In the field of higher education in particular, where online asynchronous communication has
taken place, either through email or discussion boards, blogs have been used in a number of
different roles, which have both extended and in some instances replaced existing online
communication tools. This has indicated the usefulness of blogs as communication and/or
cognitive tools for specific disciplines, such as language learning, journalism and communication
studies, academic research, law, higher education in general, and teachers’ professional
development.