Blog about Blogging

To Blog or not  to Blog....

That is the new question.  In the words of a now classic commercial - it is so easy a caveman can do it.  I remember the first blog that I created years ago that still exists somewhere out in cyberspace. I had to do a lot more work as far as creating and editing the blog.  Now one you can simply sign up for an account and start.  

Blogs in education

The ease and availability of creating and maintaining blogs have allowed for the use of blogs within the educational setting to grow.  Many teachers across the country and (most importantly to my main audience) at Archer Lodge Middle School are using blogs as a way for staff and students to communicate.  For teachers, using blogs provides a way to stay in touch with both students and parents with current classroom activity and events.  Blogs allow the opportunity to "create (sic) a digital filing cabinet for students to archive their work and, in effect, create (sic a space for an online portfolio" (Richardson, 2009, p. 22).  Imagine never having to worry about misplacing assignments because they are all in one space.   Also, as time is something there never seems to be enough of in the classroom, staff and students can respond to each other through blogs and comments and create a digital collaborative classroom that can be recorded for prosperity.  This proves to be the greatest asset of utilizing blogs in the school setting - a collaborative space that exists inside and outside of the school walls.  

As a media coordinator, I use this blog to provide updates to those in the Archer Lodge community of happenings in the media center.  I have also posted links to sites that may assist students and staff.  As this is my first year at this school, my blogs are limited on this site.  I plan to continue to add new and relevant information through the rest of the year that can assist current, future and pasts students and staff.    

If you are not currently utilizing blogs in your classroom or school, will you consider a classroom or library blog? If you are a member of the ALMS family, come visit me in the media center and I will help to you started.  

Works Cited

Richardson, W.  (2009).  Blogs, wikis, podcasts and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Corwin          Press:  Thousand Oaks, CA.