I love making new friends but for some reason it seems very challenging to find new teacher blogs. As I've talked to teacher bloggers, these are some of the reasons I hear for teachers not sharing their links more openly.
Why I think More Teachers Don't Share Their Blog with Others
- Humility. I think many teachers are naturally humble and perhaps don't share their blogs outright. They don't want to be misconstrued as just another teacher who is looking for a “ticket out” of the classroom. (I'm happy in the classroom but enjoy a few excursions a year.)
- Inferiority. Or, teachers might just feel like their blog isn't good enough. “I'll wait until I'm better at it.”
No, you're fine now, jump in! Don't have an inferiority complex. I've gotten in trouble many a time for saying, “I'm just a teacher” and don't you make my mistake. You're not just a teacher — you're a teacher, for goodness sakes and more teachers need to be heard. We need Science, History, Literature, and more teachers coming on. This needs to move past edtech and into mainstream education, now. Will you be THE blogger for literature or THE blogger for science. You could be… but ultimately I do this not to be THE blogger of anything but to be a blogger who makes a difference and helps other teachers.
- Paranoia. Teachers organizations have come out against blogging. Somehow we are pariah's. Why? Be a professional, don't share confidential information and focus on best practices and you should be OK. Sort of a “I”ll dip my toe in the water and maybe no one will catch me.”
I've been open since day one with my administration, going so far as to set up an e-mail subscription and subscribing them to my blog! I want my school to read my blog. And we've gotten grants and opportunities for my classroom over the last year because of it!
- Fear. Sort of like #3, but sometimes we're afraid of success. Success brings with it a lot of things… pressure to keep posting. Sometimes it will get one into unhealthy contemplations that make the blog overimportant. (Like being up at night trying to come up with THE post of the century.)
- A Feeling of Being overwhelmed – When I started, I often wondered, “what can I add?” There's too much. I cannot do this. I don't have the time.
Follow principles of good blogging, good commenting, and just add your thoughts. No blogger can replace the Wall Street Journal or professional media outlet. You're not the single-handed newsbreaker of education, you're adding your opinion.
- Not wanting to be microanalyzed – This is a tough one. There are always those “Drive by commenters” who drive in, unload a few clips, and drive off. They have killed not a few great bloggers in the beginning.
Early on I had people bug me about spelling, grammar, and all the mistakes I make naturally. Maybe I should hire an editor. Or maybe I should just be me and live with the fact I'm human. I love reading blogs because they are human.
I appreciate the person who privately e-mails me about my mistakes so that I may correct it. I don't appreciate people who act unkindly and mean about a mistake. They seem to forget that what we dish out has a habit of being passed back around to us.
- Not wanting to become embroiled in debate. This took some getting used to. Sometimes I'm drug into debates that I simply don't have time for and didn't ask for. I used to let them bother me. I guess two years has given me a thicker skin somewhat.
Debates are part of life and really, your blog is as controversial as you make it. I've always found, however, that treating people on both sides of every disagreement with respect and modeling for our future leaders how to disagree is very important.
When some bloggers treat others with disrespect or make mistakes and do not correct them, they go down a notch in my book. I'm so glad we're not carbon copies of one another… we are beautifully, wonderfully different.
Every person on this planet deserves respect. I don't care if they are mowing your grass or sitting behind the desk in your mayor's office. People deserve respect because they are people and this is something that the blogosphere needs to work on.
We can be part of the problem or part of the solution. I know few people better than teachers at mediating disputes! You can be part of the problem or part of the solution and apathy too is a problem. Learning how to disagree respectfully online is part of life, don't let that deter you from blogging or sharing your blog URL.
- They don't see the point. “Why share my blog? Vicki or any of the other bloggers already have enough people vying for their attention.”
I disagree.. we have enough of the WRONG people vying for our attention. I WANT to hear from teachers… always. I want to hear from educators. I want to learn from people in the “trenches.”
I want to be an early encourager to newcomers like David Warlick, Jennifer Wagner, Wes Fryer, Miguel Guhlin, Ewan McIntosh, Darren Kuropatwa, Stephen Downes, and others did for me.
I want to be the first commenter on new blogs. (Which is why I try to comment on those who link to me that I can tell are newcomers.) We all need some encouragement.
The point of sharing your link is to let others know that you're there and engage in conversation. Just do it. I'm asking you to share your blog.
Share Away
So, this summer, I would like to spend some time finding cool teacher blogs. I'd like to hear and find a few new voices and I'm sure others would too.
I know there are lots of places that list edubloggers, but I'm asking you to share your link here and share a few more things – use this template.
Share your link
— unfortunately, in blogger comments, you must do this manually, but if you share your link, make it into a “live link.” (Don't worry, if it doesn't work the first time, try again — I won't be bothered by multiple entries.)
This graphic from my post 10 habits of bloggers that win, shares it.
Tell us a little bit about yourself
Who are you? Why do you teach? What do you teach? Where are you located? Not a complete bio, but the blurb you would tell someone if you had 20 seconds to introduce yourself.
Who are you writing for?
Who is your audience? Do you know? (If you don't, think about it.)
Why are you blogging?
What are your reasons for blogging? We all have reasons!
I'm ready to meet you! (Even if I already know your blog, feel free to share, others may want to meet you too.)
Here is my intro.
I'm Vicki Davis and I write the Cool Cat Teacher blog. I am a teacher at a small K12 private school in south Georgia USA and I believe passionately that teachers need encouragement, practical best practices in the classroom, and should be treated with nobility as the world's greatest calling! I believe that global collaborative projects are an essential part of learning. I believe that we all need to laugh and be inspired if we're going to make it through this high burnout profession.
I have two children of my three children with Learning disabilities who must be accommodated with technology and so I adamantly know and believe in the results I've seen with technology with my own children. I believe that children are amazing gifts from God and each one has something that they can do best. (I also know that LD often means children are wired more artistically and creatively and believe wholeheartedly in differentiated learning.) Children aren't production items in a manufacturing plant, but individualized, amazing packages of hope and opportunity and teachers have the ability to treat them well or do great harm.
My audience is educators and other teachers, however, I'm really geek too, so I find that technical type people read my blog too. I love dreaming and coming up with ideas but more importantly, reflecting practically on what I SEE in my classroom to be true based upon what people are saying.
I see a great disconnect sometimes between what experts SAY and what is really happening in the classroom (at least mine.) So, I blog to share my own perspectives and to learn from others. (I learn more than I give.)
I started blogging to learn “how to blog” so that I could teach it. I am still blogging because it has become part of who I am.
I don't know how many of these will come in, but I'll do my best to follow the links and say “hi.” If you like, share your best blog post!
tag: blogging, David Warlick, Wes Fryer, Miguel Guhlin, Jennifer Wagner, Stephen Downes, Ewan McIntosh, Darren Kuropatwa
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
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55 comments
My name is Mathew and I blog at Creating Lifelong Learners. I’m an elementary school teacher currently working as a literacy coach. I’ve been blogging for about a year and to be honest, I started because my friend told me, “You should start a blog” during a game of tennis.
Blogging has become my favorite way for me to reflect on my teaching, discover and explore teaching passions, and refine my practice. It has also allowed me to meet other bloggers who have challenged and refined my thinking and become a part of my teaching practice.
My audience is part elementary school teachers, part those interested in integrating digital video in the classroom no matter what age, and part people who’ve just stumbled in somehow.
Thank you for this post! I am currently trying to introduce blogging to my district. Most English teachers and elementary teachers have latched on and really enjoy it. They still don’t understand the power of the conversation that they can have with it. I hope you don’t mind, I would like to show this post to my teachers in the training.
Great post, Vicki. I’m going to forward a link to the new teacher bloggers in my “New Technologies Seminar” class. They always say, “Why would anyone read this? Who cares what I have to say?” As teachers, we always complain that no one listens and then a tool comes along that allows our voice to be heard, potentially, by millions and we become the shyest of wallflowers.
Anyway, here’s information on my blog:
Connecting the Dots
My name is Mike and I’m the Instructional Technology Coordinator for a small school district in New York. I’ve been here for almost two years and before that I worked in a similar position in private school. I started out as a high school English teacher and I’m fascinated by the Internet as a commuincations medium, in particular how technology can support the writing process. My favorite part of my job is working with teachers to design curriculum and deliver it in the classroom. I love taking a crazy idea that slips from a teacher’s lips while shooting the breeze about his/her classes and developing it into a unit/lesson/project that helps students learn. Wow!
I started blogging almost two years ago. It’s been an on-again, off-again experience. My blog is directed towards anyone with an interest in using technology in the classroom and how technology is changing teaching and learning. In the beginning, I was just trying to learn about this new medium. Then I started to see it as a sort of personal journal to support my own reflection and thinking about my practice – a use that I think is frequently overlooked. Now, I’m actively trying to grow my readership in the hope that others will support, challenge, and enlarge that thinking. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to do that through your very excellent blog!
Hi Vicky! I discovered your blog a month or so ago and love the links and your use of technology in the classroom. I have been blogging on a personal level for over three years, but I finally just started my teacher blog about a month ago. I have not advertised my teacher blog, but I would love to have more visitors. Not sure how to create more traffic???
I work with gifted/talented kids in the inner city and my blog tells of my stories and other things happening in my work life. (I also taught LD for a couple years at the beginning of my career). I am anonymous about my location and never give out anything that could identify myself or my students because I want to be open with posting photos and other things. I’d love to have you visit my blog or even link to it. http://urbanteachertales.blogspot.com
You pretty much hit the nail on the head for me, Vicki. As a pretty new blogger, I’m still struggling with all of those things, especially numbers 1 and 2. Of course, right now I’m ore struggling with AAAAAHHH end of school year, no time to blog.
My recommendation for people is that when you write something you’re really proud of, make sure to submit it to the Carnival of Education because that will help to spread the word about your blog a bit, but since it’s mixed in with other people’s stuff, you don’t have to feel too self-aggrandizing.
You pretty much hit the nail on the head for me, Vicki. As a pretty new blogger, I’m still struggling with all of those things, especially numbers 1 and 2. Of course, right now I’m ore struggling with AAAAAHHH end of school year, no time to blog.
My recommendation for people is that when you write something you’re really proud of, make sure to submit it to the Carnival of Education because that will help to spread the word about your blog a bit, but since it’s mixed in with other people’s stuff, you don’t have to feel too self-aggrandizing.
Hi Vicki. I blogged off and on before it became my summer job. Then I spent a year or two feeling guilty that my blog gets lots of action during the summer and very little during the school year. I have finally allowed myself to be okay with that. So that’s why I don’t publicize my blog much. I have another blog that I rarely use, but I would like to commit to using it more. I start grad school in the fall (Ed Tech, online), so I have thought, oh, maybe I will blog more then. We shall see.
I still somehow find the time to do stupid MySpace “surveys,” so perhaps it’s just a matter of prioritizing.
I’m Michelle Baldwin, and my blog is Avenue4Learning (hoping for custom domain feature soon!).
I’m the Technology Staff Developer for a suburban school district, and I work with teachers and other faculty members. I taught secondary vocal music for six years, worked in corporate end-user training and project management for four years, and then came back to education… my first love!
Initially, I started my blog so that I could point participants who attended my sessions/presentations to a place where they could pick up the topics we discussed,instead of distributing handouts, I also wanted a “place” for collaboration and sharing with other educators.
Blogging in general has been a great outlet (also have personal and somewhat anonymous blogs) for me. I’ve learned so much and am pleasantly surprised with how much people care and are willing to share. :-)
Thanks for this post… what a great idea! I’m finding new blog friends!
Hey Vicki, thanks for this post. My name is Roberto Rodriguez, I’ve been a teacher since 1987. I teach AP Macroeconomics, AP Government as well as a World Religions Elective. I love what I teach. My graduate degree is in International Relations and I worked on a PhD in Poli Sci for a couple of years. But more importantly I enjoy teaching the love of these subjects to my students.
I have a few blogs that reflect my interests. In the field of education, I don’t necessarily blog about teaching practices but about the politics of education. I strongly believe that teachers need to be engaged in the debates and political process that influences what we do.
My blog is California Classroom
Vicki – another super post and idea! You have helped me before, but this is Britt Watwood and my blog is Learning in a Flat World. I am an online learning specialist in the Center for Teaching Excellence at Virginia Commonwealth University and also teach a graduate course on instructional uses of the internet. My students are all K-12 teachers, and your post will be a wonderful resource for them. THANKS!
I loved this post. I checked out the bloggers you listed that I was not familiar with and found Miguel Guhlin and his Professional Development Meme post. I referenced it and copied the challenge onto my own blog Magistra’s Musings at http://lauriefowler.edublogs.org
Keep up the fantastic work!
Hi Vicki!
Thanks for the confidence boost. I often a bit shy about my blog. Sometimes I feel I’m leaning heavily on the super-bloggers (like yourself) rather than coming up with unique ideas to write about. However, I’ve learned so much over the few months that I realize that’s okay if it’s helping me and other newbies to learn. I sent and email announcing my blog (http//cmtvarok.wordpress.com) to my school’s staff and administration. I hope it starts a long overdue dialog! Thanks for your support.
My blog is Successful Teaching
I am Pat Hensley and I recently retired from the public school system after teaching Special Education in all grades K-12 for the past 28 years. Now I am an adjunct instructor on the university level teaching courses to teachers getting their master’s degree in special education. I am located in Greenville, South Carolina which is in the upstate between Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA.
I started my blog so I could share some of my experience and knowledge with new teachers or struggling teachers in all subject areas and all grades. I feel that one of the educational system’s major problems is recruiting and retaining good teachers. I have talked about this to many and felt like I should make an effort to be part of the solution instead of just complaining about the problem. One way I hope to make a difference is by writing a blog that might influence both of these groups. I hope that people reading my blog might consider going into teaching and maybe those who are frustrated and struggling might find support in my blog.
Thanks for this post Vicki! I can’t wait to check out some of these blogs and add them to my Google Reader.
Wow! I am so overwhelmed. These are some great blogs. I would respond here to all of these things, but I think I will do it on your blogs! (Let me make sure I turn on co comment.) Who knows, some of your posts may end up over here!
My Name is Rich Platts and I blog at mrplatts.com I’m a German teacher in middle school, but also am involved with technology integration, sometimes not as directly as I like, but I’m taking small steps. I’ve been at this for about a year now, and although I don’t blog as regularly as I might like, I try to get something up each week.
Who am I blogging for? Primarily myself, I guess. I love the reflective nature of blogging, it really makes me think about what I am doing. Secondly, my blog has led to some fascinating contacts with other teachers around the world. As I build my network, my blog becomes a more and more important way for me to collaborate.
Vicki, you commented on my blog, which was very encouraging. Keep on encouraging new bloggers to join the conversation!
Okay, Vicki, I’m taking you at your word…. I’m Mary and I’ve started (a few months ago and haven’t been back) a blog at Math in 153. I’m an 8th grade math teacher in Texas. I started the blog to keep track of my lesson ideas and how the lessons turned out – mostly as a personal reflection. But as I read other people’s blogs (like yours)I have a fleeting thought that maybe it could help others.
This blogging thing is new for me , I’d really like to do more things with technology in my classes, I’m just scared to jump in.
My name is Terry and I blog at TJ on a Journey I am a 2-12 Vocal Music Teacher at North Tama School in Traer, IA. I have a Master’s degree in Education Technology and I use it almost every day in my music classroom. I love the way kids light up when they are motivated to learn new things.
My intended audience is K-12 teachers in any field. I started the blog to share the things I was doing in the classroom that kids got excited about. So far, many of my posts have been about software from my favorite software company, FableVision, because I use it all the time in my classroom. I am nervous that people will think I am on their payroll because I love the stuff they do SO MUCH that I go on and on. No paid by them.
I also want to pay back the tremendous gift I have been given by other bloggers; My goal is to inspire people to take the simple tools I have used and modify them to work with their own students. I read a ton of blogs every day because I like the challenge I get from them, to think about things in a new way. I am struggling in my own area by being surrounded by people who are happy to be mediocre. I want to challenge myself to be greater tomorrow than I am today….the blog helps me do that.
My name is Luke. I’m a retired teacher who has spent over 33 years in the classroom, primarily with 6th-8th grade students.
I am a member of ICE, Illinois Computing Educators, and have served on the planning committee for IL-TCE, the Illinois Technology Conference for Educators, for the last 7 years, coordinating tech staff volunteers for the conference and working with Web 2.0 resources for the conference.
I have been a conference presenter at IL-TCE ten times and have also presented at the MECC conference in Minneapolis, IETC in Springfield. TETC in Nashville, METC in St. Louis, and the Mt. Vernon Conference.
I received my B.A. from North Park University in Chicago and M.Ed. from National Louis University in Evanston, Illinois.
People sometimes ask me now, how it feels to be retired. My usual comment is that it’s nice to work because you want to, not because you have to. I keep myself busy with substitute teaching, managing my website of resources for teachers and doing those odd jobs around the house that I didn’t have time for before I retired.
In my “spare” time I enjoy golf, the outdoors, reading, digital photography and, of course, fiddling around with stuff on the computer.
I estimate that in my 33 years of teaching I have had over 6,000 students pass through my classrooms. I hope that some of them can find their way to this blog and perhaps use it as an opportunity to keep in touch.
The intro to my blog sort of sums it up…Being the blog of a retired teacher with just too much time on his hands, hence, Retired Old Fart’s Links, Musings & Observations. (Also, because I’m retired and you’re not!)
The focus is on technology, primarily applications and utilities the average teacher might find useful, interesting or just plain fun.
R.O.F.L.M.A.O.
Wow Vicky! It’s so collaborative of you to give other educational bloggers a chance to post links to their blogs on your blog. I think you are setting a great example and you are encouraging the spread of our collective intelligence.
I’ve been reading your blog for some time now and have learned a great deal from you. I blogged using Blogger starting many years back, but have recently switched to Wordpress and have launched ThumannResources.com
. It’s connected to the work I do for the CMSCE at Rutgers, yet separate, because it’s me talking.
Anyway, I’m having a lot of fun with a series of posts that I’m in the middle of on using the iTouch in education. I think they are my best so far because the research behind them has kept me very engaged.
Which do you feel is your best post?
Lisa
Hello, I’m Scott, and I am about a year in to writing Integrating Tech I teach English, more specifically American Lit., AP Language & Composition, and Theater Arts. I teach for the kids. I know that sounds contrite, but I enjoy those moments when the light bulb goes and a kid “gets it.” Fifteen years in to my career, I feel like I am just now learning how to teach well.
I write to talk about how I’ve used technology in my classroom, where I’ve succeeded, and where I’ve stumbled. Trying to be more consistent in sharing what I’ve done. Thus, if you are interested in any of those things, my blog is for you.
The main reason I blog is to try to give back. I’ve had this philosophy lately that none of us are in this alone and we should be sharing more and collaborating more rather than walking into our classrooms and closing the door.
I’m Ian Hecht and you can find my blog at Marturia.net. I’m a high school teacher in Saskatchewan, Canada at a school of about 2000 students. My teaching load includes Science, French Immersion, History, and Communication Production Technology (media production).
I’ve been teaching for 6 years, and in what I’m sure was entirely coincidental timing, my blog started six years ago. It’s not an edublog per se, but education is one of the topics I blog about (more and more so, I’m finding). I write about politics, religion, family, technology and culture in addition to education, as well as the intersections between them.
I blog mainly for myself, as I originally started the blog as a way of keeping track of interesting news stories. Over time, it’s become a soapbox on and off, which has gotten me into trouble a couple of times with parents and administrators. What’s life without a little risk, though…
I just wanted to say thanks for writing up this post – I’ve already added a couple more feeds to my reader from responders above, which is excellent. I’m always on the lookout for people who have better ideas than me (just about everybody) on how to integrate technology seamlessly in the classroom in a variety of subject areas.
Hi Vicki,
I am Erica Hartman, author of theitclassroom and I have been reading your blog for about a year, you are one of the first RSS feeds in my Google Reader. I taught 6th grade Language Arts for the past 6 years, but next year I will be teaching a brand new- still being hatched class called “Connections” which is basically writing across the curriculum, creative thinking, research and of course, technology.
I live in Hackettstown, NJ with my husband and 3 and half year old daughter, Jaylin. I am addicted to TiVO and my Google Reader.
I blog for anyone who will read my blog. I am hoping teachers or tech coordinators or even my mom will read it. I have been blogging for about a year and have my students blogging now.
I use my blog as kind of a journal and a to-do list for myself. It helps me prioritize my tech goals, plus pushes me to try new things. If someone wants to read or comment, that is a bonus. (Although I would love more readers.)
I would love your input on how to improve my blog and get more readers.
Enjoy your summer!
Hi Vicki,
I’m Doug and I blog at sekolahbogorraya.edublogs.org. I started and still manage a school in Indonesia. At 64, I’m kind of an old dog, trying to learn some new tricks.
I started blogging a year ago in an effort to drag my teaching staff into the 21st century. When I started no-one had heard of RSS. now they’ve heard of it and a couple actually use it.
I blog as an example for my staff and to connect to my clients. But not many of either group read my blog. Frankly, I feel like a blog without an audience. What should I do?
My name is Angie and I am a teacher of gifted children at a West Houston school for gifted. I’ve been blogging for three or so years. My son got me started, I’m sure, but I can’t remember how or when. Now, he supports any technical things that are out of my league, in between his web dev job responsibilities in Dallas.
I blog for two reasons. I like to write. Participating in the National Writing Project at SLU in Hammond was the best ever way to gain confidence in my writing! Thanks Richard!
The second reason I blog is to advocate for the social/emotional and academic needs of the gifted student. The son I mentioned earlier and my daughter (just freshly graduated from Tulane) were both products of the Gifted program in St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana. If you talk to any parent of a gifted child, you will find that they are information hungry. I hope that my blog and experience can help someone out there deal with the challenge.
Blogging has connected me to some interesting sites and brought many a new way of thinking about an issue to my mind. I hope that my blog does the same for you.
Stop over sometime at http://www.teachagiftedkid.com
Oh man…. more blogs to subscribe to! :)
My name is Tracy Standhart and my blog is I Learn, You Learn, We Learn Blog,a part of the Discovery Educator Network. I am a teacher in Schenectady City Schools in upstate NY.
I started using my blog in January to share tid-bits of technology tips, tricks, articles and words of wisdom from others with the large staff in my district. I also wanted them to see that blogs can be used for a simplistic means of sharing rather than an in depth,thought provoking forum. I’ve included on my blog a blogroll on which yours is listed. I hope the list of blogs will spark some interest in Web 2.0 and using technology effectively in our district.
Periodically I send out an electronic newsletter of sorts called Tech News You Can Use. My blog is a supplement to that. If I didn’t use the blog, I could envision myself sending multiple emails a day! (I don’t think that would be very popular as we get so many emails per day as it is.)
I have hopes teachers in Schenectady will begin to use blogs as a class tool in their classrooms.
This is a great idea,Vicki. After a while, I think you should post all the blogs as links in a future post on your blog!
My name is Michael Selva, and I am a teacher & resident techie at an Armenian parochial school in Watertown, MA (next to Boston). My classroom blog is
Computer Lab Chronicles. I use the blog to (1) post assignments for the students when they come to the lab (2) post examples of student work for their parents to see (3) allow parents to download the Open Source software we use in school so that their children can use the same programs at home, and (4) teach the older students (4th & 5th Grade) how to post their own articles and eventually how to create a blog of their own, and (5) teach my colleagues how to create & use blogs for their own classrooms.
This is my first teaching job, and my second year at this school. I started my own blog in September 07, and one of my colleagues has also followed suit. You can see his handiwork at
Mister Moore’s Homeroom.
I love teaching! There is NOTHING better than to see the look on a child’s face when she shows you a drawing she just made with Tux Paint, or an intricate geometric design created with LOGO, or a poem that was formatted just right by a first-time word processing user.
Before finding my dream job, I did a bunch of other things: adult education (mostly teaching people how to use everyday office software as well as high-level database management tools), school psychology, and tech writing. I also spent a year as a “Genius” at an Apple retail store.
So, come on by for a visit, leave a comment, or write to me at mselva@ssaes.org.
This is a postscript to my previous comment. With the help of a recently-retired technology teacher, I’ve started both a blog and a user group focused on promoting the use of Open Source technology in schools. Y’all come visit us at Moving to Open Source Software.
Hi my name is Sabrina and I blog at Sabridv Blog I’m an English as a foreign language teacher and I’m writing this blog to share my teaching experience. I write lesson plans, reflections on my teaching and my experience with web2.0 tools. Hope you like it!!!
I’m posting this on behalf of a teacher behind a firewall!
Hi Vicki, I’m Kymberli Mulford and I blog at
Onionskin and at
This Mommy Gig
I?ve been a classroom teacher in several multi-age classrooms at a year-round school, a School Library Media Specialist, a Learning Technologies Facilitator covering several schools, and a Technology Director for a special education cooperative. I?m happiest in a classroom surrounded by students exploring new technologies to learn and share knowledge, so I am wending my way back to that place.
I?ve taught in New Hampshire, New Jersey, California, Illinois and England. I am sometimes amazed at the similarity of these teaching experiences. We are a global community of teachers, and most of us experience the same highs and lows, victories and challenges. I am bolstered by the knowledge of this, and by our ability to connect with each other well.
I believe that thoughtfully applied technology is the cornerstone to reaching this generation of students. I strive to be one of the teachers who made a difference in the lives of the students I work with each day. I bring my ?A Game? to the classroom every time because, well, I love being there. I love the enthusiastic greetings of kids who just know we?re going to do something really cool together.
I?m the mother of two awesome boys, and both are considered ?twice exceptional? ? as in gifted and also facing challenges that impact their learning in the classroom. (One ?probably? is ADD, and one receives support for Asperger?s Syndrome.) I see them each as simply brilliant, of course. I understand the challenges they face in ?typical? classrooms. I?d go nuts if I had to put up with the things they put up with every day. Anyway, they both love learning, in spite of school, and this ? along with their healthy appetite for technology ? will take them very far.
My blog audiences are small. I?m a newbie. At Onionskin I write to other ed tech enthusiasts, and hopefully to other teachers who wish they could embrace technology if only their district would let them. At This Mommy Gig I write to other moms, and I suspect that most of the readership there consists of newer moms with younger children. Someday, I?ll blog about parenting a child with Asperger?s Syndrome, but I need to be more confident about the issues of his right to privacy before I can begin that.
I blog because I love to write. At this point, my audiences are segregated, and I think I?m already finding that I write for each in a slightly different tone. Funny what self-critique can reveal. I love the dialogue that comes out of commenting and track-backs, and I try really hard to comment on others? posts as often as I post on my own blog. It?s a challenge, but I believe it?s a worthwhile effort.
My name is Shelley and I blog at Relax. No, really. I am a college counselor in a K12 independent school and have only recently started a professionally oriented blog. (My personal blog, But Wait, There’s More!, has been around since 2003.)
I have always been the kind of person who thinks best in conversation, and even though there are not that many people in schools and in my field who are out here blogging (at least not that I’ve found!), I have a kind of “if we build it, they will come” attitude about all things internet.
I don’t really have an audience (yet?), partly because the blog has only been getting a tiny little snippet of my time and partly because I haven’t worked out all the possible pitfalls, but I’m hoping to get the approval of my school leadership to keep feeling my way forward.
Can I be trusted to steer clear of posts that seem inappropriately revealing while simultaneously turning over some ideas in a way that I hope invites others to chime in?
Only time will tell…
I am grateful every day for those who have gone before me in this learn-as-you-go-while-others-are-watching way.
I just have to comment back and say that I’m loving this post. This is a great example of how the comments go on to make the blog post so much more than it was. I’ve gotten through just the first four tonight and learned so many things — like about animoto’s educator version, some thought provoking ideas about privacy, and some great pictures of an elementary class project.
I’m overwhelmed and amazed at the diversity and hard work represented in these blog posts and look forward to taking the time to go through these posts as I go through your comments and thoughts.
I think perhaps I love most of all the story behind what you are saying. Again, I am confirmed that teaching is truly the most noble calling on the earth.
And you, my friends, are part of that nobility… it echoes in every word that you say and in the love of teaching that oozes from every word.
Wow! I am awestruck.
Hi Vicki
My name is Erin Freeman (m3teacher) and I am a primary school teacher in New Zealand. I have just begun blogging this year and yours was the first blog I stuck in my reader (once I learned what that was!).
I follow your blog closely and I am often amazed at the amount of valuable, relevant and useful links you post everyday!!
I have realised how integral blogging has become to my teaching practice. I am becoming more confident and passionate about the teaching and learning process — mostly through the use of web2.0 tools.
I appreciate this opportunity to get my blog ‘out there’.
Hey, Lady, thanks so much for this contribution. I plan to use it in the couple workshops I’m doing for teachers this summer (see Web 2.0 for Us for more on those) and to reference it frequently as I help colleagues begin to understand the personal learning (read “free professional development”) value of blogs and learning networks. I think sometimes the big T, Time, is the enemy, but like a good martial artist one needs to turn its attack into its weakness, use Time’s momentum to its defeat. Twitter’s been the key to helping me lose my apprehension about missing out on the conversation: There’s absolutely NO way one can be there for all of it, but if ya don’t understand how to dip your toe into the river of information whenever you can, yr definitely missing out. Every time I read your blog, or the blogs I’ve chosen to follow, or dip into twhirl for my tweets :) I learn something valuable. That’s what it’s all about, now isn’t it? Thanks again, and see you at edubloggercon!
My name is Sherry and I blog at shegstrom-comptechteacher. I live in NH and have been blogging for 4 months now. I made a previous attempt last year, but I think I got discouraged with how few comments I received. I have been a substitute teacher for three years now. I am working towards my M.O.E. in Computer Technology Education and am also looking for a job as a computer educator. At first the blog was an assignment, now I find I blog about 1. Education, 2. technology in education, and 3. Web 2.0 tools. I used to be a Unix engineer so I have always been a geek at heart. I have fallen head over heals in love with teaching and cannot wait to have my own classroom. I try to blog about relevant issues in education as well as cool 2.0 tools that I find. I would love to hear from any of you. I think lack of comments, keeps many bloggers at bay or turns them off. Thanks for the great idea and awesome post. I have been a fan for a while now.
Hi there…
My name is Fierce Diva (well not exactly but it is a great AKA name) and I began blogging to quit smoking. Smoking seemed to make my teaching sooooo much better but then after 30 years of smoking, I decided I wanted to stick around to teach some more! I have been in education for over 20 years and currently teach at a continuation school for kids ready to drop out. I also teach at a boys group home/camp. I blog about my job and some of the educational experiences I have also. Now that I quit smoking, I may end up adding an educational blog since I have more time on my hands. I am currenly looking to return to a bigger school and started looking at teacher sites to see what is up. There is lots of good stuff out there!
Peace,
Diva
Thanks so much! A great idea.
My name is Glenn Wiebe and I work as Social Studies/Technology Specialist for an educational service center. I enjoy spending time with K-12 social studies teachers and am doing more tech integration work.
My blog is titled “HistoryTech” and focuses on using technology to teach history and social studies. I detour occasionally but my hope is that teachers have a place to find ideas and resources.
History Tech
Thank you everyone for leaving these comments and links to your blogs. I’m heading out of town on vacation with the family and have every intent on coming back to these when I return. I’ve gotten several e-mails from readers saying that they’ve found some new great bloggers!
This just shows that it is important to:
1) comment on blogs
2) be unashamed to throw in your link!
Thank you and I’ll be back!
Hello, I really like your blog and this post has inspired me to leave my own details. I am a secondary teacher in a k-12 school in Queensland Australia. At the moment I teach Multimedia, Geography and English. English teaching is where I have most of my experience teaching but I am trying to move into multimedia more and more every year. I have been teaching for 9 years now. The last six months have seen me try blogging and I have even established a website for my students to access resources. It has been a steep learning curve though. Shortly I am thinking of setting up a website for teachers and I will be linking here for sure! Once again I enjoyed your post and good luck for the future!
Personal blog – http://www.chookscratch.com
Student files – http://www.files4school.com
Future site – http://www.scribblersden.com
This is such a fantastic idea, I am going to have to blog about it!!
My name is Isabelle Jones and I teach French and Spanish in a High School in England.
My blog is called My Languages and it can be visited at http://isabellejones.blogspot.com
My blog is about everything to do with learning and teaching world languages and how using technology can make it all even more exciting.It includes news, views, research and links to resources. I have morethan 4000 language-related bookmarks with Diigo and Del.icio.us and I have also recently started the Resources for Langages Diigo group-languages and technology bookmarks- which now has more than 100 members.
I have been blogging for just over a year and I have found it a brilliant way to keep up to date with technology and innovative practice. I have also used my blog to support the profesional development of the members of my team and to develop my most able students’independent learning skills.
I love the reflective nature of it as well as the fact I have-hopefully!-an audience for my musings.
100 brains are definitely better than one!
Isabelle
http://isabellejones.blogspot.com
Thank you, Vicki … another wonderful initiative by you!
My name is Lee and I blog at http://stepupetc.edublogs.org/ I am a K-12 teacher who is currently involved with an Australian educational consultancy which provides PD to K-12 teachers and tertiary pre-service teachers.
The aim of the blog is to promote a sharing community whereby teachers can not only read about practical ideas for embedding technology into their classroom but also contribute their innovative practices to their peers.
Kia ora from New Zealand. My name is Jo and I have been blogging personally for years (kiwilessa) but only professionally since feb 07 – dragonsinger – creating a space for educational sharing from small town new zealand and more recently with my class of 7 & 8 year olds (Room 10 @ RBS).
I guess my target audience is anyone who wants to read my blog/s. I don’t blog with a specific group of people in mind (well – not usually) but I guess my aim is teachers – and most often local teachers who are in the same ICT cluster as myself. Sometimes I blog as part of my blogging workshop to provide additional information for attendees.
It’s also a way to reflect on my learning – not just in ICT.
Sometimes my personal blog overlaps with my professional one but that’s ok too – who I am is part of my teaching practice (or should that be practise?)
I enjoy reading other blogs – Cool Cat, David Warlick, middle-school-teacher, artichoke, and a bunch of others – I’ve learned so much through blogs that my teaching has changed.
Thanks, Vicki, for the great way to find even more great blogs to follow! I’m Michelle Bourgeois and I blog when I can find the time at Milobo’s Musings. I work as a Faculty Professional Growth Specialist at Pensacola Catholic High School (a fancy way of saying I work with teachers to help them find strategies to engage students in the curriculum both with and without technology and to build their own personal skills). I love my job and every day brings new challenges and adventures as we learn together how to meet the needs of our students. Next year, PCHS will be beginning the transition to a laptop school with our freshman class. It’s exciting to see our faculty embrace the challenges that are ahead!
I write as much for myself as for an audience. I find that putting ideas out there really helps me to focus my own thoughts and beliefs about what makes teaching and learning effective. Plus, I love to share ideas and tools that I think other educators will find useful.
I love to communicate and connect with fellow educators who are “walking the walk” with the new opportunities that technology brings to the classroom. My website includes links to several of my handouts and presos.
Thanks for all you do for the educational community!
Thanks Vicki for your continuing inspiration. I have been blogging for several months at Learning Curve and you are righa bit daunting for beginners with so many good blogs around. However, I started because I felt it would be good experience for teaching to understand the learning that goes with blogging. And it has been great learning.
My area is re-entering secondary/post school business education (after a break from teaching) and I’m finding great networks, tools and ideas to use in teaching.
Marie
Hi! My name is Jenny Clark. I teach 2nd grade at an urban school in the Midwest (Yes, there is such a thing!). I’m a successful urban teacher, and blogging is my way of reflecting on the choices I make, which in turn, continues my success. It’s also a place for me to share the fun stories that are a natural part of second grade! My FAVORITE story is about two camels. Here’s a link to my main page, doinitjensway.
Thanks for this opportunity Vikki! I too was struggling to find other teacher-bloggers. I found you by googling teacher blogs. So far I’ve starred almost every one of your posts in my google reader (since last week!!).
2nd try! (I forgot a link- sorry)
Hi! My name is Jenny Clark. I teach 2nd grade at an urban school in the Midwest (Yes, there is such a thing!). I’m a successful urban teacher, and blogging is my way of reflecting on the choices I make, which in turn, continues my success. It’s also a place for me to share the fun stories that are a natural part of second grade! My FAVORITE story is about two camels. Here’s a link to my main page, doinitjensway.
Thanks for this opportunity Vikki! I too was struggling to find other teacher-bloggers. I found you by googling teacher blogs. So far I’ve starred almost every one of your posts in my google reader (since last week!!).
It can be very scary to write your first blog post. Thank you for putting those feelings into words. I hope to link your post onto the Talkabout Primary MFL ning http://primarymfl.ning.com/ to encourage more members to have a go themselves.
Blogging is very new to me. Mike, the director of technology in my district, introduced me to blogging in a professional development class, “New Technologies Seminar”. I was very hesitant to write for some if not all of the reasons you wrote about in your post. Thank you for writing it. I feel a bit freer and have been able to create 3 more posts. Slow start I know but a start. You can see my blog at sandycap.edublogs.org. (I haven’t learned how to put a link in a comment, yet.)
Hi, I am Darren Fix and I run sciencefix.com, a blog for middle school science teachers. I teach 7th and 8th grade science which in California covers evolution, cells, genetics, body systems, motion, forces, density, chemical reactions and astronomy. The blog mainly contains lessons and video demos that I do in my science classrooms. It’s for other middle school science teachers to use. I like sharing what I do in my classroom and I enjoy knowing other teachers discover and use them.
Hi Vicki! I just discovered your blog through this post today and I can’t wait to explore it some more! My name is Samantha and my blog is The French Corner. I am not actually a teacher yet (I am entering my 4th year of undergraduate study for Adolescent Education for French and Spanish this fall at a state college in NY) but I have been wanting to be a language teacher since 9th grade!
I first started my blog as a regular site in 2003 when I was in 11th grade because I loved making websites and I wanted to make one that could be useful for my future students some day. A year ago I made it into a blog and transferred every article from the site as a blog post and now I keep adding new material.
My blog is intended for any student or educator of French, formal or informal. Posts contain resources for learners, links to media in French, or news or current events in France or other French-speaking countries. My audience is quite varied: French teachers, French students, American expats in France, even native French speakers visit or subscribe to the blog.
I just recently discovered how many teachers have blogs and I am excited about what I will find here!
I’m Brian Bridges, Director of the California Learning Resource Network, http://www.clrn.org, and President of California’s Computer Using Educators, http://www.cue.org. While I’ve blogged for a few years now, I’ve done so knowing that few would read it. While an audience would be nice, the purpose of writing is to sharpen the ax and to grow my ideas. My blog, http://bbridges51.edublogs.org, Brian @ CLRN: Professional Development and Technology Integration in a Flat World is my work of love. I’m currently in the middle (five posts so far) of a series about Clayton Christensen’s book, Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation will Change the Way the World Learns.
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Hi, I’m Fred Koch and after 20+ years of serving as a K-4 general music teacher I have just completed my first year as a K-4 Technology Coach. Today is my birthday and what am I doing? Reading through a pile of great blogs.
My school district is in suburban Chicago and the purpose of my blog, Fred Koch’s Tech Blog, is to help teachers in my district begin to see the possibilities of a classroom infused with rich and engaging technology experiences.
I have also set up two sites, the Sheridan School Showcase and the Cherokee School Showcase to spotlight projects we created throughout the year. The hope is that these examples will inspire other teachers to “dip their toe into the water.”
I have found a sense of urgency in helping teachers realize the role technology can play in being a “window to the world” so I want to do what I can to serve as a facilitator for my students and teachers. Plus it is fun, rewarding and creative…
Thanks for this great post, you’ve hit the nail right on the head for why I haven’t really pushed my blog all that much. I’ve even set aside a page for my teachers which has my del.icio.us bookmarks organized, but I’ve been a bit skeptic to even share that. Thank you, I will follow much of your advice and quit hiding my blog!
My name is Bryan Berretta, I maintain Collateral Learning, a blog dedicated to exploring why we teach what we teach and what we teach when we don’t mean to teach. I’m in the early stages of building the blog, so the template is a bit on the barren side.
this kind of blog always useful for blog readers, it helps people during research. your post is one of the same for blog readers.
Hi Vicki,
I have just found your blog and really enjoy it. I am a retired Texas teacher and recently started my own blog http://www.myretiredteacherblog.blogspot.com/. My blog is meant, much as the name would suggest, for retired teachers, but also for retirees in general, and active teachers as I plan to cover some current educational issues. I would be honored if you and your readers would visit my blog and leave your comments. If you are willing, I would like to add your blog to the list of blogs I follow. Thanks!
I have a blog called A Learning Child where I have content submitted from some teacher friends of mine. I have found that teachers love to contribute new ideas and thoughts on education but are fairly timid when it comes to any form of internet recognition. It might be from years of having to have their ideas stifled in an archaic and rigid education system.
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