One of the major tasks of a teacher today is to try to improve the digital competence of their students. Technology continues to influence learning. Teachers must learn how to incorporate new methods of communication and teaching styles in order to keep their students actively engaged. Blogs can be an important tool in accomplishing this task in the classroom. Teachers can use existing blogs to provide information and insight as well as create classroom blogs to enrich classroom learning, monitor classroom management, student collaboration and discussions and store student portfolios. In addition, Blogs help educators become networked because they “give you an opportunity to write content that is unique to you and your practice. While some people are uncomfortable with self promotion, your blog gives you an occasion to interact with your visitors while promoting who you are and what you do” (Azizinezhad &Hashemi, 2011, p.868). Educators become networked because they can create personal blogs and collaborate with people around the world on topics of interest. It allows individuals to interact in a more public venue, sharing their thoughts, ideas, interpretations, hopes, and fears with anyone willing to spend time looking on the internet.
The five blogs that I find beneficial to me are as follows:
This blog provides resources that do not require special skills, advanced planning or lots of money. This blog has a variety of writers that provide various activities and viewpoints that can interest all educators. They have a printable library where educators can access various activities that they can use in the classroom and provide hands on skills that are appropriate for the various age groups that will keep kids engaged.
This blog provides information in various categories such as politics and policy, technology and innovation, research, classroom, teaching profession, health and wellness, and educating specific populations. It is a great tool to get up to date information on what is going on in the education field and see the perspective of experts in the field. Its focus is on educating others on a wide array of topics to keep the educator informed and reflective.
This blog is created by a speech pathologist and former classroom teacher. It provides resources to build oral language and vocabulary in both the in person classroom setting and virtually. It provides links to facebook, instagram, pinterest, and teacher pay teacher, and provides free classroom resources that teachers can download and use immediately.
Technology is pretty new to me since most of the learning in my classroom is hands on. This blog focuses on teaching educators how to use technology in the classroom. It helps you become an excellent educator everyday with advice, ideas, and inspiration. I enjoy listening to the podcasts sometimes versus reading the articles because it helps me remember the content. They also provide a note taking template that you can use while listening which was a nice resource to organize my thoughts.
Their mission is to inspire teachers and help them succeed by sharing practical classroom ideas, freebies and giveaways, and teacher to teacher advice and humor. They publish daily articles, videos, and giveaways on their website as well as their social media channels.
Hope you find this information helpful in your classroom and during your educational journey!
References:
Azzizinezhad, M. & Hashemi, M. (2011). The Use of Blogs in Teaching and Learning Translation. Procedia Social and Behavioral Sciences,
28(2011), 867-871. DOI: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.11.159
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