Another good way to use a blog is as a resource for other teachers. The blog could serve as a platform to share ideas. The Teacher's Chatterbox is a blog full of great ideas to use in the classroom. According to Jennifer Laffin of Sweet Teaching Life, blogging is an excellent way to reflect on your own teaching and share your teaching philosophies as well.
In conclusion, while maintaining a blog may be time-consuming, the benefits are undeniable. A blog is just another extension of the classroom.
Hi Mary! I really enjoyed the links you provided, I will definitely be checking back in with those in the future. As far as blogs go, I agree that while they can definitely be time consuming, they can also be a great way to keep track of your thoughts and ideas. For example, you could document lessons, strategies and learning techniques that worked really well in your classroom and ones that didn't for future reference. It can also be a great tool for parents to use so they can see what their child is learning in the classroom. Or, it can be used as more of private journal to unleash feelings and concerns.
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ReplyDeleteThank you for providing us with such great resources! I personally feel that blogging is something you do because YOU want to do it. I like writing, so I do not mind blogging. However, it is much more enjoyable when you are not being forced to blog, or being told what to blog about. It takes the fun out of it.
Mary, the resources you linked are so useful and informative. I agree with Audrey, I will definitely reference these sources in the future, especially the Teacher's Chatterbox. Personally, I always thought of blogging as a way to reflect on practices, document strategies, learning techniques and a way to collaborate and share insights of teaching with other educators. However, I really like the idea you posed initially about using a blog to bridge home life with school life. A blog could be an excellent platform used to connect between parents/guardians. As a teacher you can post updates and celebrate students through this platform and communicate with viewers. I think this use for a blog could be a great idea, and one that I was not initally thinking about.
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