Blogging vs. Journaling…Again
Ok, look. We know we’re probably just beating our head against a wall here, but this kind of article really, really bothers us: “On Xanga, students make their life an open blog”.
AAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!
Here’s a contest. Really. It’s easy. Show us how kids using Xanga are blogging. We’re sure there must be some students actually employing all of the information gathering, critical thinking, linking, and annotative writing skills that Weblogs bring to the equation. Find ONE. (Caution: Potentially profane content ahead.) Is this blogging? Or this? Or this?
We just spent fifteen minutes clicking through about 20 Xanga sites and we CAN’T FIND ANY BLOGGING GOING ON! Is it us?
Xanga is not a blog site. It’s an online journal site. There is nothing inherently wrong with journaling online (provided it’s done with the proper precautions.) But there is something wrong with calling that blogging. And that’s what’s happening more and more. And the problem comes when parents and principals equate Xanga and other such sites with blogging, which in turn predisposes them negatively toward efforts to use blogs the way we know they can be used.
AAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!
About the author
Weblogg-ed Team — The Weblogg-ed Team is the collective byline behind our editorial coverage. We write about teaching, learning, and the institutions around them as technology and students keep moving faster than the systems built to serve them. Our work covers classroom practice, edtech and AI tools, online learning, homeschooling, digital literacy, and higher education, written for teachers, school leaders, parents, and lifelong learners who want clearer thinking than the press releases provide.
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