The Best Way to Learn is to Dive Right In

When I decided to start this blog, I knew very little about blogging and its use in education and, well, life in general. After getting this all set up, I started to realize how easy it really is. I originally had a few ideas for using blogs in education that I had discussed in a few technology ed classes over the years. We had talked about using blogs as a way to communicate with parents and students outside of the classroom but after doing a little bit of research, I have come to find out that the possibilities are endless. A lot of the research and information is still in the early stages but I was so excited and intrigued with all of the potential. I've been reading Will Richardson's book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms and have found many interesting ideas that I hadn't thought of before.

I've learned that blogging and posting are very different things. Posting is just putting your ideas out there and giving others the opportunity to view those ideas. Blogging is more of a social interaction where you bring in outside resources and provide the chance for people to respond and collaborate with those ideas. Giving students the option and materials to work from home is a great use of blogging. Students working on group projects who are having a hard time finding a common time to meet could all post their portion of the project onto the blog and that way fellow group members can check it out.

My blog is in the very early stages and I'm attempting to read up on the different aspects of blogging in general to get some background knowledge of the ins and outs. I'm hoping to add links and other outside information in the near future. After all, that's what blogging really is. Blogging needs to be collaborative and offer many people the chance to personally reflect and comment on the presented information. It will be even more effective if outside resources and materials are brought in to deepen the support of the content.