Blogs: more than mere blah-blah!
I think I’m not alone when I say that I used to think that blogs were mostly just people waxing lyrical, venting or perhaps at best some journo’s extension of their conventional news column. I’ve dabbled with writing blogs myself in the past, but more as a personal journalling exercise than any real endeavour to spark a trans-continental dialogue with others. I must admit that I am guilty too of considering blogs – very erroneously – as more or less uni-directional in the same way that conventional news is: the blogger blogs and some other people out there read it. How wrong I was!
I want to share some things I have learnt recently about blogs and bloggers and the potential they have in my teaching, but also in my life in general. Having begun the SLAV’s Learning 2.0 Program a mere two weeks ago, I feel I’ve only just touched the tip of the iceberg of the potential teaching and learning resources out there in the world of Web 2.0.
I’ve uncovered some of my own misconceptions about blogging, bloggers and the whole nature of this new type of communication. One thing I have learnt is that people who write blogs very rarely do so in a vacuum. They subscribe to and read each other’s blogs as much as they post on their own. They make links from their own blog to others they find interesting; those other bloggers do likewise, and often reciprocate too, effectively creating a very diverse conglomeration or network. These bloggers sometimes form communities, collectives or collaborative groups of people with like minds or like interests, sharing their unique ideas and experiences. It’s mind-boggling what amazing minds you can encounter simply by following the links from blog to blog to blog…
I once thought that blogs were one-way communication. I write and someone out there reads. I didn’t realise that each blog post allows readers to enter their own comments in response to what they have read. I didn’t understand that the original blog poster can respond in turn to these comments with their own, and vice versa, spontaneously spawning a very vibrant and dynamic conversation. I now realise that it is in the quest for this conversation that many bloggers post their posts in the first place. Not one-way communication at all.
Based on my own experience of blogs, I used to think their content was usually pretty banal. In the past two weeks I have uncovered some truly remarkable blogs and posts that are anything but banal. Just take a look at David Truss’s post Two Wolves, from his reflective blog Pair-a-Dimes for your Thoughts. This post relates an old Cherokee parable (Two Wolves) to the theme of Remembrance Day and includes thoughts and reflections by David that truly took my breathe away. I stopped and thought, ‘this guy has a gift’. His thoughts are inspired, thought-provoking and very honest. The piece was quite long compared with some blog posts, but I found every word had value. I have read it several times. Definitely not banal. What struck me just as much, however, was the quality of the comments left by readers of this post. They too, without exception, had profound and thought-provoking ideas to share. I found myself becoming immersed, albeit as merely an observer, in a spellbinding conversation between David and his readers as I read down the page.
I could go on and on about some of the other great blogs I have found and posts I have read, none of which were boring, mundane or trivial. Instead I have chosen to list a few of the blogs that caught my attention in the last week and that I have decided to subscribe to.
In conclusion, blogs are so much more than what I at first thought. So what’s their application in the classroom and for my teaching? In terms of writing a blog, I see many applications for students. Even as a student-authored reflective class journal as we progress through the course.
For myself, it has opened up a whole new world of ideas and reflections. Ever been to an interesting and engaging PD activity and come away all fired up and inspired, and then a couple days later it all fizzles out? What happened? You got bogged back down in the day-to-day humdrum of doing what we do.
What if you had a brief daily, or even weekly, injection of inspiring thoughts, new ideas and practical applications for teaching and learning? I do now. I use bloglines, a blog and news aggregation tool, and have the contents of a handful of blogs deposited into my lap anytime their author writes something new. I don’t try to read everything they write – I never could – but a bit here and a bit there… When I’ve had enough of marking too many English essays I can spend a few minutes getting inspired or just sharing in someone’s conversation about life.
Some blogs that have caught my eye…
The Happiness Project: Gretchen Rubin’s experiment to find out all she can about being happy.
I Was Thinking: Heidi Hass Gable posts reflections on teaching, parenting and life. Her catch-cry is “thinking, learning, caring”.
Weblogg-ed: Will Richardson’s blog on “learning with the read / write web”.
John Connell: Another great “Web 2.0 meets teaching” discourse.
Digital Passports: Steve Dembo provides teachers with “your passport to the wide world of Web 2.0″.
If you haven’t really explored the world of blogs yet, you’re missing out!
Filed under: blogs, for teachers, reflection | Tagged: blogging, blogs, conversations, David Truss, great blogs, Gretchen Rubin, Heidi Hass Gable, John Connell, Pair-a-Dimes for your Thoughts, reflections, Steve Dembo, Web 2.0, Will Richardson
I just wanted to say thanks for saying such kind words about my ‘Two wolves’ post. I too was impressed with the thoughtfulness of the comments, and that is where I find much of the power in blogging.
A blog post will often become a ‘conversation’ where the readers become teachers as well as learners.
Thanks again,
Dave