2. What Students Will Learn

Indeed, “learning is a permanent change in behaviour” (Finger et al., 2007, p.112). With students of the 21^st Century, computers and ICT have formed part of their everyday life. However, with this sense of immediacy granted to students with technology, there has been a noticeable drop in National Literacy levels. As the ‘drill and practice’ routines seem to have fallen somewhat by the wayside, teachers need to find ways to make students more diligent in their approach to writing with care.

Blogs are a perfect avenue to go down. We know that “students spend more time writing when they know their work will be displayed on a website…that others will see” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p.284). It plays on students’ very atavistic notions of shame and pride.

While this practice isn’t exactly a learning activity, if the blog is used continuously, the idea of ‘drill and practice’ returns. Each day, each post, each entry, each composition will be done with more care and diligence. Indeed, we can begin to see how “students can use ICT to perform traditional classroom tasks more efficiently” (Finger et al., 2007, p.110). It will drive them to higher plateaus of success. Robyler & Doering (2010, p.284) concur, stating “students are more likely…to take more care with spelling and language conventions when they have an authentic audience”.

Certainly, the use of a blog – especially when combined with other Web 2.0 technologies – is authentic. Not merely in principle, but in practice also.