Educational Blogging

What is educational blogging? The number of definitions are plenty and the actual definition is honestly up for interpretation. Educational blogging is a broad phrase that indicates an author – most likely someone in an educational sphere: teachers, administrators, etc. – is discussing a topic related to learning, education, and outcomes of students or schools. Topics surrounding educational blogging can range from specific subjects (math, science, reading…) to teaching styles to evidence-based practices, resources, personal anecdotes, sharing ideas, and much more! There are so many benefits such as encouraging teachers to share their opinions and beliefs, what works and what doesn’t work, covering a diversity of topics, digital citizenship, confidence in writing, and increasing productivity. Additionally, visitors to blog pages discover a variety of perspectives on topics and can become well-rounded and knowledgable about both sides or gain information to make an educated opinion themselves. Onlookers can gain valuable critical thinking skills, reflective thinking practices, and the opportunity to collaborate with other educators and leaders. Although there are many great benefits to blogging, some challenges one may encounter would be conflicting viewpoints, fallible authors, and a lack of privacy.

Here are some blogs concerning a diversity of topics that all showcase how teachers can bring to light issues and hot topics that are not brought up enough in education:

Computer on a table with a phone in someone's hand.

1.) Mental Health - I was really inspired by Lara Porterfield's blog post concerning the crisis in schools and the lack of support for students encountering difficulties with mental health. Blog posts like these can enlighten individuals about underlying concerns that need to be brought to light. This insights a call to action to improve the mental health climate among students.

2.) Raising Teacher's Salaries -  I really enjoyed Grace Wanovich's blog post since this is not what you may expect to typically see. Instead of talking about a specific academic subject, discussing the effects of a teacher's salary can really be an eye-opener. Salaries for educators should be increased, I agree with Grace's point that we raise generations of professionals but do not get properly compensated. Then we have to pay back student loans!

3.) Cyberbullying - In the age of technology, bullying has taken a new form. How do we combat this? Hannah Ingle brings up a great discussion starter in her blog post concerning this topic. She mentions how everything online is there but also gone in an instant. Teaching our students how to stay safe during social media use and teaching them reporting methods would greatly benefit them.

Personally, I have really enjoyed blogging and am looking forward to implementing this communicative strategy within my future teacher repertoire. I could see myself using this to communicate with my students by sharing resources and important highlights. Parents might appreciate having a link to the blog to see what their students are learning or the blog could be an avenue where parents could receive classroom information. I could also foresee students enjoying this as a project option in multiple subject areas. It would be beneficial for them because it promotes writing, sharing perspectives, and is an alternate, fun option.