Classroom Blogs

Having this blog to reflect upon my professional development is good.

Having a classroom blog to comment upon the students' lives in and out of the classroom is good.

There are other ways that blogs can be implemented. There are two posts about using blogs in the classroom on the website, emergingedtech, here and here, that discuss various implementations of classroom blogs.

Classes can participate in cultural exchanges. Each student can have their own blog, or all the students can contribute to a single blog.

I think it would be a good idea to have a classroom Facebook account as well as a classroom Twitter account. These real-life publishing media would, ideally, motivate the students and be for everyone a source of pride. Also, these sites would provide immediate communication with the parents. One of the great things about modern technology in the classroom is that it provides teachers with the ability to communicate with parents with a frequency and ease never before available.

Many bloggers—teachers or otherwise—start with a flurry of posts and then stop blogging; plan for regular blog activities, even if it’s just every two weeks.” - Tom Dillard

Blog Support

I have about 20 links to Educational Blogs on my Google Reader. There is no lack of Educational Blogs.

I read that RSS readers transform information acquisition from hunting and gathering to cultivating.

Reading some of these education blogs have re-energized my passion for reading, contemplating and learning.

I have noticed another benefit to reading educational blogs.

It feels supportive and reassuring for me to read comments and opinions from other educators that are similar to mine. This is especially true when the opinions that echo my own concern topics about which I feel less than confident. For example, I have long felt disconcerted that my philosophy and method of classroom management does not fit the traditional mold. I lean towards a style that is less dictatorial and authoratative and more democratic.

When I read this post: Are Classroom Rules Needed? and the comments, I was happy to read that there are other teachers who adhere to a similar philosophy.

Of course, classroom management is not a simple topic with simple answers. It depends on many factors and, like many things in life, requires balance and compromise. But that is for another post.