Skeptical about blogs

Let me just begin by saying that I am skeptical about bloging. Blogs have a yet to be defined role in society. Blogs are giving news media a run for its money … Literally. According to my many drive to work W.N.Y.C. listening sessions, blogs in conjunction with instant access to the news 24/7 have become the media outlet of choice. One popular thought is that blogs can link up like minded people so a great world of collaboration can happen. OK sure I can buy this idea just so long as those like minded people can find each other. I just took a second from writing this entry to do a search on bing.com. I typed in “Technology education blog” and I didn’t get one hit for technology education. I’m a 28 year old technology teacher and I don’t think I am that far out of touch with what is new and cool in the world. If I of all people am having problems finding what I want on the internet than what good is the information if I can’t find it? I do understand how a blog works and all the great information it can give. I look at treehugger.com several times per day in fact. In the world of education I feel that blogs need a clearly defined role. Is this something that teachers are expected to do during the work day? If so will the union negotiate a time for teachers to write blogs? Is this something done on teacher’s free time? For what ? and for who ? Is this something aimed at better communication with parents? Is it less personal than a phone call home? I feel this is going to be a topic that school unions will be taking on in the coming years.