Instructional Applications of Blogging

I think that there are many uses for blogging in the classroom.
As a teacher, I believe that I could construct a classroom blog in order to keep my students and their parents informed as to what is occurring in the classroom. I believe that this could differ from a normal classroom website because it could allow for discussion to occur between students on projects, or with the parents themselves.

For students, I think that it would be a good idea to have them create their own blogs so that they could provide their own reflections on projects. I think that this would be a great way to incorporate literacy into classroom projects and in area content area. 
I also believe that this could be a great informal assessment tool for the teacher. It could allow for the teacher to see what exactly each student is doing and has accomplished in the class so that they could better tailor their lessons to fit the needs of the students.