I'm new to the blogging world...

I'm a little embarrassed to admit it but I'm new to blogs.  I know what a blog is and have stumbled across blogs while surfing the internet but the only real experience I've had is with my neighborhood blog.  My neighborhood here in DC has a blog that I've looked at a bunch of times to see what's new as far as construction and development because for the last 5 years or so we have been going through a major transition.  A few years ago they built a Target and a bunch of other stores right at the end of my street.  The people who live here would write in what they knew and what they heard about the development.  I was disappointed when I started viewing entries that were anger driven and it seemed that it turned into a spot for a few people to rant and rave at each other.  I wasn't alone, some residents wrote in expressing their irritation.

I enjoyed the first 3 chapters in Richardson's text and learned a lot about the history of the read/write web, what a blog is, uses for and types of blogs and blogs in schools.  I'm not a classroom teacher but I started thinking about ways teachers can use blogs in the classroom.  The school I work at is an Expeditionary Learning school and they do some peer to peer teaching and critique.  A classroom blog for that purpose would be a great fit and the students would love it!