Although blogging is not a new term or tool available on the Web, I have to admit that I did experience some kind of reluctancy to using this way of posting your thoughts and ideas and of sharing with others what you find while exploring your teaching on the Web. In the past, at one of my workplaces in Costa Rica, we intended to use this tool as a way to have teachers reflect on their weekly teaching, but for several reasons I cannot quite explain, it never worked as expected. (I am still mulling over the reasons why the blog posting did not work with student teachers.)
On the other hand, now that I'm back to blogging after a couple of years, this task of creating a blog as a part of a course on E-teacher "Building Teaching Skills Through the Interactive Web," it has made me reflect on its potential as a tool to enhance student language developement and performance. Now my former "reluctancy" to using this way of sharing thoughts with others has turned into enthusiasm to venture myself into using blogs to help language students improve their "reading" and "writing" techniques. And why not, I might find myself in the position of working with other Costa Rican teachers and having them participate in the usage of blogging as a way to improve their teaching and student communication.
Even though I do not actually work with writing, since I do not teach writing or grammar related courses, I see this as a potential tool in terms of sharing websites, freeware, and the like, that could be used to enhance my areas of teaching, being these "pronunciation," "reading comp," and "oral communication skills." Besides, the good thing about creating and keeping a blog updated is the fact that your information can be stored so students can access it anytime they need to do so, and that you can eventually refer "future" students to your postings, so they can benefit from them as well. And needless to mention that your reflections can be used by other colleagues looking for information that can be benefitial to them and to their students elsewhere.
As a conclusion to this, my very first posting in a very long time, I would like to quote a colleague and partner of mine in this course on E-teaching through the University of Oregon, Amjad Ahmed Isa Mansoor Hussain Mohamed, "The first step towards academic and professional online contributions starts with a blog!" And I honestly hope to contribute with students and colleagues through this blog on "Reflective Online Teaching."
Hi ! The programme blog community is getting bigger . This is going to generate such wonderful opportunity of exchange . I have always thought about how it could be possible to be in touch with colleagues from other countries . I'm glad this could happen . As for the blogs , I've created one two years ago and communicated the link to my colleagues here in my town but it didn' work as I expected it to do !
Congratulations dear Jonathan!
Splendid start indeed. I like the way you think about putting your blog right into action through enhancing your learners' key skills. As a matter of fact, you've just ignited enthusiasm in me to write my second post about effective utility of the blog. In the same time, I believe that having your blog to play the virtual classroom role is such an intelligent employment to the e-learning means in hands. I'm eager to read and see you next post.
All the best, all the time!
Hi Jonathan,
I'm impressed by your insightful posts.
You are asking yourself why your previous blogging experience didn't work with your students teachers.Myself, I think that the reluctance to use blogging ,now the means par excellence for expressing one's thoughts on the web, depends on the cultural environment you live in.
I have never used blogging whether for personal purposes or teaching, but I have always encouraged my students to express themselves freely and give their opinion about any topic that matters to them or even make comments about my teaching practices, but unfortunately only few 'dared'.I asked myself why .The reason is that we, teachers, still represent the authotity those who know best.In our education we do not have the "culture" of requestionning the authority: parents , teachers, and so on.This is a dilemna because change involves requestionning.Consequently, teachers like us are doomed to pave way for this change to happen.
I don't know if in Costa-Rica you have the same issue.
Hassina
Hassina, please take a look at my posting on Authority figures.