Using blogs in the classroom

I see instructors using blogs in the near future at my school to update students on events, contests, course information, and even a place to display their work.  Blogs can be used as out of class activities for students to work on (or work on as extra credit).  Sharing ideas and collaborating with peers offers a great learner environment for students.  I have already seen a few faculty members use blogs for some of these reasons.

Useful blogs

Bridging Differences
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/Bridging-Differences

I was introduced to Diane Ravitch's blog from a previous class.  Bridging Differences blog has posts by Diane Ravitch and Deborah Meier who can have opposing views on education, but both always strive to improve education and schools by sharing idea on what matters in education.

This is useful in my professional development because it allows me to become more familiar with the current K-12 system.  Since I work for a community college, I do feel removed from the primary grades, however I have come to realize that to be an effective instructor I need to know about the type of background my students are coming from.

This Week in Education
http://www.thisweekineducation.com/

The blog This Week in Education is about updated educational news and politics.  I find this blog useful in my professional development because the posts have everything from comic clips that I can share with my students to educational news and views to Youtube videos.  The blog posts are an easy and fast read for my busy schedule and it helps keep my informed on many issues.

What I want from this course

I would like to incorporate more technology based projects into my classroom and into student assignments.  All of our classrooms have been converted to "Smart Classrooms" which means they are able to support most technology right in the classroom without having to go anywhere else.  My students have varying levels of technical savvy, and I am hoping this class will help bridge the gap I have with the more advanced students.  After reading this week's assigned reading, I see now more than ever how important it is to stay up to date with technology.