The Blogging Teacher

It has been said that the next generation of children coming through the school systems, age 14 years and under, have never known life without technology. The push in the technology field is through a teacher program called STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. But there are more reasons for any teacher to blog besides the fact that it is part of the program and it does not have to be centered around STEM, just centered around your area of expertise and interest.

  Here are some guidelines to getting your own successful teaching blog going.

§  Stay on topic. Make sure that your blog is dedicated to what the students are learning in the moment. Use the blog to enhance the topics being discussed in class.

§  Get link-y with it. The key to any successful blog is to imbed links into your blog. They can be educational links to fun games or links to papers and research. In a round about way, you are not only teaching your students more about the topic, but how to do research and find information. In the job market, that is more important at times than the topics we are teaching.

§  Pics or it didn’t happen. Pictures can be used to enhance the topic or just simply snag your readers attention. Everyone loves pictures.

§  Let’s go to the video. Most blogging sites allow you to attach YouTube or personal videos to your blog. Maybe you want to make sure the students review a certain concept and it may be a lot easier to explain on a video than in “written” format. Or there could be someone who explains it a lot better or differently. These are your resources.

§  Be passionate about your subject. The Ben Steins of education are not welcome here. Sorry Ben, you’re a smart man but very monotone. The blog that you create is about your voice in the subject. Some will be more appealing than others. Many teachers are in education not just because of what they teach but simply because they love the art of teaching and learning.

§  Encourage interaction. If your students are not using your blog as a tool for enhancement, use bribery. This could be in the form of an extra credit question on a test. You want to think of ways that your students will not only read the blog but use it as a learning tool. You may want to start off the class with a 5 minute conversation about what was posted.

§  You don’t have to post everyday. Only as needed to enhance the topic. If you happen to run across a fun website or link, do a 5 minute review of the site. Writing a blog is not like writing a college essay. It can be short and sweet when necessary.

§  Don’t publish personal opinions about school policies, education policies, or personal information. This is a professional blog. Save the information about who drank how many magaritas at the last teacher gathering for your personal blog. Ask yourself, am I going to be embarrassed down the road if someone reads this? If it is “yes” or even an “I’m not sure”, don’t do it.

§  Research successful teacher blogs. These are the blogs that make an education center’s list of being most helpful and interesting. Read their blog to see why.