People should be fully aware of the concept of blogging. Writing a blog is about getting your views and thoughts conveyed to as many people around the world as possible.

In other words, the basic purpose of blogging is to make use of different thoughts, concepts, and beliefs so that others may benefit from reading it. A blog can use different styles and formats—it all depends upon the user’s preference.

Increasing Popularity Among Youth

When the word “blog” first emerged on the internet, most people did not have any idea about this concept. They did not know its main purpose. Later, this terminology, which is a short form of “weblog,” became a common term for everyone due to its increasing popularity.

Fast Facts:

The following interesting facts related to different blogs.

• According to a report of the state of the Blogosphere in 2010, 42% of bloggers promote brands through their blogs.
• According to Marketing Daily, 8 out of 10 people have a basic understanding of blogging. Today, the most well-known kind of website is a blog, which helps engage people with the help of social networking.
• According to a report by Universal McCann, 775 of active internet users read blogs.
• BlogPulse mentioned that 68,312 new blogs are formed every day.
• Today there are about 156.3 million blogs.
• According to MarketingCharts.com, if only American blog readers are considered, they search for similar blogs on a regular basis.
• More than 25% of bloggers are starting to use mobile blogging.

Role of Blogging in Education

“Weblogs at Harvard Law” was the first place to use blogging in higher education. At the Brisbane Graduate School of Business, a survey entitled “MBA Blog” explored students’ perceptions of blogging. The results indicated that students consider blogging to be an essential part of their education. In the coming years, blogging is expected to help students interact with others at any time. In this way students can become connected to the technology as well.

Benefits for Students

Blogging Is Fun: The best way to learn is to make learning fun for students. Students actually enjoy the tasks at hand rather than becoming bored. In this regard, blogging has played an integral role.

Source of Motivation for New Writers: For students who are new to writing, blogging is the best platform from which to prove their writing abilities.

Engaging Readers: Blogging is very beneficial for those who like to read as students can access a variety of blogs on several different topics.

Improved Level of Confidence: Blogging helps individuals build their confidence level by showcasing their strengths in a particular field of interest.

Exposure to Technology: Blogging involves widgets, images, and multimedia.

Improve Validation as well as Proofreading Skills: If someone is bad at proofreading and validation, he or she should start working on a blog as it will help him/her improve these skills.

Sharing of Ideas: Blogging helps users share ideas openly. Bloggers can get both positive and negative feedback from readers.

Mutual Learning: Blogging creates an atmosphere of learning for students as well as teachers.

Digital Portfolios: Blogs are also beneficial for digital portfolios.

Responsibility and Trustworthiness: By blogging, students can reveal their responsibility and trustworthiness while building their independence.

Professional Development: Blogging also plays an important role in the professional development of students.

Guidelines for Safe Student Blogging

When blogging, try to adopt following guidelines.

• Always post those things that you want everyone to be aware of.
• Avoid sharing your personal information as it may harm you and your image.
• Before posting anything, think about the potential consequences in the future.
• You should be aware of your target market—namely, with whom you will communicate. How will others respond to your blog?
• You should also know about constructive feedback. Avoid using inappropriate language and slang.
• Your language should be appropriate, including proper grammar and spelling.
• Post verified information only.
• If you are getting help from another website, try to cite the owner of that website in a proper way.

As a blogger you will be commenting on others’ work on a regular basis. Therefore, your comments should be constructive, not hurtful. When giving any comment, always consider the writer of the particular blog as well as the main objective of the post. Your comment must be related to the matter of that particular post. The comment should include personal associations. Try to answer different queries and add different meaningful facts and figures related to the topic. Last but not least, always try to follow writing criteria as comments are basically a published form of writing.

Rules for Responsible Student Blogging

Make a Checklist of the Facts and Figures: Today, technology plays a vital role in producing and sharing content; as a result, the scope of information is increasing throughout the world with the help of social networking, bookmarked sites, and blogging. Make sure that all your facts and figures are correct. For this purpose, a proper checklist is the best option.

Obey Copyright Rules and Regulations: Most people relate online web content with public domain web content. All published web content is copyrighted, even if it is not mentioned. Try to be aware of the copyright law so as to avoid big losses.

Consider Assumptions and Suggestions: Try to consider the significance of your post. Once your work is published online, it will be impossible to control your words. Proofreading your work is another good option.

Control the Response and Feedback: You are responsible for each and every thing posted on your personal blog, including not only what is added to your blog, but also the feedback posted by your readers in comments. Create comment criteria and attach this information to the feedback form to make the feedback process clear to all readers.

Give Acknowledgements: Try to give recognition to your sources. You can mention a link that you have used for assistance while writing at the bottom of your post. If you are considering free templates like WordPress, make sure to acknowledge the authors.

Reveal Your Professional Relationships: If you are associated with any organization, you should mention it in the “About” page of your blog as this will help others explore your personality.

Tips for Teachers in Guiding Students’ Blogging

Selection of a Simple Platform for Students: Always select a simple platform for you as well as for the students. In terms of simplicity, Kidblog is the best blog for students as well as teachers as this blog is free and encourages moderation. One can also use EduBlogs or WordPress.

Blogging Sessions: The teacher should first assign a concept of blogging to students. For this purpose, a paper blogging session is the ideal choice. Students should be told about the concept, purpose, and appropriate method of blogging to be followed.

Proper Demonstration: Teachers should demonstrate the commenting function for students. For effective blogging, comments and feedback are very important as they are a source of motivation and appreciation for new bloggers. In this way, conversational knowledge can be enhanced. Students should be aware of how to acknowledge readers and what pattern to follow when answering their queries.

Ask Students about Blogging: Start the activity with an introduction. First ask students that what they know about blogging, then have them comment on one another’s posts. This will help students build their own community.

Parents’ Participation: Encourage parents to take part in this activity as well as parents’ personality has a huge impact on the lives of their children.

Showcase the Work of Other Students: Share the blogs of other students to inspire students and help them polish their own skills as well as identify flaws in their work.

Give Students Space: Let students explore. If your students are interested in playing with images, videos, fonts, and colors, let them do so. Students can create their own identities online.

Do Not Grade Your Students: As far as blogging is concerned, don’t grade your students because the main purpose of blogging is to practice writing and improve their writing skills.

Give your Students Different Challenges: Give your students a challenge. You can also assign them a topic. This step will help their research skills.

Conclusion

Blogging is becoming increasingly popular every day, and its popularity will only increase in the near future. Blogging is the best way to share thoughts, ideas, and creativity by incorporating different pictures, videos, charts, and tables. Different surveys have identified the role of blogging in education. For students, blogging can be a fun source of motivation that improves their confidence as a writer. It can also play an important role in professional development. To ensure safe student blogging, teachers should follow the guidelines in this article.