On Educational Blogging

 

We live in a time that we can learn so much thanks to the connections that the Internet brings us. Truly, communication has been revolutionized, and I, for one, love to see the amazing connections we can make. One of these many connections is that of educational blogging, which I had never heard of before becoming an education student at UTK. Educational blogging is an innovative way for educators-- whether they are teachers, administrators, counselors, or education researchers-- to connect with their students, families, and more through blogging about their experiences. This can range from an educator’s stance on a topic to weekly updates in their classroom. The possibilities are endless! 

Young students sitting in a classroom in 1929, 
blissfully unaware of what Twitter is.

What I find most interesting about educational blogs is the accessibility of information and the personalization that comes with it. Of course, we must always be wary of the knowledge we learn from others-- we must always check sources and do our own additional research. However, on a more positive note, there is so much to be learned from educational blogs that we may not have known about previously! These blogs can launch us into a new field, a new topic-- something that we can look into ourselves with the click of a button. This also comes with unique personalization. I really love to see how my peers decorate their website and what they choose to talk about. Every educator is unique, and so are their blogs. 

The best part, by far, about blogging has been my ability to get to know my peers and what they are passionate about. Jackson Scott, a classmate of mine in the Secondary Education Social Studies Program, has a great blog series on the importance of technology as a tool to teach history. Technology and history are not two things that cancel each other out. Instead, social studies educators can utilize technology in innovative ways that bring history to life and create connections, insights, and theses that would have been impossible without technology! My other Social Studies Education classmate Emma Rose, meanwhile, adds even further nuance to the topic of technology with her discussion on the Digital Divide. This divide references those who can and cannot access technology in this world of increased technological reliance. This includes those in certain socioeconomic conditions that they access iPad, other computer devices, or even Wifi. Although we want to use technology to its greatest potential, we must realize that we cannot cause an accessibility crisis in doing so. Emma asks, as all of us should, “How do we integrate technology into the classroom knowing that some of our students may not have access to these resources elsewhere?” The answer: keep it inside of the classroom! While we may upload resources for the student’s convenience, we must never assume that our students have everything they need to operate technology. This discussion on the danger of assumptions leads us into another idea from Sarah Carmichael: Stop assuming what your students know! Sarah discusses the danger of consistent and wrongful assumptions towards ESL students. These assumptions, whether educators assume these students to be at a higher or lower level than they actually are, prevent them from truly learning what they need to in order to succeed.

Although my blogging experience is quite short, I’ve had a wonderful time blogging! I would love to continue this blog as a platform to share information within and about my classroom. I think this blog could be a great way to further connect with parents especially, as this blog may be easily accessible with Internet connection. Of course, I will provide classroom updates in other formats, but how great would it be to give updates every week or so on how the classroom is doing? Blogging is also a great digital artifact. Already, I can see myself looking back on this blog, thinking about my time in college creating it. How historical (and sentimental)!