Getting blogging help

Late last week I sent to a number of people whom I deeply respect in the library and technology fields a simple question: “What makes an effective blog?” (If you didn’t get the message, it doesn’t mean I don’t respect you - I am sure the message got lost in the ether.)

I got some good advice I thought I’d pass along. My friend Alice Yucht who writes her own blog, Alice in Infoland, creates not only a model professional blog herself, but directed me to Stephen Downes’ How to be heard, a long and thoughtful piece on creating blogs that people actually read.

THE education tech guru and fellow ISTE board member Kathy Schrock, creator of the blog Kathy Schrock’s Kaffeeklatsch, shared some tips (that I have tried in this newsletter) including:

–Decide on your purpose and state it up front for the users. I saw the WHY BLUE SKUNK, but some others may miss it.
–Don’t just list resources: provide an overview for us
–Make sure your hyperlinks are clickable in the text
–End some with a question that will encourage comments and commentary, which I know you love to do, haircut non-withstanding

Although I have our teachers using blogs one-way (to easily post info), it really is about commentary. You always ask the hard questions….ask them on the blog! Gather data for an article and see what the rest of us think about things (like I did with Wikipedia, aarrgghh, on mine.)

One other highly respected fellow professional shares my doubts about blogging, calling it “navel contemplation to the extreme.” (Oh, look, I have a little lint in mine!)

So thanks to those who responded. The experiment continues.

Do blogs have a genuine educational value? What makes you read or not read them? (And if you don’t read them, please explain what the heck you are doing here!)

Doug
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3 Comments »

I am a recent convert to the blog, and do not read a lot of them, but definitely see their appeal for students and their use in classrooms. Will Richardson has been doing this for a long time, and shares his thoughts on his pages. (http://www.weblogg-ed.com/)

Dave Warlick has created Blogmeister (http://classblogmeister.com/) which allows teachers to password the blog so it is not available to the whole Internet (if they want to), as well as moderate the comments before they go live (if they need to). It allows the safety of both a private place to share, and the safety in students knowing they will not receive comments that are totally weird and anonymous.

Students are rabid about following blogs of interest to them. The teenager in my house (17), follows Slashdot: News for Nerds (http://slashdot.org/) as well as a few storm-chasing blogs. The immediacy of the information and the ability to share opinions in a community-like setting is what high-schoolers do best!

Kathy

Comment by kathyschrock — August 9, 2005 @ 5:42 am
Why am I here? Total respect for your opinion and sense of humor. Your articles are right on target and timely. Thanks for all you are working on in between having a life for the rest of us to stay current.

Comment by R. Jean Gustafson — August 9, 2005 @ 9:22 am

I can certainly see the educational value of blogs and blogging. But, I personally don’t spend a lot of time reading blogs. When online chatting became popular I got hooked, and for a time it consumed my non-work hours. I’m not going to let that happen again…now that I recognize my obsessive-compulsive tendencies! But in education, I think it can be a wonderful setting for the student who has a lot to say, but doesn’t speak up in class or groups. Likewise it can be a great place for the student who has questions but again, isn’t comfortable asking them in front of students or teachers. We all need a way to express ourselves and blogs provide another avenue.

So, why did I click on your blog? Well, naturally it was for your wisdom and the insight you provide, Doug.

Comment by Christine Findlay — August 9, 2005 @ 3:04 pm

Comments

[Tyler Greene]

Blogging is a great way for students to stay in touch with the classroom experience and other aspects of the classroom. I have not always been a huge reader of blogs, but as a practicing teacher, blogs have become an aspect of my education that help me in many ways. I feel that blogs can be a way to enhance the classroom environment for the students who may not be entirely comfortable in the social aspects of the classroom. The information provided in this blog is something that I need to keep in mind when I create my own blog for my classroom.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Tyler,

Thanks for the kind words and appreciate the comment.

Doug