Blogging

I am wondering about your experience blogging. It seems most are making an effort to post at least a short comment here and there, however, it seems the assignment of subscribing to an RSS feed, reading an article from that feed, and then posting a reflection on your blog concerning what you read (in an effort to promote professional development) isn't really occurring. I imagine the lack of explanation, married with the false assumption that students read the syllabus and or assignment page probably has led to some confusion. However, as I attend this conference and realize the strengths of reflection via blogs or some other form of expression (be it digital and or traditional) I hope that we all reconsider our reflection efforts and blog usage. Here was an interesting post from another blog I read:

Is Blogging Good for the Brain?

So most of us bloggers just know that the answer to the above is yes. Especially if most of what we're doing is blogging in the strictist sense, not journaling, not just linking, but really synthesizing and analyzing what we read. Now we've got some real live neuro specialists doctor types who say so as well. (And yes, I did the requisite "can I trust this source?" background check...they seem to have the credentials.)

Here's the overview:

1) Blogs can promote critical and analytical thinking.
2) Blogging can be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive, and associational thinking.
3) Blogs promote analogical thinking.
4) Blogging is a powerful medium for increasing access and exposure to quality information.
5) Blogging combines the best of solitary reflection and social interaction.

Some of the detail is interesting as well. Like the fact that

Blogs, with their text-based format, tend to avoid the more manipulative aspects of visually-embedded media.

Which makes me wonder what with the rising tide of media in blogs whether or not we're far away from Blog TV...

Back-and-forth blog-based exchanges between experts also provide a unique opportunity for young thinkers to witness and evaluate arguments from analogy on an ongoing basis, and to develop their own abilities to think analogically.

Ok...raise your hands. How many of you are having your kids at least read blogs? If not, why not?

It holds enormous potential in education...

Amen to that. It's nice to think that the "experts" are climbing aboard the blog train these days as well.

(Via Alec Courous)


* If you read this post, please 'post' a comment below so I can get a feel for how many people are actually taking the time to read my blog, more importantly this posting.