Using blogs in the classroom

The math blog looked like a really good way for students to get immediate feedback and also to see what assignments were due and when. It also seemed like the blog had people from all over the world as regular visitors. this would be fun way for students to see how different culters and societies go about learning and teaching. But what about students that don't have computers in their homes? I'm sure they can gain access to the internet via the school library but I wonder how much time they have available to use the machines at the school.
The article "Don't feed the Trolls," by Karen Work Richardson, laid out some very good guide lines for teachers looking to utilize blogs along with their other teachings methods. The gist of the article was that students first need to know the boundaries and they also need to "think first, then post." This ensures that the blog is a safe and mutually respectful place for students to speak their minds and to share information.
An assignment that I planned on using at some point was to have my kids watch a sporting event of any kind either on T.V. or preferably in person over a particular weekend. A great way for me to help my students with this assignment would be to have a blog that listed several sporting events with the times and location that they were all taking place. With a blog in place, students could organize and plan trips together. And then share stories of how the event was. Which would hopefully encourage other students to attend more events in the future. As a Health teacher, it would be helpful to set up a blog similar to the math blog we looked at. Creating a rich source of information and a place where information was easily exchanged between teacher and students and between students and their peers.