Pro's and Con's of using a Blog as a class or teaching tool

Advantages of Blogs	Disadvantages of Blogs
Quick and easy way to create a class website1	Takes time to keep a blog updated 1
Encourages class participation and discussion 1	It may be difficult to keep the students blogging about subjects relevant to the class.1
Easy way to practice writing and improve writing skills1	Students may not blog if they are not required to because it takes time 1
A place to collaborate on projects 1	Writing may be more casual than assignments turned in by traditional methods. May encourage sloppy writing habits similar to email and instant messaging.1
Give students a feeling of ownership1	Blogs are not good for questions that require fast answers 1
Once students get in the habit of blogging for class, it is easy to continue writing because it is easy to create your own blog1	Not all college courses have content that is appropriate for discussion and opinion essays 1
More public form of communication than email so it encourages students to organize their thoughts more clearly before writing them 1	If students are required to blog but they do not have anything they want to say, they will only write the minimum and it may not be relevant or useful 1
Encourages students who are shy about talking in class to share their ideas 1	May be difficult for some students who have lower computer skills 1
·         A place for students to express themselves and share information 1	It could be difficult to follow a discussion if replies are in individuals' blogs rather than immediately next to each other 1
Easy for all students to read each other's writing 1	Blogs do not give the feeling of a conversation because there is time delay 1
Easy for instructor find out what the students think and feel about the class and the lesson content 1	Some professors and/or students may not want to learn new technology 1
The class can share their writing with people outside of class.1	Blogs do not offer confidentiality 1
Flexible, lots of uses 1	Blogs may create competition between students 1
References for this chart: PBworks. Blog Pros and Cons. Retrieved from http://meblog.pbworks.com/w/page/11074182/Blog-Pros-and-Cons