Introductory reflection

There's nothing like sitting in a car with your thirteen year old daughter and a Macbook learning how to create a blog to get the brain working. Last night was my introduction to blogs. I've never used one before and certainly never created one. We were in a car because at present, we don't have an internet connection at our house. I found the process easy and chose blogger or blogspot for several reasons. First, it was what the other students had used. Secondly, when I googled blogs, it was what appeared. Thirdly, as I checked out the sign in process, it was so direct and simple that before I knew it I'd created my blog.
I like the idea of writing reflections in a blogspace. I teach two classes of AVID ( a type of college prep course which originated in the U.S. and was piloted in several schools throughout B.C. of which mine was one). The course helps middle of the road students to better prepare themselves for post secondary education. One of the key components of the course is to get students learning 'smarter not harder' by trying different study techniques and reflecting on what works and doesn't work for them.
While driving home, it occurred to me that what you were asking us to do, is exactly what I ask my students to do, except they do it on pen and paper. I'm sure they would much rather do it on a blog, and would be far more likely to read each others reflections and comment on them as well. The other advantage would be that parents could check in on their child's reflections and have better direction for meaningful discussions about their child's learning processes at home.
Many students are more at ease with a keyboard in front of them rather than pen and paper. They text each other regularly and seem more comfortable expressing themselves that way.
It is an ideal medium for their reflections.
I have some concerns in that I am a hands on marker and like to interact with the text as I read it, so I am hoping that as the course progresses, I will learn about all of the tools available with blogs and find that I can interact with their work just as easily on a screen as on a printed page.
I am a strong believer in face to face communication, but my brief glimpse of the blog process has gotten me excited about its potential in my classroom.