Blogs are the on-line equivalent of hard-copy journals or diaries. As such, they allow for personal expression in writing as well as for reflection. What is more, blogs allow students to collaborate by sharing and responding to ideas--this has the potential to enhance their verbal literacy since they are reading and writing in response to their peers. The teacher can use blogs in the classroom to enhance learning--specifically reading and writing.

Publishing of students' writing is easily facilitated--no specialised technical knowledge is required and this is the final stage of the writing process. This can aid the building of student's self-esteem and motivation to write. Moreover, the writing process can be engaged to develop a piece of writing and stylistically enhance and refine it with the aim to publish.

Moreover, blogs can be used to promote narrative writing as students share out of their own life experiences and this can be used as a launchpad for reading online published narratives and responding in writing by blogging with the class community.

Blogs are also multi-disciplinary in that students can express their perceptions about a range of topics across content areas in addition to being able to critique each others' writing on-line. This in turn equips them to edit their own writing with a greater level of proficiency while improving their critical and strategic reading skills.

Becoming au courant with ICT can be very time-consuming but as an educator, the time invested is worthwhile: Students and colleagues alike can enter a virtual world of exploring new concepts, new ways of doing but above all, new ways of learning. This is indeed an imperative in today's world of fast-paced technological advance. To not be a meaningful part of it is to be sidelined into the quagmire of obsolescence. A challenge, yes, but quite an interesting one at that.
Juliet