Penzu.com : An Awesome Online Journal

Good Afternoon!   Our assignment for ETC 567 involves checking out Web 2.0 Tools.  These tools seem to be free, online materials that anyone with internet access can use.  They can help manage day to day life, like the Apps on a cell phone, and can also be used in the schools.  I will be reviewing the tools that can be used in the classroom, for obvious reasons.
Online journals are great ways to communicate with a large variety of people.  Friends, family, teachers, and others can jump into your journal, depending on the password protection, and catch up on what is going on in your life.  It is very similar to blogging and tweeting, but a little more involved and personal.  This online blogger, at penzu.com, is very impressive and easy to set-up.  Students could do this, with district/parent permission, in no more than 15 minutes.
One attribute that I am already loving is the lined paper look.  It is very student and teacher friendly, as it appears to be in a homework style from beginning to end.  I also like the extra features, like the word count in the upper right hand corner, the autosave that continues to happen as I type, and the automatic date placed in the upper right.
Typing is really simple as well.  All of the quick buttons work, like the undo/redo buttons.  I'm sure if I tried to copy and paste it would work as well.  One part of the typing that I do not appreciate is the tab.  When you press tab, it indents the first paragraph, not the line you are on.  This is a strange feature.
At the top of an entry you find black buttons that allow you to do several things.  The one that I would use most is the SHARE tab, as it would allow students to send you their information through email.  Because it is over the internet, students can work on it at school and finish at home, another nice characteristic of Penzu.
So, besides the Tab button, I believe that this is a great tool!  I could use it in my classroom for continuous journal entries in writing, assignments and summaries that need to be turned in, and online dialog between my class/classes.  When I come across bigger issues, I will share them.