It's nice to see that I'm not alone in thinking that blogging can be an excellent way of getting our students to actually do something with the stuff (foreign languages, for example) they learn. I have started reading Cool Cat Teacher's blog which is crammed full of ideas about using blogs and computers in general in the classroom. I also like her musings on how we should make the best of the equipment that we have rather than complaining about what we don't have. Most of the stuff I do on the net is via 32kbps dial-up connection and it's sometimes very frustrating knowing that in many parts of the world connection speeds are far greater and the cost far lower (a 1mbps connection here cost, until very recently, 178 € per month!!!!) However, this dosn't mean we should give and wait a couple of years until things turn out the way you want. We need to deal with these drawbacks and find a way around them now.
The most important point is that we have to get away from the idea that the computer is simply a text book upgrade and start to see it for what it is; something far more revolutionary, which will change the way everything is taught and the roles of both student and teacher. Scary but possibly a lot of fun as well.
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