My Portfolio

When I heard that we were going to be blogging for this course, I thought “Oh, great.  I have to ramble about what I did everyday?”  The only blogs I had encountered at that point were very personal ones, with entries like, “I slept in today.  Then I went to the grocery store and they were all out of margarine.  So I had to buy butter instead…” and so on.  But now I realize that a blog is whatever you make of it.  I’ve really enjoyed developing my blog as a professional portfolio, and I woud definitely like to continue using it.  A blogfolio is so much easier to modify and update than a paper one, and it is easier to navigate than flipping through a binder. 

I’ve also been intrigued by the possibility of using blogs in the classroom.  I would definitely like to experiment with this.  Blogging is more informal and personal than an essay assignment, but can still be used to assess students’ writing skills.  Blogs are also a great tool for communication and collaboration.  It would also be an opportunity to teach students to be responsible and respectful when they post something online.

I’ve faithfully read every blog by every student in this class, although I haven’t commented on every post.  I wouldn’t want to pick a favorite, because everyone has shared great information and insights.  However, I do want to acknowledge a few posts that stood out to me:  Corinne’s first blog post, which inspired my final project; Sara’s entry on media representation, which was a well written, interesting read, and gave me so much to think about that I couldn’t bundle it all into a little comment; Kari’s post, which shared a great video from Ken Robinson; Sharlene’s post, with an awesome environmentalism video; Ryan’s entry about being a “Real Cool Teacher”, in which he hit the nail on the head as far as what makes a great teacher; Jenna’s post about Axe and Dove being owned by the same company, which made me quite mad; Jordan’s post on text messaging; Scott’s post on permaculture; and Ashley’s post which shared a great resource for new teachers.  There are also many more posts which I enjoyed and commented on.  I have learned so much, not just about technology and education, but various other topics that I might’ve never heard of otherwise (like permaculture).  I also learned that Regina is getting an Applebee’s and maybe even an Olive Garden, woohoo!

All in all, I’ve really enjoyed all this blogging.  It’s great to see how personalities come across in a blog, through the design, colors, writing style, and choice of topics.  Even though I’m way out in the sticks taking this class, I feel like I’ve gotten to know the people in this class.  I’ve also found many other great blogs from educators, who have great ideas for revolutionizing education.  Blogging is just a tool, but it is leading to something much greater- change.  And we all know that the education system could use some change!