I read an interesting article entitled HOT Blogging: A Framework for Blogging to Promote Higher Order Thinking Skills. It was written by Lisa Zawilinski and published in Reading Teacher in 2009.
In the article the author does a great job of discussing the internet as the current generations defining technology for literacy and talks about the need to integrate these literacies in the curriculum. She also points out that blogging does not simply develop communication skills but is also an essential aspect of online reading comprehension because on the Internet writing is integrated with the reading comprehension process. This leads to a discussion of using blogging to encourage higher order thinking (HOT) skills.
One of the interesting points that the author makes is that blogs provide an authentic audience for the student's work, meaning blogging can potentially be one of those 'authentic activities' we work hard to offer to our students. She also points out that blogs can help bridge the gap between out-of-school literacies and in-school literacies.
This is obviously a very brief summary of the article but I wanted to share it because I think it would be a very valuable read for anyone considering using blogging in their K-12 classroom.
