I must say that I don't really like leaving comments. I was always the student who didn't participate all that much in class...I was paying attention but definitely not the first one to raise my hand. I would much rather give "personal" comments via e-mail or something instead of publishing something so public. But, I can see where publishing public comments could be a good thing. I guess it's more of a personal preference because I do think that there is a time and place for comments. Maybe as I get more into blogging and using more Web 2.0 tools, I will become more comfortable with joining the virtual conversation.
I can see where commenting would be a great tool for students to use as they share their writing and learn to be both good writers and critical readers. I can imaging having students publish lab reports following in-class activities and having other students read through those reports for a peer review activity. It would also be a good tool for students to use if they share "Science in the News" articles. Students find current news articles that talk about science and summarize the articles. Having students publish their summaries and comment on other ones would let them share in an entirely different way (rather than just seeing the summaries as something they are writing for me).
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I was that student too! I really hate being required to comment on a post (I've had to do this for several different classes now) because the comments seem so artificial and contrived. For that reason, I can't quite bring myself to require students to comment on our class blog. However, I'm going to try to think of more "authentic" ways I can require blog participation--I like the ways you mention.
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