Educational Blogging. Is it a benefit or risk for an educator?

I am new to the world of blogging, but I can see how it would be a useful tool for students in the classroom today. Although not all students have access to internet and that would have to be taken into consideration, most students are fully capable of surfing the web from their homes. As I was researching ways that technology, blogging in particular, can be implemented in to education today, I found that for a majority of students, the technological advances of blogging could benefit the various learning styles. One example of this is the ability to have guided practice available at your home. My high school students are consistently saying their parents don't know how to help them with their homework so they aren't able to complete it. Having a class blog allows the student to access videos throughout the evening. A great example of this is by creating videos of the teacher walking students through a math problem. They can practice it over and over until they understand the process to solve the problem. This allows the student to actually master the skill and not just push their way through the assignment. Another way blogging can assist in the learning process is by allowing students to collaborate and discuss topics with each other without doing it vocally. I remember when I was in middle school I was deathly afraid of talking in front of the class. If I had a class blog, it would have allowed me the opportunity to ask questions and collaborate with my classmates free of fear from middle school cruelty. One of the most important aspects to blogging within education is the fact that it provides a one-stop resource center for the students and parents. If a student is missing assignments, as an educator you can reduce the amount of "What did we do yesterday? I wasn't here," questions that teachers become flooded with throughout the year. All in all, I believe blogging is a great educational resource for students, parents and teachers. With any type of technological aid, a teacher needs to make sure they are responsible with what is being posted to this very public page. However, In my opinion the benefits out weigh the dangers of educational blogging.