Thing 4: Blogging

Thanks to this course, I am beginning to explore the “Blog” world. I’ve known that it’s been out there and that I should be exploring blogging as an educator, teacher and using it with our students. But the time…as was so nicely identified in The Ripe Environment blog. The time is so hard to find and define. I found the proposal for getting “beyond the tools” provided incites to help beginners, like me, start their blogging adventure.

As a learner, I need to work through the process first for myself in order to find meaningful ways to use a tool with my students. One of the key elements to blogging is to find meaningful way for students to have their voices heard. However on the flip side, sometimes I just need to dive in and experiment or else I’ll never get it started. Sometimes those bumps in the road are needed to help you elevate your project.

Another blog I enjoyed was The Rationale for Educational Blogging by EduBlogs. This provided a great background into blogging and the key elements to think about as you plan the blog experience for your students. This article really focused on the skills to be addressed by blogging. While there appears to be a natural connection between writing and blogging, it’s really more more more than writing.

So far, I’m finding that the blogging environment stretches my ideas, my thoughts, my own learning…. The questions posed are there for you to ponder. Bloggers are looking for people to respond on both sides of situation. They want you to extend your own thinking, learning and add to the conversation. So I thank you.