Gaining Confidence in the World of Blogging-

Gaining Confidence in blogging takes time and effort, especially when much of it is new and completely foreign. The process must be taken one step at a time. Learning and growing as time goes on. But it is essential to be open-minded enough to allow for a shift in the way you think about it.  

I can say that I have confidence in the world of blogging when I have read and understood more about blogging value, and the fear of not knowing how it works withers away. Vance (2018) notes that technology is appearing and changing so fast that educators barely get to use them. The frequent change can make blogging intimidating; the key is to make small steps to help students and educators become better learners. What we are looking at is a total learning mind shift.

I have chosen to follow three educational leaders to help with my Mindshift: Will Richardson, Gary Stager, and Matt Miller. I also included Edutopia even though they are not an individual.  What I understand from these people collectively is that traditional forms of education have met their expiration. We must look to encourage project-based learning, student-led learning, and the use of technology to guide how they learn.

I chose Will Richardson because he is the writer of our textbook for this class. As I learned more about his view on education; I agree that we share similar thoughts on how students are being educated.  In his interview with Hilly (2018), Richarson notes that "Most schools continue to promote teaching cultures. A learning culture, by contrast, is one in which everyone in the building is a learner...(Hilly, 2018, p.32)"; this means that teachers must learn right along with their students. The reality is that children, all people for that matter, have always been learners. It is a natural gift that starts from the very first time our senses develop.

Gary Stager "@garystager" is an educator that I found while following Will Richardson. Stager focuses on Project Based Learning (PBLs). He wants students to create and build their way of learning. Students are encouraged to learn through doing.  PBLs, are a far better approach that will make learning more meaningful and foster collaboration. I want to encourage my students to be doers.

            Matt Miller"“@jmattmiller"” is the founder of “Ditch That Textbook.” I had read a little about him because I was looking for a way to solve the notebook problem of keeping track of work, evidence of learning, and assessments.  I plan to use the digital notebook this year as we are starting the year online. I also plan to use a format of inter-class mini-blogging within our digital notebooks and google slides. Additionally, I found that he follows and is followed by many of the people I have listed and who are significant influencers in blogging in the classroom and using other technological modalities.

Edutopia is an excellent resource for helping to create learners that self-advocate and are aware of their own social, emotional, and educational needs.  They advocated using podcasts to aid in understanding foreign languages and indicated the benefits of digital storytelling.  They also suggested using QR codes to locate research on a particular topic as another technology tool to put in the toolbox. These ideas are tools and techniques that I would like to implement during the school year.

Before entering this class, the only things I knew about blogging and microblogging were that they existed, nor had I followed any blogs or created one. I guess up until this point, I had not seen a great need for its use. However, I have learned a lot in this past week. According to Vance (2018), “a blog is an online writing tool that allows an individual to post multiple written comments that are published in reverse chronological order on the internet.”  She also made a note of  Fernheimer and Nelson's (2009) description, that blogs can be called "weblog" as well and have been characterized as "online public diaries."  I also learned that Twitter is a micro-blog.

Additionally, I learned how valuable blogging can be in building writing skills, sharing individual voices, awareness of the audience in writing, and how words can impact what is interpreted (Vance, 2018). There is so much that blogging can offer the learner. 

When I created my first tweet, my vision was relatively narrow. I noted that I could use Twitter to share various media, take polls and get assessment feedback. However, as I began to read ideas from #EDUC6719, I found that the possibilities were endless.

After following the feed from #EDUC6710, a few ideas caught my eye, and I am interested to see how they would work out. One idea shared by San Educator, "@Sant_Educator," was to get feedback from students about a lesson. I thought this was great!  Another was the connection with parents. As I mentioned in Discussion 1, I previously used Facebook to connect with parents, which was beneficial. However, over time it became less appealing to younger parents. As the parents get more youthful, I must be mindful of where I can best reach them; such as Instagram. Akilah Curtis, "@AkilahCurtis4" (2018), suggested that we connect with students in other countries. 

I have friends all over the US and in the Caribbean. This is a fantastic experience for students to have, sharing ideas and collaborating and learning from each other. Rachel Reyes "@rachelqreyes" (2018) shared a tweet from Cori Lango, "@CoriLango" (2018), where it was noted that Twitter was a great way to "allow parents to be a part of their child's day." The more I read and imagine, the more options and opportunities become endless.

Honestly, When it comes to blogging, I am still learning how it works and its process. In Richardson's (2010) book, I have read about how a teacher used blogging in her English class. It was pretty interesting how the students set up their blogs and got feedback from others and possibly persons outside the class. Once I am more familiar with that process, I would like to try this out.  Tucker (2014) points out that "...students in this era have grown up with access to the internet and are capable of interacting and collaborating in ways that were unfathomable at one point in time." She goes on to refer to a report that "These skills are essential due to increased global competition, rising workforce capabilities, and accelerated technological change (Tucker, 2014, as cited Learning for the, n.d)" She then shared that "if our students want to be successful, beyond the classroom, it is crucial that they master these skills. ( Tucker, 2014 as cited Motivate and Engage, 2009)" We must meet the needs of the 21st-century learner; if not, our place in their learning is useless. Our old ways will have no place in their world as adults. Taking this program will help me stay relevant as an educator, and my service is meaningful. As Tucker (2014) also mentions in her journal entry, "unless the bridge is gapped between how they learn and how they live, today's education system will face irrelevance."  What a powerful but truthful and compelling statement.

Blogging will increase my ability to connect and learn from others. Initially, it was hard to relate as I had managed my school years without social media and internet access. Learning was individual and lacked collaboration unless there was a project. Walden's RWRCOEL Professional Dispositions (2016) speak about collaboration as a vital part of the teacher's success. When I think about it, teachers who were not encouraged to collaborate as learners now struggle to collaborate as teachers. I plan to be an excellent modern learner. As learning methods change, I will learn and grow right along with them as access to information changes. The key is to continue to learn from others who share their ideas and thoughts.

Incorporating blogging into my teaching practice is supported by several of the RWRCOEL Technology proficiencies. The use of technology to facilitate learning for a diverse population of students, colleagues, and other stakeholders is paramount to the success of learning and assessment (Laureate Education, inc., 2015).  As stated in the second and third proficiencies (p.2), educators are encouraged to provide opportunities for students to explore the real world and experience solving authentic problems using digital tools, media, and formats to enhance learning. Blogging has proven to do such, and I am looking forward to implementing it soon.  This ideal is also supported by the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS), as indicated in the entry by Tucker (2014).

There are so many benefits that will come with becoming confident in the world of blogging. You can be a better teacher who can serve today's students so that they can become the well-equipped adults of the future. They will have the ability to experience and become a part of the real world before they get out there and be ready to meet life head-on. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Curtis, Akilah. @AkilahCurtis4. (2018) Tweets

Reyes, Rachel. @Rachelqreyes. (2018) Tweets

San Educator. @Sant_Educator. (2018) Tweets

Hilly, M. (2018). Time to Update the Program: Reimagining School with Will Richardson. The International Educator.
Laureate Education, Inc. (2016). RWRCOEL Diversity Proficiencies. https://class.content.laureate.net/a08a4a2a6f6799ef98d006d658fd2a67.pdf

Laureate Education, Inc. (2015). RWRCOEL Technology Proficiencies.

https://class.content.laureate.net/2565b7a77954cee53d16c82a78cc0726.pdf

Luther, F. D., & Pickering, J. (2015). Using Web 2.0 Learning Environments to Address Diversity: A Diversity Education Example. The Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin.
Tucker, S. Y. (2014). Transforming Pedagogies: Integrating 21st Century Skills and Web 2.0 Technology. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education.
Vance, N. (n.d.). Web 2.0 in the schools. Research Starters.