Blogs Blog - Social Media for Professional Learning Assignment

Blogs Blog - AET 562 - Social Media for Professional Learning

     This is my week 3 assignment for my Social Media For Professional Learning. It's about blogs.

A blog is a "web log" - an online site where people can write regularly about any subject that might interest them. As the name says it, it's a log -  therefore a series of entries, displayed in chronological order, with the most recent one being on top. 

     Over time, blog topics have diverged so much, one can find almost anything on any given subject. One great thing about them is that they are user generated content. When the users are professional bloggers they can be a valuable source of expert opinions in their field of operations, therefore they are an invaluable source of teaching and learning. (Nussbaum-Beach & Hall, 2012). Blogs allow for replies from other readers, therefore it is a participatory tool that allows for feedback and input. The conversations go back and forth much like it was happening with mail correspondence in the past. Just like mail correspondence, blogs are asynchronous and this is one of its disadvantages. There are however, advantages to using blogs - for one, they are easy to setup. One doesn't need to have too much technical knowledge to start a blog. 

     There are many blog providers on the web that provide a platform for free or for a fee. For example, Google Blogs, Blogger (the one you are reading on), Tumblr offer free services. Wordpress offers their service for a fee. Originally, blogs allowed only for written material. Now they allow the incorporation of links, pictures and videos. This exponentially increases their value. In the education field, especially, these are very useful educational tools, because the pictures can be graphs and charts, the videos can be lectures and discussions, and so on. The platforms allow for setting up closed groups, so teachers can set up class blogs, where only the members of one class can have access. Learners can post their assignments on the class blog - just as I am doing, as I write this. 

So, one can see the versatility of the blogging system. 

     By carefully labeling your blog, you can attract the desired audience. For example, in the field of adult education, one could write a blog title that might sounds like that: "Dealing with online adult learners - what frustrates me and what enchants me". Or: "Help! I need a peer reviewed article about plagiarism protection in the web 2.0 era". Or: "How do I handle last minute homework submissions"

The idea is to use catchy titles. It's like advertising. The more imagination in the presentation, the more you will attract responses which, in fact, are others' valuable opinions. 

Below I will present five examples of blogs taken from the education field:

1. Successful Teaching

http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/

Fig.1. Screen shot of “Successful Teaching” blog site, retrieved February 25, 2018 from http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/

This blog is set up by Pat Hensley. She started it in September 2007 and the most recent one is from February 23, 2018. It has a nice, subdued, visual presentation. A picture of a desk with some pencils and some composition notebooks is on the main page, on top of a neutral background. The writing pages are of a mild ochre color, very pleasant and easy on the eye. This is a smart choice since staring at a white computer background for a long time can be visually tiring.

Her blog site has over 1.8 million viewers. A very interesting feature, I didn't know about, until I saw this site, is a "cluster map" posted on her site. It shows where all her viewers come from across the globe. And, indeed, her blog is followed by people from virtually any continent. 

Her home page displays her extensive resume and all the education awards she received over time. The page is sectioned vertically, with a narrow left side, where she displays all kind of links: to older blogs, to pages she likes or recommends - like for example - free lessons, or TED videos, or Math help, etc. Also a list of her favorite educational sites, she visits for resources, can be also be found there. A subscription button and the license under which she operates are also seen. 

On the right, wide, part are the blogs. They may incorporate pictures and videos, or are just written entries. The topic of her blogs, while covering a wide range of subjects, they are all under the same umbrella of educational purposes. Whether it's about a lesson plan, or how students navigate a school day, she starts a discussion and then the conversation ensues. 

            Some specific examples of subjects she blogs about: criticism, disagreement, getting the administration on board, setting up expectations in the classroom, etc. Some of the websites she visits: "Cool Cat Teacher", "Special Education Law Blog", "Teaching challenges".

Her site is geared mostly toward lower and middle education but some of the topics can be used for adult education purposes.  Her awards shows that she has a good reputation in the education world. I believe this is the result of not only her achievement as a teacher, but also of the way she presents online professional persona. The content of one's blogs and the subjects are very important to achieve this status.

 2.  The rapid e-learning blog

http://blogs.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/

 

Fig.2. Screenshot of “The rapid E-Learning blog” site, retrieved February 25, 2018 from http://blogs.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/

      This blog is hosted by Tom Kuhlmann, a seasoned educator with over 20 years of experience in the e-learning. The page looks professional, and just like the previously described blog page, the home page has as a header a cartoon picture that shows a man sitting at a desk, in front of a computer - it gives the impression he is blogging as we watch him. Behind him is a window that suggests he is in Seattle. The background of the rest is white, and, this time, the links, search box, and about button are all on the right side of the screen. The blogs are on the left side, and each blog is separated by a continuous line. Each blog has a picture, and on the right upper corner of the picture, there is a pretty visible box which shows, in a big fonts, the number of comments for the specific post.

     The "About" statement says "The Rapid E-Learning Blog shares practical tips & tricks to help you become a rapid e-learning pro." (Kuhlmann, 2018). The last blog is from February 20, 2018 and the first one from July 1st, 2007. I was able to find everything he ever posted under the archive link.

Indeed, Kuhlmann's blogs about various topics related to e-learning. For example: how to motivate learners in five simple steps, what is the purpose of an e-learning template, how to build a puzzle animation in a few simple steps and many, many more; all of them very seem very interesting to me, as I want to learn more about using online education tools. He delivers his blogs in the form or web articles, therefore, each blog is pretty long. He doesn't get an average of 8-10 comments per article, and he replies back sparingly. So, this site is more like web page for specialty resources. He also provides face to face training sessions, for which he advertises on the bottom of the page.

His articles seem well documented and informed and, judging by the fees he charges for face to face training, he seems to be pretty popular in the field of e-learning.

3. Apple Education 

https://twitter.com/AppleEDU

Fig.3. Screenshot of “Apple Education” blog site, retrieved February 25, 2018 from https://twitter.com/AppleEDU

     This is a Twitter supported site. The Twitter I wasn't crazy about because of its limiting features. However, I see that one can post pictures and videos on Twitter, which makes me acknowledge that it is not that bad after all. I can see the potential for using Twitter as an educational site. Users create hashtags, and then they post snippets of information and, usually a picture or a video. Most of the times, I observed, the users post some link to the material they present, are interested about, or want to discuss about. There are plenty of replies to each Tweeter post, which leads me to believe, specialists using this avenue, have a much wider exposure than regular blog sites. I can see people using Twitter to gather followers, which, then, will migrate to the actual blog sites.

     The Apple Education page on Twitter looks very attractive. Again, a telling picture is on the top of home page, as the header. The picture shows all kind of educational things like rulers, calculators, calipers, and, in the middle, the words: "For the love of learning" can be read. Right under it says how many tweets, followers and like. 

     There is literally everything for everybody who is interested in some sort of learning. But, many of these tweets emphasize the use of Apple products. The links provided take you to materials distributed through the Apple iTunes store. Apple has the habit of being very proprietary about using their products, even when is someone's else material. So, I see a little bit of marketing here. Still, they do provide a lot of educational materials. 

     I attached screenshot of their drop-down menu that takes you to the education tab, to have an idea how you can access materials through this method. It's not the most classical way of blogging, but, through the Twitter platform the connections are so many, it might be worth it.

4. The Importance of Training the Adult Educator

http://blog.edmentum.com/importance-training-adult-educator

Fig. 4. Screenshot of “Edmentum. The Importance of Training the Adult Educator” retrieved February 25, 2018, from http://blog.edmentum.com/importance-training-adult-educator

        This blog is, as the name says it, for adult educators. It's hosted by edmentum.com, an education site that specializes in education technology. The blogging page looks more like a website. In the bottom of the page, they provide a space to subscribe to the blog of the person who's page you are on. The background is simple white, with black lettering. only the edmentum logo is rainbow colored, which, to me signifies their diversity.

       I browsed through their site, and I saw a lot of contributors. All their blogs are in short article format. One interesting thing - I didn't see any communication with others. No readers, no questions about the material. However, each blog post shows links to Facebook, LinkedIn, Tweeter and Pinterest. This leads me to believe that they get their followers from those sites, who are then directed to edmentum for material learning. For blogging response, the site requires login through one of the major platforms. The information is interesting, and useful. I like the fact that each blogger posts a face picture. It seems to personalize the conversation.

5. Connected Teaching and Learning
https://annmichaelsen.com/

Fig.5. Screenshot of the “Connected Teaching and Learning” blog site, retrieved February 25, 2018, from https://annmichaelsen.com/

       This blog site is about education technology, lesson plans, staff development and everything in between. The blog is hosted by Ann Michaelsen, and the site is hers. She has a very clean first page, a black background, with white lettering. Her blogs are arranged in pair of squares, on the left side going down the page. The right side gives you blog stats, a search box, a cluster map, useful links to sites hosting other educational subjects, names of blogging students, links to latest books in education, awards received and a subscription invitation. 

       All blogs are about people's different experiences with the education world. Below are some examples that I found quite interesting, or related to what we learn in this course:
Personalized Learning Is a Problem of Privilege

How to become a connected educator 

3 Ways Leaders Can Support Ongoing Professional Development 

10 Examples of Great Class Blogs

I really like this blog site. I like the simplicity of it. It's very well organized, and to the point. I think I will use it as an example, should I ever decide to start a blog page of my own.

Conclusion:

I found this assignment to be quite cumbersome. Not because I had to summerize a few blog sites, but because I was not sure which blogs to choose. The search took way too long. Although I entered key words like "adult" + "education" + "blog" the search engine would take me to unrelated sites. A lot of advertising. My general impression is that, on the web, many advertisers try to get in your face by directing searches to their sites when you enter specific key words. Even if you go down the page, you still have a hard time finding exactly what you look for. 

I have to say, using the very popular platforms as a way to connect to people with same interests, and after that going to their blog sites, or them coming to yours, is a better way of staying connected with people that will provide you or help you find relevant material.

References

Nussbaum-Beach, S., & Hall, L. R. (2012). The connected educator: Learning and leading in the 

digital age. Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook Collection database.

Kelly, R. (2016, December 14). Blogs: An Asynchronous Learning Trend - Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning. Retrieved from https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-with-technology-articles/blogs-an-asynchronous-learning-trend/

Knapp, J. (2017, December 27). How To Start a Blog in 2018 - Easy to Follow Guide for Beginners. Retrieved from https://www.bloggingbasics101.com/how-do-i-start-a-blog/

Patel, N. (2013, April 4). 11 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started My First Blog. Retrieved from https://www.quicksprout.com/2013/04/04/11-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-i-started-my-first-blog/

Hensley, P. (2018, February 23). Successful Teaching. Retrieved from: http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/

Kuhlmann, T. (2018, February 20). The Rapid E-Learning Blog | Practical, real-world tips for e-learning success. Retrieved from http://blogs.articulate.com/rapid-elearning/

N/A. (n.d.). Apple Education (@AppleEDU) | Twitter. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/AppleEDU

N/A. (n.d.). The Importance of Training the Adult Educator. Retrieved from http://blog.edmentum.com/importance-training-adult-educator

Michaelsen, A. (n.d.). Connected Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from https://annmichaelsen.com/