Week Two, Things 3 and 4: Blogging

Although this isn't my first blog, it is the first that I plan on tending to over a period of time.  My first blog was when I attempted to start the 23 Things about two years ago and then got caught up in school.  The last one I created was for a class project, reporting information on copyright issues.  Needless to say, that blog also fell to the wayside.  Although valuable as a reporting tool, I am hoping to find that I am more motivated to blog when I am sharing my experiences and opinions.  My investment might spur me on to continue, right?  I do find that the format works so well as a way to show growth or development in a process.  With the possibility of daily posts, one can easily update followers on how things are progressing, or alert them of new developments. And because they are so easy to set up, virtually anyone with access could really be able to create their own blog.  In each of my experiences, either with blogger or edublog, I have found that it is easy to navigate through the setup and customize my blog to fit my purpose and personality.

In regards to students, I would be really curious to hear how others have used blogging.  I have only used it for a limited time with one of my book clubs.  When we set it up, the girls were thrilled and blogged all week long!  How great it was to see my students use this tool to continue their discussion and learning throughout the week.  It also gave them a great opportunity to ask questions of me outside of school.  However, after week one it completely fizzled.  All of the sudden, there was no interest in the blog.  We were still able to discuss the book when we had our discussions, but I was disheartened because the energy and excitement it incited did not translate into long term use.  So I am really wondering if anyone has had success in encouraging students to blog for a longer time frame.  Have you used it in the classroom for class projects?  Those of you in the library, has anyone used it as a way to promote books or programming?  This is definitely a tool that I can see using more often, but I just need  think through what it might look like for larger groups or for my future library.  Something to consider...