BY JONATHAN CANNON

HERALD DEMOCRAT

As Whitesboro students log on to the Internet tonight, the youngsters could be visiting their teachers' blogs to complete the day's homework assignment.

Superintendent Steve Kolb said the district is encouraging its teachers to use blogging regularly in the classroom, and he is leading the way by example.

"We are encouraging our staff to use blogging in their classrooms for both instruction and information," Kolb said in his first post on his blog, which is linked back to the district's Web site.

Kolb said his blog serves as more than just an example for teachers, however.

"It's an easy way to communicate with anybody who wants to listen about our school district," he said in an interview.

The technology, he said, can help teachers by providing a means for paperless assignments, hosting audio and video podcasts and allowing students to easily learn from each other through commenting.

"The more I can put technology in my classroom the more they learn, and the better they retain the knowledge in the long term," said Whitesboro High School Teacher Keenan Liles.

Liles regularly using her blog to pose questions to students relating to the class discussion.

Since she started using the technology, she said more students are regularly completing their assignments.

"They can go to their phone, or the computer in the library, or the one at home and they can just log in," Liles said. "They'll be out there surfing the Internet and say, 'Oh, wait a minute. I've got to hit Liles' site. I've got homework due.'"

Though for those without Internet access at home, handwritten homework is still accepted, she said.

Other teachers, such as Candi White and Tina Yant, both intermediate teachers, use their blogs to post the week's spelling list, along with video of students' character book reports.

Liles said she thought the anonymity the Web affords its users helps students feel comfortable with discussion when they might not participate in class. However, she said she is careful to emphasize that the perceived anonymity is a double-edged sword.

Liles said the district teaches students Web safety as a part of their technology curriculum and she emphasizes, especially to her senior students, that potential employers may be looking at social sites and blogs when considering an employee.

"Just be aware that what you put out there does reflects on you," Liles said she tells her students.

Still, despite the potential pitfalls, Liles and Kolb said the technology is here to stay and students need to be prepared to enter a world and a workforce where it's a part of everyday life.

"I think it's something the student and the teachers need to get real familiar with because we're in the communication age," Kolb said. "There's no better way for our teachers and our students to communicate with each other."