The Advantages and Disadvantages of e-mails and blogs, online communication tools discussed in

the chat

By: Silkia Cristina Avilés Del Valle

E-mail

Electronic mail, most commonly abbreviated email and e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages. E-mail systems are based on a store-and-forward model in which e-mail computer server systems accept, forward, deliver and store messages on behalf of users, who only need to connect to the e-mail infrastructure, typically an e-mail server, with a network-enabled device for the duration of message submission or retrieval.

Advantages

It’s one of the fastest ways of giving a message to a person. At the present even cell phones can receive emails.

Assignments can be emailed to students with the assignment actually being to reply to the email. This may be used when a teacher is not able to come to the school or when the student is absent.

Advantages

It is a very “green” way to turn in for example essays that contain 20 pages. Sometimes it is not necessary to kill a tree just to write a couple of words. And you can keep a copy of all of your assignments to use in the future or for evidence if assignments get lost.

A very important aspect of the email is that you can have it for free. There exist plenty of sources that give free email accounts. Free things are just great!

You can always use emails to send students notes of encouragement throughout the school year!

Disadvantages

The biggest disadvantage is that a person needs a computer and the internet service to receive the email, otherwise it is impossible.

Email accounts are not often secure, private information may be stolen.

It is a very impersonal way to give news or an important message to a person. Some people might feel limited of writing things that they would rather say in person and a complete message cannot be conveyed.

It is time consuming because you have to be sure that it is well written or you might even offend someone by a simple mistake.

And the biggest disadvantage is that you might think that you sent the email to a particular person and for misspelling one letter it could go to someone else or to no one. And some attachments are freaky and don’t open, specially the ones that you need.

Disadvantages

Blog

A blog is a type of website, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.

Advantages

Using a blog makes learning independent of time and place. Not everyone has to be in the same place or even country.

Using a blog encourages learners to be active throughout the course period like our chat meetings that I never miss.

Using a blog may help some learners to improve their writing abilities. (grammar)

Using a blog invites people to collaborate.

Using a blog encourages people to continuously try new things out.

Advantages

Disadvantages

As everyone can participate on a blog, bias or inaccurate information may happen.

Some people are afraid of exchanging their thoughts, either because of fear of embarrassment or because they don’t want others to steal their ideas.

Not all students or people are willing to collaborate with new projects and some might only go to the blog to do harm or just lo loose everyone’s time.

Not everyone is willing to try new things and are afraid of changes and prefer the regular classroom.

Not everyone has the ability to write what they can think or say. It is actually very challenging for some people to covey complete thoughts in paper even more difficult in a computer.

Disadvantages

References

https://www.gaggle.net/gaggler/The_Gaggler_Vol3Iss2.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/email http://

www.slideshare.net/frankcalberg/11-advantages-of-using-a-blog-for-teaching