Practice makes Perfect

Integrating appropriate technology into the classroom is a mandate given through objectives, standards, and benchmarks from federal, state, and local educational agencies. As I attempt to weave technology into my classroom that is meaningful and proper for my curricular objectives, I do not want to include it for purely technotainment purposes. As I consider incorporating blogs into my high school math and science classes, I want to make sure my students are safe from unforeseen outside distracters. While there are ways to mitigate these dangers, the nature of the internet is too complex to control all the variables. I would be interested to hear from teachers who have incorporated blogging into their classes about some of their successes and red flags to be aware of. Does the advantages blogging in a classroom setting outweigh the disadvantages? Thank you for helping me determine if blogging is appropriate for my classroom situation.