The primary advantage of the cyberjournal is that it encourages writing which is collaborative and research that is interdisciplinary. Issues raised in the journal entries can also be addressed in class to foster more in-depth discussions. The cyberjournal is an especially effective tool which can help students write more efficiently. Essay topics can actually be gleaned from the journal entries themselves in conjunction with the steps discussed by Rakes. The storm of ideas will be much stronger with more brainpower.
Students can read each other's ideas for essays and make comments.
Likewise, the instructor should join in the process, encouraging certain topics and making suggestions from the outset. A search can be performed through all of the subject fields, allowing for a truly interdisciplinary approach to research. Students can easily share their research with the class in the cyberjournal, making research a more efficient and collaborative method. Also of note, students can maintain a list of books checked out from the library by members of the course, encouraging the sharing of information. This early writing stage should be included in the cyberjournal primarily for consistency.