The Web 2.0 tool that I would most like to showcase to my staff would be blogs. I have found that blogs are very simple to create, use, and navigate through to find information on just about any topic in the educational field.
My staff presentation would follow the format below:
- Introduction to blogs:
1. I would assume that some people will never have seen a blog before and therefore not know what they look like or what they are about. There is really simple and straightforward definitions and examples of blogs on the Wikipedia page.
2. I would also show them this blog and highlight some of the features and talk about how I set up my blog from the beginning. I would also look at some of my previous entries and highlight some of the other tools that compliment a blog (wikis, videos, Voicethread, podcasts, etc.).
3. I would also show some other blog hosting sites and give a few examples. Examples include: Blogger and Word Press,
- The benefit of teachers using blogs:
- Some teachers will wonder why I am suggesting that they either view or create their own blogs. I have compiled some research that highlights the benefits of blogs for educators.
Reason #1: As Will Richardson writes, “Blogs are powerful communication tools. Blogs are powerful publishing tools. But blogging (the verb) is still much more than that to me. Blogging, as in reading and thinking and reflecting and then writing, is connecting and learning” As a profession that adheres to the dictum that we should all strive to be life-long learners, a blog is a great tool to be able to reflect on what you know and feel and reading or creating a blog allows a teacher to continue to learn.
Reason #2: Chris Lehamnn writes, “It's about putting ideas out there, exploring them, sharing them, and taking part in a larger community. Sometimes, yes, it's just about an announcement or two, but at its best, my blogging helps me think, brings others into my thought process and improves it because of their input and forces me to make sense of my thoughts -- which is why it's so damned hard sometimes.
Blogs make publishing easier, but having something to say is still hard. But if we can model reflective practice, if we can embody the old Socratic ideal that "the unexamined life is not worth living," if we can publicly create communities where thoughtfulness -- truly being full of thought -- then we have accomplished something powerful.”
Reason #3: It’s easy! I am not only advocating that teachers create and maintain their own blogs, I think they should also be reading other teachers’ blogs and commenting or interacting with them and it is so easy! If you can open a Word document, type some text and print it, you can blog. Sometimes the idea of using “new” technological tools can be daunting, but a blog is truly one of the easiest tools to start using. And who knows, maybe in a few months or years, a person will be designing websites or digital video games to use in the classroom!
- Sharing:
- After doing a number of blogs and researching various Web 2.0 tools, I have complied a list of my own favourite blogs and would show them to my fellow teachers and highlight the kinds of information that is shared through blogs. Teachers would be able to see examples of the types of information they would like to write about in their own blogs.
#1- Cool Cat Teacher: This site was created and is maintained by Vicki Davis a teacher from
#2 Ubbernoggin : is a great site that is not necessarily for educators, but has lots of good information about technology and the tools that we would need to use in our schools or classrooms.
#3 Borderland: is a blog by Doug Noon who is an elementary teacher and he writes about technology and education in general. It is a truthful and amusing blog by a teacher in the “trenches” of education.
#4 The Fisch Bowl is a blog done by Karl Fisch designed specifically for staff development and to promote the use of technology in the classroom. It has really good information for anyone who is interested in trying to use technology in their teaching.
- Concerns
- Some teachers will have concerns about privacy issues and legal implications. I would direct them to this website by David Warlick; he suggests that there are three kinds of blogging teachers:
- independent teacher bloggers, whose writing is completely unrelated to their job with your school or district;
- professional teacher bloggers, who write in their capacity as teachers in your school or district; and
- instructional teacher bloggers, who blog as an instructional strategy, usually encouraging their students to blog, too.
Warlick provides descriptions of each type and some interesting advice to follow. Many school divisions have rules or procedures to follow and each teacher should be looking into those to see what is expected and/or discouraged. He also has one excellent quote that applies to everything in life, “don’t be stupid.” I would advise teachers not to put anything they wouldn’t want their principal or superintendent to read. Don’t use students’ names or describe specific situations.
If privacy is the issue, I would advise teachers not to use their real names, reveal their schools’ name or location and don’t use specifics. We do have to realize that what we do can and will be judged, so act accordingly.
Hopefully, by seeing the presentation and looking at a few of the blogs on my list, teachers would be interested and want to learn more. Teaching teachers is sometimes one of the hardest things to do, but even if one of them wanted to blog or use blogs for their own education I think I would feel like I actually encouraged someone's learning and I would feel very satisfied.
Katie
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