Online blogging

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Kevin Brancato is proud to say he writes like a blogger. The 26-year-old doctoral student at George Mason University says keeping up a "blog" -- shorthand for a Web log -- has only enhanced his writing skills.

Blogging may not wash with wizened educators, or those who distrust modern advances, but a group of educational experts sees blogging as a way for students to hone their writing skills while discussing ideas they otherwise may never have encountered.

Isn't that what education is supposed to be all about?

Blogs are the modern equivalent of a garden variety diary, but with an electronic, interactive twist. Postings are listed in chronological order and often include links to relevant Web sites or articles. People can sign up for their own blogs at sites such as www.blogspot.com for free. These sites allow visitors without any knowledge of computer programming start their own, updatable blogs in just a few minutes.

Mr. Brancato began his Web site, www.truckandbarter.com, a little over a year ago and keeps it up as much as his schedule allows.

"To me, the format wasn't the big draw. It was the interaction the format brought," says Mr. Brancato, whose blog mulls over everything from politics to economic theory.

"There's a definite diversity," he says of the online exchanges. "It's an opportunity to meet new people and new ideas. It's the people I don't know that are out there that I wouldn't have 'met' otherwise."

He made a list of some of the topics covered on his blog over the last year. The array of themes stunned him.