So I have made time to read four or five edu-blogs and my feelings are mixed. I love the blogs that provide resources and lesson plans for teachers like this one. I have already subscribed and I like being able to read about teacher's experiences with technology before I start searching around for helpful applications.
Other blogs like this one focus on specific teacher experiences and are more like journals. These are truly interesting but require more back-reading to get a real understanding of the blogging conversation. The blog above, titled "Learning is Messy" is really interesting because it details one teacher's struggle to incorporate useful technology in his classroom despite district limitations.
I found one edu-blog to be confusing, but I think that has more to do with my ignorance of terms like "plog" and "pencil integration". This blog is an example of the type of edu-blog that I found to be slightly frustrating and a bit of a time-waster for me.
Replying to an edu-blogger's post was awkward. No matter the anonymity and facelessness of the internet, it still felt like I was walking up on a perfect stranger and inviting myself to his/her conversation. I know that people write blogs for an authentic audience and that they desire response, but it still just feels kind of rude. It's not like talking to you guys, I'll say that for sure.
I had the same experience when I commented on an EduBlog. I explained why I was commenting, I gave some context, and it was awkward. But then I started thinking that some people love the validation. I would be freaked out if someone walked up to me and said "I heard you wrote about such and such." I think I would feel the same way on the blog, but I have seen and heard people do just that with total strangers. Everyone seemed cool with it in some cases, so maybe these EduBloggers are accustomed to strangers inviting themselves in.
ReplyDeleteYou picked a superb range of blogs to look at. I hope that I can clear up the Pencil Integration blog concern. Think about that entire blog as a metaphor ... maybe bordering on being an allegory? So instead of blogging directly about ed tech, the PI blogger pretends that he's in a parallel world where the mission is PENCIL -- not tech -- integration. Hence, he invents the term "plog" to be a pencil-based blog. I hope it will be a more enjoyable read next time around. The posts are always good, but every now and then, he creates a vision that is just spot-on powerful.
ReplyDelete