lunes, 3 de diciembre de 2018

What is a blog?

Most of us have heard of these "blogs" before, and many of us have visited one at least once. But what are they?

A blog is a website format that allows the owner (referred to as the "blogger") to choose a topic and posts entries related to that topic, which could be information, news, opinions, stories, links to other websites and much more. These entries, commonly referred to as "blog posts", are accessible to anyone with an internet connection, and the blog format allows users to post comments underneath the entries. This also creates an opportunity for the blogger to answer their readers' comments and questions. 

The main difference between a blog and other website formats is that a blog has new entries posted periodically, and these entries are regularly updated. These regular updates are posted in reverse chronological order. Therefore, it could be said that a blog is more dynamic than an ordinary website. This way, we make a distinction between a "blog" and a "static website". To summarize, a blog is basically an online journal, where the blogger posts periodically and shares things with their readers.

Blogs are often used as a support material for another website (static website), which means that another site can have its own blog and use it in order to post regular updates and news about itself. This makes blogs a useful tool to inform and educate their readers. And speaking of education...

Blogs can also be used in the educational field. Following the European Project LTE: Guidelines and Lesson Plans, students can do project work through blogging. The document is about using blogs in language teaching and classifies these blogs as follows:
  • Tutor blog: only teachers are able to post new entries, and students can only write comments. These are often used to encourage online and in-class discussions.
  • Class blog: a space shared by the whole class, both the teacher and the students can post entries. This one is useful for online discussions on subjects touched upon in class.
  • Learner blog: each student has their individual blog, where they write about their own interests and doubts, and they can also post comments on other students' blogs.


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