting setup. Just login to your site from any Internet connection, enter the content in a typical Internet form, press a button, and your Weblog is updated. And it's not just text. Blogs can display pictures and video, include audio and Flash, and even store other files like PowerPoint presentations or Excel spreadsheets for linking.

Educators have been slower to adopt Weblogs for a variety of reasons, among them access, privacy, and security issues. But as more and more people get on the blog bandwagon, more and more teachers and schools are starting to experiment with the technology as a way to communicate with students and parents, archive and publish student work, for more detail www.your-own-blog.com learn with far-flung collaborators, and "manage" the knowledge that members of the school community create. In fact, many are seeing Weblogs as a cheaper alternative to course management systems.

"The key is that the ease of use inherent in Weblog software makes keeping a classroom or school Web site very easy," Lauer says. "What a teacher or principal decides to note about their classroom or school is key. They can concentrate on the content and not worry about becoming a Web designer."

And one of the best parts, according to Lauer, is the cost. "We use Moveable Type, and it's free for educational use," he said. "It can do just about anything those very expensive course management tools can do. So in times of dwindling school budgets, for more detail www.atoz-about-rss.com the use of tools such as Moveable Type sends a message to our taxpayers that we are resourceful and wise with our school dollars."

A Tool for Collaboration

The collaborative aspect of Weblogs is what has brought many teachers into the fold. Commenting capabilities in many of the blogging software packages allow for easy peer review for students and teachers and make bringing in experts or mentors from outside the classroom easy. One such example is my own experience in a literature class I taught last year.