If there is one subject that most bloggers have written about, it is probably the act of blogging. I know for me, as well as many of my blogging friends, it is nothing like we imagined before we were immersed in the “blogosphere”. Bloggers start their blogs for many different and personal reasons. One step common to all however, is that it does take an act of courage to publish that first blog post.
When I first started, I thought that I would do apiece here and there for a little while, but that I would eventually run out of things to say. Three years later, after 237 posts, I am still waiting for that time to arrive. My areas of interest include education and social media. I guess as long as each of those areas continue to evolve, I will always have something to write about.
Another factor that affects what I blog is the continuing change in the audience. In order to access blog posts, a reader must be involved in some way with technology. That is a growing audience especially among educators. Most people use technology in everyday life, but more and more, educators are using technology for professional development in larger numbers. In order to access the most relevant information on the profession of education, educators are relying more on blog posts for relevancy. Many thought leaders and education authors are blogging their thoughts to share, test, and try out new ideas in education.
Twitter, which is considered to be micro-blogging, has lured many people to blogging. It limits the author to 140 characters, but it does however, enable one to blast out ideas for quick responses. Success on Twitter leaves some people with a need to do more. There are ideas that need to be placed in explanations longer than a string of 140 character tweets may allow. Many ideas are introduced and tersely discussed in tweets and chats on Twitter, but they demand more reflection and more explanation, which leads to blogging. The biggest effect of Twitter chats is often reflected in the blog posts following, and resulting from the chats.
Blogging changes the way many people think about new, and old ideas. The difference between writing a Blog post and writing a magazine or journal article is the immediate feedback in the form of comments or responses. Before a blogger puts words to the computer screen the audience and its reaction are a consideration. The blogger will strive for clarity in thought. The blogger will strive for clarity in the writing. The blogger will attempt to anticipate objections. The blogger will not rush the idea in print, but develop it, so that it evolves before the reader. It is less a reaction, and more of a transparent reflection of thought, benefitting the writer as much as the reader. This will begin to carry over into the way the writer approaches almost everything.
For a blogging educator, as a teacher, or administrator, student or even a parent, there becomes a transparency in their thinking and reflecting. Before technology enabled us, this process had never been available, or had so much access to an individual’s thought process been given. Before the technology, books and magazines enabled us to view it in only a few people who were privileged to media access. Today the computer is the publisher. Good or bad, anyone can publish at anytime.
The stunningly apparent, positive take-away from blogging is that it gives voice to the blogger. A thoughtful, reflective, considered post can be picked up by an audience and sent out to thousands, or millions of readers through technology.
Blog posts can also be used for propaganda, or mindless ranting. As educators we need to emphasize critical thinking in our classes for that very reason. We need to model for our students how to responsibly question. We need to teach them how to comment and respond to blog posts. If blog posts are part of our ever-evolving, technology-driven culture, we need to educate our children in their use.
As educators we must also be learners. We need to model learning for our students who need to understand the necessity to be a life long learner. Educators are also people who work with ideas and share. It takes courage to put one’s self on the line to be scrutinized by others. Teachers do it every day in schools. The most effective way to have one’s voice recognized in sharing ideas in order to consider, reflect, modify, and improve with the greatest audience possible is through blogging.
We need courageous administrators blogging to give transparency to their thoughts and leadership. We need educators to have the courage to experiment with blogging placing them squarely in the conversation of education from which they are too often blocked. Educators need to be models for their students. We need our students blogging to follow their teacher models. Blogging provides an audience for students’ work. It is an authentic audience and not an audience of one, as have been most of their previous writing experiences. It gives voice to their concerns, and it shows them direction for their personal learning. We need parents to blog to give voice to their concerns in directing the conversation for the needs of their children.
Since becoming a blogger, I view things differently. I question things more. I try to understand things well enough, so that I can explain them simply. Most importantly I have been recognized as a person to be taken seriously, because I have a voice. These are things I wish for everyone to experience. What good is education, if we do not have a voice to share what we have learned in order to benefit all?
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Yes Tom you have a great voice and you helped get me blogging although not education blogging…but I do have a voice and I love teaching folks about my topics. I do wish I had done an administrator blog but too late now as I have retired and am glad to be moving on.
This is a really encouraging post! Thanks for putting into words what I think now about blogging! I say now, because I had never thought I would be writing about my experiences as a teacher. Shelly Sanchez Terrell is kind of guilty of my blogging when she invited me to join her 30 Goals Challenge for Educators and here I am, writing to you, too! We need more and more gentlemen like you. Thanks you very much for being an inspiration.
I agree with you, Tom, that blogging is a way to be transparent in our thinking and reflecting. I don’t blog nearly as much as I should and often write posts without sharing them. It is scary to put myself out there with my honest thoughts and be subjected to scrutiny. Thank you for the encouragement and for sharing your journey of how blogging has transformed your thinking as well as your life. I am inspired to publish my posts more often to grow from my reflections and from the feedback I get from others on my posts.
So much to say about this! I started blogging less than a year ago and I have loved it most of the time. I find it interesting that you talked about needing courageous administrators and educators to express themselves…I couldn’t agree more. But my guess is that it’s an impossible dream. It seems like most employed educators are very much afraid of voicing their real opinions in any public way for fear of losing their jobs. When I conducted a survey a few months ago asking teachers to talk about how they feel toward their administrators, people were even reluctant to anonymously comment on that, because they didn’t want their admin to somehow trace the comment back to them. Being a non-working teacher means I can say whatever I want and give voice to those who can’t speak for themselves. Of course, it might mean I never get another job again…
Thanks Tom http://smartucate.blogspot.com/
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One of my favorite posts of yours Tom. Who should blog? Every learner and educational stakeholder should blog. Why? Because blogs are outstanding platforms for digital portfolios. Processes, competencies, and reflections tell and share the story of the learner. Building learning content, soliciting feedback from an authentic audience, and as you said so well, giving voice to the learner are all among the most powerful reasons to blog. My professional mission; a “blogfolio” for every learner. http://goo.gl/ytPvuE
I wonder – not think – if it is important or relevant that everyone should write a blog? I am not convinced that my specific point of view or my specific relevance is a voice worth expressing in a blog. However, contributing to a discussion like this and adding a specific point of view does have value and – if many people would comment – would make discussions on current topics “full”.. Not sure I’m right saying this or if it is what I really believe , but I thought I would throw this out there.
I enjoy reading your blog.
Great post. Very encouraging, too. I am about to publish my first post -I am trying to gather the courage to push the “publish” button. So I feel a bit how you described yourself with your first post, too! Great to see it is normal!
Why do I want to blog? Mainly to share my experience in this new stage in my teaching career, introducing tech and social media in the classroom. Should I? Well, as Norbert Kaspar mentions, it may not be all that relevant for everyone and I am likely to post things other teachers may find silly or untrue, after all I am only regular teacher trying to do my best in class. But if it my post can spark discussion, all the feedback should have a positive effect in my practice and community. So, I hope to experience soon all the outcomes you mention. Encouragement and inspiration can be found in the blogosphere, too. Thanks!
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Thanks Tom – This is very timely, I will be sharing it when I am doing a workshop for teachers next week on blogging.
I liked not being a known blogger at my school. I shared it with those I felt were like minded, and then I was posted in a Top Ten Blogs feature in a local online newspaper. Now that I have been found I am more careful with my words, not that what I said was bad or incriminating. But now I make sure every post is well written and timely.
It is not for everyone though. I have a few colleagues who feel very uncomfortable that I blog. They have some deep seeded fear that someday I will have to pay for something I wrote. They think something I say will be taken out of context.
Great post Tom. Bloggers in education and edtech are definitely enhancing (and creating) dialogue, spreading new ideas and approaches. Blogs stimulate sharing of best practices, which IMO is the most important thing we can do to improve how we educate kids. I agree it would be great to see more educators get in the blogging game.
Tom, I wholeheartedly agree with your points. As a classroom teacher of third and fourth graders for twenty years, I never had a voice like the one I now have as a aTwitter user (@edu_maples) and as an educational blogger at techencounter.wordpress.com. I enjoy sharing my reflections as a K-5 Technology Teacher and giving examples of students creating and communicating. During the month of March, I took the Slice of Life Writing Challenge by http://www.twowritingteachers.wordpress.com and have been blogging a slice of my life daily. My students use Gaggle to blog about articles they read at sites that I suggest such as http://www.dogonews.com. I think that it is important to have a place to tell our stories as teachers but then to also have readers who are eager to read what teachers share. I learn constantly as I read teacher blogs and tweets on Twitter. I also appreciate you saying that being a Twitter user is like micro-blogging as I had never thought of it this way before. You always prompt me to think!
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Great post Tom. I could not agree more about the power and importance of blogging both for the reading and the writer. It has definitely changed the way I see things. My only query is that if everyone blogs – parents, students, teachers, administrators – how does everyone respond to everything? I write a lot, but don’t get many responses or push back. Doesn’t stop me, but in a time of excess, always makes me wonder.
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I really appreciated this post as a new blogger. Thanks for sharing your story and giving really great insight.
-biancanhicks
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I agree that blogging gives you a voice and definitely makes you question more, research harder and think outside the box. One of my son’s high school teachers has them working on a blogging project. It is an excellent way to encourage kids to communicate in an organized, self-motivated fashion rather than posting on social media.