This week for class we were asked to find a read a blog by a professional, an Edublogger. The blogging world is relatively new to me. Most of my experience includes this class, an occasional travel blog, or my random crossing with one while searching for information on Google. I found it interesting that there are people that essentially do this as a living and that are known for it. However, I've quickly realized that the sharing of ideas and practices among teachers through this medium is fairly efficient. It is a way to share ideas from the professional world of teaching in a manner that is easy to comprehend and not too timely.
After searching through quite a few different blogs, I found the one by Ewan McIntosh interesting. I originally opened it up because it's description talked about education around the world and being a Spanish teacher and someone who loves to learn about other cultures & norms, I am always interested in the way things are done around the world. I'm not sure why, but I was a little surprised when I opened up his blog and realized that what he was blogging about wasn't actually too different from what we've been talking about for our country's education system: technology in the classroom, student choice, and connecting what students learn in the classroom to a successful life within our society (and whatever that entails - college, career, trade, etc.).
Despite my sadness in not being able to learn about cultural differences in education, I thought it was interesting that this blog was by someone who is both a teacher, a speaker, and an investor, as well as one of Europe's well-known experts in digital media and he is blogging about the same themes we've been talking about. I think it put some of our discussions that we've had into a greater perspective for me. And I felt that it was neat to see the same things we've been talking about come up in a blog that is focused on an international perspective on education.
Megan,
ReplyDeleteI share a similar prior experience with blogs. Aside from reading one of my friend's I will sometimes stumble upon one if I am doing research. I have found reading professional's blogs very useful and something I will likely keep up with as a teacher. It is interesting that the blogger you chose to follow was writing about similar topics to what we are talking about in class. The most interesting thing to me though, is that you are able to read this blog from your home in Ann Arbor... the power of technology!
Hey Megan,
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it can be cool to realize how similar societies are to one another, rather than different. Maybe it's through learning foreign languages (like Espanol!) that divisions can be conquered.
One question I had was about your observation that blogs are "a way to share ideas from the professional world of teaching in a manner that is easy to comprehend and not too timely." What do you mean by "too timely"? Do you mean not too dated, because I do enjoy how reading blogs is almost like having a conversation with other teachers as opposed to reading theorists like Anderson & Krathwuhl.
Thanks for a great post!
Hey Catherine,
DeleteJust to answer your question, when talking about "too timely" I was referring to that it isn't very time consuming, as in you can log onto your computer real quick and read a few paragraphs, instead of reading a whole chapter of a book. But I also like your interpretation of "not too dated." I hadn't thought about it in that way and I think that could work too!
Thanks!
Megan, I enjoyed reading your blog today! I too am relatively new to the blog world and found my Edublog to be fascinating. I think as educators, blogs can really come in handy in communicating and sharing effective teaching practices, especially within one's specific content area. The blog I read also touched on the issue of technology in the classroom, and how to better incorporate it into our discipline.
ReplyDeleteMegan,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your post and found it refreshing. I thought that your comment about blogging being an efficient form of communication is "spot-on". I never thought of the efficiency side of things with regards to blogging before because I had also marginalized its effectiveness due to lack of audience size. However, the more I think about the form of communication and its efficiency to spread ideas, the more I like the notion of using it to reach broad audiences.
I found the cosmopolitan nature of your edublogger to be particularly refreshing. I think its always important to keep in mind that the technological revolution is a global phenomenon and therefore there is much to be gained from international communication. I also liked how you mentioned that blogging can be included in a career path. When one thinks about it, it really does present a phenomenal option for self-aggrandizement. (I mean that in a good way). I mean, really, any individual just by the nature of having access to the Internet has the opportunity to form their own platform for discussion. I appreciate you helping me make this connection between blogging and career. I find it helpful in my future thinking on the topic.
Megan, I just want to highlight the observation you made, that was amplified by Ben, about the potential "reach" of edubloggers. Ewan McIntosh (who I think is Scottish) may well have been a known entity before he started blogging, but he is definitely one of a group of people who has built a platform for himself that has led to his being quite well known, and giving conference presentations and showing up on educational podcasts. Now, most teachers who become regular bloggers aren't expecting to attain *this* kind of notoriety, but it is cool to think about connecting with other teachers for the kinds of conversations that you're having among yourselves right now. For example, though she's not a blogger, MAC alumna Joanna Porvin maintains a resource site for world language teachers that gets a LOT of traffic...it's well worth a look!
ReplyDelete