Via a Tweet from TeachaKidd, I read this blog entry related to blogging and why educators blog. The original post is here. Participation is needed in an Open PD session this afternoon that I would love to take part in via UStream or Skype. I've used these technologies before and but may be unavailable at that time. If I can't make it, I'll be bummed. At least I can share my thoughts here and hope that someone finds them.

The discussion will center on the following questions:

1. Where you blog and how long you have been blogging for?

I wrote by first entry on January 16th, 2007. That year, I wrote 62 entries and have posted 18 so far this year. I pretty much write about teaching, educational technology, other ideas related to school libraries. Occassionally I write about something the students did, something my children did, or something that bothers me, but for the most part, it's all related to education.

2. Why you blog? How does it benefit you or your work?

I started blogging because I wanted to learn about blogging itself. I had thoughts about trying it with students and figured I better learn it first. I have "met" some amazing people through blogging and have learned quite a bit. I benefit from blogging because I can share my thoughts, concerns, and questions with other in hopes of getting feedback. In short, I think it makes me a better educator, and I'm not alone. In many cases, I get ideas on how to handle situations. In other cases, I am encouraged to think. I think blogging takes on two parts - the writing and the reading. To me, reading other blogs is where I learn the most. While it's great to produce something that can create a conversation and perhaps share an idea, reading what others have to say is important to me. I currently follow about 50 blogs through Google Reader. In addition, I am notified about other blogs and posts through Twitter. I have done more professional reading over the last year and a half (my time Blogging) than I did in the previous five years.

3. How blogging has helped your students and how long have you been blogging with students (if applicable)

We recently started student blogs with a sixth grade class, but have had some trouble getting it going. There are a number of reasons I won't get in to, but I hope it's more successful down the road.

4. Why you feel blogging is important.

To me, blogging is important because I have made connections with other educators and leaders around the world. My peronal learning network, the new buzzword flying around, has grown quite a bit. I'm able to bounce ideas off a wider audience that I ever have. I'm able to learn more from a wider audience. I'm able to share experiences I have with others and learn from them. In addition, blogging has kept me up to date with Web 2.0 tools and other new educational technology tools. Without blogging, this would not have happened so quickly. Educators need to keep up to date with current trends. Not only in reading and math instruction, but in technology as well. Blogging is keeping me connected and it's really helped. I fell much more up to date than I have in the past.

5. What are the 3 most important tips you would share with a new blogger?"

1. Realize that you cannot read everything.
2. Read blogs, read blogs, and read blogs.
3. Don't let it consume you.

There you go, thoughts and comments are certainly welcome! Remember, conversations lead to learning.

Yesterday, we set up blogs with a sixth grade class. I figured it would go fairly smooth since I had a good handout that I stole borrowed (thanks Lou) and everyone would be on task since we were doing something fun and new. Poor assumption. For the most part, things did go fine, but there were some technical difficulties I didn't plan for. For one, not everyone wrote down their password when the website assigned them one. Now, we can request another one, but it's time consuming and I don't see the kids more than once a week. I would like everyone at the same point in the process while we start, but I'm going to have to meet with some of the kids at another time to make sure they are ready for next week. Another problem was the lack of listening skills some of the kids have. This isn't new, I'm taught for a while and I should have known, but for some reason, I was overly optimistic. For the most part, everyone's ready to go. We'll see what happens when we try reading other blogs and actually blogging next week, but I certainly can tell you one thing - I'll be hoping for the worst. That way, if something better happens, I'll be pleasantly surprised.

Now, a great tip from the Four Eyed Technologist suggested that I have students read and read and read blogs prior to writing their own. This is a great idea, but I'm looking for some help. If you know of any students blogs that my sixth graders would benefit from, please leave me a comment. If you have students who are blogging, let me know. The more the merrier. I want my students to starting thinking about what they're reading and coming up with thoughtful comments. Once they see good examples of this, their blogging will be better. Thanks in advance for your help.

Okay, I've decided what to do first. In an earlier blog, I noted how overwhelmed I am with the abundance of Web 2.0 tools that are out there. Taking some advice from a comment Bud the Teacher left me, I've decided to start slow and pick one tool to focus on....blogs! Now, I've been blogging for a little less than a year and am really enjoying it. When I first started, one of the things I did to keep up with some of my fellow bloggers was to list their blogs on my blog page. If I came across a new blog I wanted to read, I copied the URL, went to my blog, edited the layout and added the blog to my list. Then, I'd visit all the blogs and see if they wrote anything new - some did, some didn't, but I checked every one. I ran my total up to 29 blogs listed on my blog page as "Things I Read." Some of you might be thinking - hey dummy genius, there's an easier way!

You're right, there is. I discovered Bloglines and have been using that as a great way to keep track of the new feeds from my blogging friends. This has really been a great tool for me. Earlier this week, I made another discovery - Google Reader. Sure, Google is behind a wide variety of 2.0 tools, but some of them are pretty good. Currently, I've divided the blogs I read and subscribe to into 2 groups - Educational Technology and Other Stuff. I'm using Bloglines for one and Google Reader for the other. I figure this way I'll use both for a while and then decided which one I like better. Perhaps I'll like them both and continue with my current plan. Either way, I'll have to agree with a comment from Darren at Drape's Takes that these tools can make your online time more efficient. I now have way more than 29 blogs I'm keeping track of and I'm probably spending less time doing it now than I was before. In addition, when I come across a new blog that interests me, I can simply click on a button in the toolbar of my browser and it's instantly added to Bloglines or Google Reader.

Now, my next tool to learn more about is going to be del.icio.us! I've played around with this personally and have an idea on how to use this at school.

Please give me your thoughts on this. I'm in charge of our school web page. Among other things, I manage lists of links for our parents and students to use. Every time I want to add a new site, I either add it to the general list of links or put it on the specific grade level page. We use Contribute for creating the web pages and I must do all updates from the computer in my library. This can be a pain the butt because sometimes I find things to add when I'm not at school. If teachers want something added, they tell me about it in the hall (wonderful stupid idea) or email it and then I add it when I have time. I was thinking about using del.icio.us as a better way to keep track of the links we use. I could create a link to a del.icio.us page I've created for our school from our school site. Updating or adding links could be done from anywhere. In addition, if I properly trained the teachers, they could also add links to the list. We could label grade level specific sites with specified tags for better organization. Teachers, students, and parents could narrow the list to the grade level or subject area they need by selecting a specific tag. This sounds like a great idea and just might work, but perhaps I haven't thought of everything. If you've got a thought on this, let me know - I need your collective brainpower!

I'm getting overwhelmed. I'm finding so many outstanding blogs that I'm having a hard time figuring out where to start. There are tons of teaching blogs out there and tons of Ed. Tech blogs that I'm really starting to enjoy. However, I'm finding out this world is much bigger than I imagined. My bookmarks on del.icio.us are growing by the minute. The list is still very small compared to what's out there, but I guess I better start small - there's only 24 hours in the day.

I have to start narrowing down my interests. There's so much I want to learn more about - RSS feeds, Google Reader, Twitter, Ning, and others. I haven't even touched wikis yet. I'm using Bloglines - and I find it very useful. I'm in the very early learning stages of Twitter, recently signing up. I have no idea, at this point, how it works. If you have an idea, let me know. Look me up or something - if that's possible. I'm pretty sure my user name is imcguy. Should I learn more about this before moving on to something else?

Should I focus more on my blogging and less on other Web 2.0 tools? Should I focus more on reading the good stuff that's out there commenting on it rather than worry about how many people will comment on my blog? I'm upset when I don't get any comments - should I even care? Should I continue learning more about del.icio.us and how to share my bookmarks? What tool should my students start using? What would they benefit from first? So many questions.

This learning environment is huge. There is no way I could get this information from the teachers in my building, my department, or even my district. This is truly incredible. Now, how can it benefit the kids? How can I get classroom teachers to see the value of this? How can this increase test scores - or can it? While we need to prepare students for a future that most likely doesn't exist yet, how can we teach these skills when there is so much focus on getting our students to be proficient learners. These tech skills will help them as they get older, but I'm not sure how they will get kids to pass the test now!

That is the question! After taking a peek at a recent issue of School Library Journal, I came across an article directed at librarians with the title "Five Reasons Not to Blog." I read this article with a little interest since I've recently (a few months ago) joined the blog community. Read it and see what you think about the author's five reasons for not blogging (my comments are in italics):

1. “I want to give them a piece of my mind!” Be careful what piece you give them!
2. "2. “Oh, the stories I could tell.” This section basically tells you not to tell those stories. But that's not fun!
3. “I think I can find some time at school…” We all know how this one would play out.
4. “Nobody will find out that it’s me.” Oh really?
5. “It’s OK, I will keep it private.” Much easier said than done. I've commented to colleagues that I've started a blog, which some would like to read. I think I made a mistake mentioning it.

After reading and rereading this little article, I did think a little about the purpose of my blog. Is my blog meant to hide my identity in case I do say something inappropriate? Do I care if my reader knows I'm the author? Is this blog set up as a way to kind of vent and just get stuff off my chest? Probably, all of the above.

When I first read this article, I thought it would make a good blog entry. Today, when I decided to actually start writing the blog during my rather boring grad class, I couldn't remember where I read it. Time for Google! I searched for "8 Reasons Not to Blog" thinking that was the title. Well, it wasn't, but I did come across reasons to join and stay away from this often addicting hobby as well as other reasons.. The 5 reasons mentioned in SLJ are much more serious than the other two, but all do have some interesting points. What do you think?

For me for now, the blogging continues!