Blogging for Educators

CREATING YOUR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT

Blogs can be a powerful vehicle for school administrators to broadcast their mission and help define their identity.

Why should I blog?

Give me a good reason…

• A blog will create an instant professional learning network for you

• A blog contains a special element that other modes of communication do not have---A participatory element

• Readers can leave comments and have dialogue

• Blogging involves writing---one of the best forms of reflection

Do Blogs Foster Leadership?

Does an administrator’s blog influence other administrators?

Blogging and Identity

• Who am I anyway? Am I my resume? (from “A Chorus Line” by E. Kleban)

Sarup (1996), a philosopher, who wrote extensively about identity, believed that as we tell our own stories and continue to construct our autobiographies, we begin to emphasize certain events and exclude others. • Our identity can be explored through our

narrative• Do we have a fixed identity or does our identity

change over time?

As Flaherty, author of The Elements of Story, says, “Every story, even the driest, has a human face. Draw it well and, put it on display, for to readers it is a mirror and a magnet” (Flaherty, 2009,

p.1).Stories can affect the way we think and even, by extension, the way we act.When you read a good story, you develop empathy with the teller because you experience the events for yourself.

General Information

• Blog is a mash-up of two words: web and log

• Blog posts are written in reverse chronological order: the most recent post is listed first

• The collective blogs on the Internet are known as the blogosphere

• Blogs can be like a diary, a news source, a photo gallery, a marketing tool, a letter, and a public relations tool

• Blogs can include text, photos, audio, and even video.

What is a platform?• There are several popular

platforms. Two of the most popular are WordPress and Blogspot. A blogging platform is

the software or service that turn a regular site into a functioning blog. A blog platform is a specific form of a content management system.

Getting started with WordPress Step by StepDon’t confuse WordPress with the blogging software available for download at

WordPress.org

1.Log into the site: https://wordpress.com/2. Click the GET STARTED button (on the bottom)

3. Select the e-mail address you want to use, your username, password, and site name for your blog address---this must be at least 4 characters long

4. Click the Create Blog button5. Choose a theme and start blogging6. Activate your blog in your e-mail message from WordPress.

Here is a screen shot of Step 1. Make sure you go to the FREE site.

When you begin, keep it simple.

“Remember, technology is just a tool. It’s a powerful tool, but it’s just a tool. Deep human connection is very different. It’s not a tool. It’s not a means to an end. It is the end---the purpose and the result of a meaningful life.”

Melinda Gates, 2013

What to Blog About?

• Think about small moments in your day and try to weave them into a story

• Comment or describe an article that you have read that you find compelling

• Write about a book you have read• Write about a program or initiative in

your department or building• Be reflective• Reveal your lighter side—be a storyteller

NetiquetteManners for the

Internet

• Be mindful of your audience• Use language and photos

appropriate for a G-rated audience

• Proofread your posts before you press ‘Publish.’

• If a negative or inappropriate comment is left on your site, contact me immediately

Blogs can help you find your voice in both the community in which you work and the academic community. Connect with other educators, and find out what is happening all over the world.

Who Gets to See my Blog?

• Your blog will go public once you create your first post and you press the ‘publish’ button

• You may link your blog site to Facebook or connect to Twitter or most popular social media sites.

What are your next steps?• Try to post once a week or every two

weeks• Experiment—use photos, pictures, and

video

is currentRrly Division Principal of Innovative Teaching and Learning with Parkland School Division located in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada.  The schools are from ages K-12, and he loves working with kids of all ages.  He is passionate about distributed leadership within his division, and believes that creating a collaborative environment with all stakeholders, will help to ensure that educators meet the best needs of all children.  You can learn more about George on his own blog entitled “The Principal of Change”. George is also the creator of the “Connected Principals” site because he knew that we can learn so much from a strong team of educators with different backgrounds, as opposed to the view of only one.  It is imperative

that as educators, we are learners first.You can read all of.

o

Blogs to Read• George Couros -currently Division Principal of Innovative Teaching

and Learning with Parkland School Division located in Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada. His blog is entitled Principal of Change and he is the creator of Connected Principals.

• Diane Ravitch – dianeravitch.net

• Eric Sheninger used to be principal of New Milford High School in Bergen County, New Jersey. You can check out Eric’s blog, A Principal’s Reflections.

• Ellen Semel My blog is called A Room with a View.

https://esemelblog.wordpress.com/wp-admin/

Contact information

Ellen SemelAssistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction

215 Main St.Islip, NY 11751631-650-8240

esemel@islipufsd.org@EllenSemel