Welcome to my first blog post! This post marks the beginning of our journey together. I will do my own reflections here as well.

Let’s go!

What Are My Biggest Concerns with Technology?

I’ll think back a few years to when I was first getting my feet wet with tech. My biggest concern wasn’t really a concern; it was a fear. I have trouble adapting to change and my brain can sometimes be lazy about learning complicated things…it just wants to sit on the couch and watch Real Housewives. So part of the reason I didn’t advance very quickly with tech was the belief that learning it was going to take a lot of time. I took the attitude of “I know enough, and I’m fine without it,” and that kept me kind of stuck for a long time.

But once I started to learn just a little bit, it got pretty addictive. Not only was it not nearly as hard as I’d imagined, it gave me an incredible sense of POWER. Suddenly, I could create things I never could before. I could reach my students in ways that weren’t possible with my previous skills. And the confidence! To understand terminology that before just sounded like Greek was pretty amazing.

Why Is Technology Worth the Trouble?

Hands down, the most important reason technology is worth learning for me is “Power to the People;” it empowers ordinary people to do things that once were reserved only for those with money or special connections. Without technology, I could never reach all the teachers I currently reach with my blog. I would be limited to writing books and hoping someone else would publish them, or working at a university. Not that these are bad options, but with the help of technology, I have been able to take the reins in my own hands and make things happen for myself. And I get so excited to show other people how to do this for themselves as well!

How Might I Use Blogging in a Classroom Setting?

Since I am already using blogging as my full-time job, I will consider this question from the perspective of a middle-school language arts teacher. If I went back into the classroom, I would absolutely have my students blog.

First, I would have students from every class period keep a blog, taking turns updating it, so that their fellow students could be updated on class activities. This would not only serve as a good record of what we did and when, it would also help absent students stay on track. In the best scenarios, the blog could also be used to build classroom community: We could post questions for students to respond to in the comments, galleries of photos of class events, or student-created videos or podcasts for everyone to enjoy or learn from.

Second, I would have my students study blogging as an art form. I would have them create their own topic-focused blog and create 10-20 posts over a certain time period about that topic. I believe blogging is going to be a highly marketable skill in the work world, since just about every company and organization maintains a blog, so giving students experience in creating that kind of real-world content seems like a great project.