In response to George Couros' blog about reflection, I need to agree and disagree about certain ideals he discuses in his blog. I agree that as a teacher it is our duty to reflect upon our lessons and how the students succeed or don't succeed in class. We should also teach the children that reflection on their work is important and looking back at what they have done is can only help them achieve their short and long term goals. George has posted over 500 blogs on the Internet and has created a journal or diary online for everybody to see. I do not think that this is a good idea. I have written down a lot of things that has worked and a lot the things that hasn't worked for me. I don't think I need to share everything I have done with whomever would like to read it. I believe some things should be shared to the public, however writing for the sake of writing seems pointless to me.
I would expect blogging will give me insight on how I view certain aspects of using technology in the classroom. I will also be able to see other peoples styles of writing and possibly improve on writting my own blogs.
Al, I completely agree with your thoughts, not everything I want to write is for everyone to see. I will certainly be filtering what I blog or what I don't blog and the reasons for doing so. If I'm looking for that feedback and improvements I'll send it out to the world. Otherwise its for me to see and think of.
ReplyDeleteWell done,
Shaun
I really enjoyed your blog entry Al. I totally agree with you that there is some merit to blogging but we all know that we reflect after each day and we don't necessarily have to make it public for everyone to see. I mean a personal journal sure, but that's what my daybook is for. It seems to me that blogging each day is just an extra chore.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest you read the following article from Dean Shareski:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/dean-shareski/how-to-make-better-teache_b_783392.html
As well as this article:
http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/09/how-successful-networks-nurture-good-ideas/all/
This quote resonates:
"Having an audience can clarify thinking. It’s easy to win an argument inside your head. But when you face a real audience, you have to be truly convincing."
I am glad that you are going through the process of blogging. If you really put yourself into it, and don't just do it because it is part of your requirements for the course, you might see the impact it has on your learning and ultimately teaching. I used to think that it was useless until I started doing it; from experience I can tell you that it has been one of the most powerful things that I have ever done for my own learning. Creating something with the information that we consume too often has helped me really understand things on a much deeper level.
Hope those articles help!
First of all I would like to thank George for directing me to two very inspiring blogs. They were definitely worth reading and I need to say I enjoyed second article the most. I believe that if there is something dear to your heart, a topic that you profoundly believe in, blogging is the way to go. We have been taught through history that writing is a very powerful instrument and can literally move mountains. I think example of Ory Okolloh is a perfect portrayal of this. Because of one person's determination and obvious proficiency at writing, Ory changed the world. This truly was an amazing story, however the fact that we compose 36 millions books a day through social media oe email also proves a point that the internet is full of "authors" attempting to heard. I've been teaching for over 10 years now. I have taught some fantastic lessons and some that went horribly bad. I still don't believe that millions of people would enjoy or learn from my writing. I hope one day I will be inspired enough or believe in something so strong to write a blog that could change the world.
DeleteWell Al, you certainly started this blog off right, getting the inspiration for your thoughts, George Couros himself, to reply! This is where we all stretch and grow, because we are all in this conversation. George has now written a new post on his blog, partly as a reaction to things we are all talking about, and disagreeing. This is truly remarkable, serendipitous, actually, and a measure of the power of blogging. The community of ideas has now grown beyond this course, and now includes some of Canada's most prominent educators and though leaders. Pretty powerful stuff. All because I made you blog. I hope you follow up and see where this goes! You owe it to yourself and to George to follow up. And the rest of us.
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