> 36 37 > TEACHING ISSUES TEACHING ISSUES ASPECTS TODAY ΤΕΥΧΟΣ 38 ΣΕΠΤΕΜΒΡΙΟΣ-∆ΕΚΕΜΒΡΙΟΣ 2013 ASPECTS TODAY ISSUE 38 SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 2013 > > The challenge many teachers face is how to incorporate new technology into their classrooms that strengthens classroom learning by capitalizing on learners’ media literacies. Blogging can be used as a knowledge or language-centered instructional tool for state EFL teachers by engaging Ls in individual or collaborative activities and projects. In the hands of teachers and learners (Ls), ‘blogging’ offers a new and powerful toolkit for the support of both collaborative and individual learning by creating an amazing and friendly community for sharing ideas, participating in challenges and developing professionally as well. 1. Introduction ‘Blogging’, a new and innovative technological tool, can be used in English as Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms to support learning by relying on Ls’ interests and familiarity with online communication. 'Blogging' - a contraction of the term 'web logging' – has emerged in many educational contexts as a vehicle for integrating face-to-face and online modes of learning. The main purpose of this article is to familiarize state EFL teachers with blogging practices by focusing on the ‘why’ and ‘how’ to blog through the Greek School Network. It discusses the potential of blogging to effectively support classroom learning and outlines the suitability of blogging for Foreign Language (FL) education. In particular, blogging is a ‘social activity’ which has the potential to be a transformational technology for FL teaching and learning at the Greek state schools by fostering EFL learners’ sense of autonomy, and perception of language awareness/ development in a pleasant, stimulating, collaborative and interactive way. 2. What is a blog? A’ blog’ is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. The term blog is a shortened form of weblog (or web log). Authoring a blog, maintaining a blog or adding an article to an existing blog is called ‘blogging’. Individual articles on a blog are called ‘blog posts’, ‘posts’ or ‘entries’. A person who posts these entries is called a ‘blogger’. A blog comprises text, hypertext, images, and links to other web pages and to video, audio and other files 1 . Blogs use a conversational style of documentation. The process of reading online, engaging a community, and reflecting it online is a process of bringing life into learning. As Richardson (2006) comments, “This [the blogging process] just seems to me to be closer to the way we learn outside of school, and I don’t see those things happening anywhere in traditional education”. And he asks: “Could blogging be the needle that sews together what is now a lot of learning in isolation with no real connection among the disciplines? I mean ultimately, aren’t we trying to teach our kids how to learn, and isn’t that [what] blogging is all about?” 3. Why to blog? 3.1 Theoretical Review What makes blogs so attractive, in both the educational community and the Internet at large, is Key words: blog, blogging, posts, collaboration, autonomy, professional development, social activity, critical thinking Maria D. Tzotzou Blogging for State EFL Teachers: ‘Why’ and ‘How’ to Blog through the Greek School Network 1 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog ▲