That was the comment one of our history teachers relayed to me from one of her students after she introduced blogging to them.
Yes, we've been trying to get the students to blog, to share their thoughts online. For good reasons, I believe. But the student's concern is valid. If no one reads the blog or comments, why bother? In this teacher's case, the blogs are political, and the students would benefit from having others participate.

Yet, my colleague Jennifer uses blogs for different purposes–one is to create a year-long record of a student's thoughts about what he or she has read. I use blogs for sharing within a class, to extend our classroom conversations. But at this point, I'm not sure I want "outsiders" commenting on my ninth-graders blogs. Both reasons are valid, yet I have heard others argue absolutes: blogs should never be used in a closed environment or without the ability to comment.

So how do we create community and audience for beginning bloggers? I'm not the first to talk about this. And I don't necessarily have any innovative ideas.

In both cases above, students within a class are able to read and discuss each others ideas. I do know that if we treat the blog like homework that gets turned in
and checked off in the gradebook, where only the teacher sees it, then
students probably won't see any value.

What makes a class blog a success? Any ideas? And what about students who express real discomfort with having to put their ideas out there?

What a day. Today was our kick-off, the first face-to-face meeting with school teams in our Powerful Learning Practice, led by Sheryl Nussbaum Beach and Will Richardson.
Actually some of us began last night with dinner at the Kenmore Inn, and it was a fun opportunity to meet, chat, and think about what this year would bring.
This morning began with Will's keynote (with Skype calls from friends in Australia) and then Sheryl's explanation of the year's plan and process. The afternoon brought us RSS, Ning, and Eluminate.
As I arrived home today exhausted but excited about all that we had shared, I had dinner to make, a dog to walk, mail to sort, and appointments to set.
What did I do? Login to Google Reader and start checking my lastest RSS feeds instead.
Why?
Because I can. Well, my dog wasn't thrilled, but I could make the choice because I don't have children at home, I"m not coaching this year, and I love what I do.
As I said to Sheryl as I was leaving, I am passionate about the research, the sharing, and the learning. So today was an amazing day for me.
I do recognize that many teachers there have other obligations. And their passion may show in other areas: cooking, gardening, or woodworking. I want to take care this year to protect people's time (and my own) and maintain a balance so we don't lose this enthusiastic start to the year.
But tonight, I'm staying online.

Sorry, Beau. There's always the backyard!!

Uploaded on July 31, 2008
by ♥Sage

We started spring break today
So with nothing to do, nowhere to go, and no one else home, I propped up my feet and started to clean up my laptop.
One of my old bookmarks, which I’ve transfered from machine to machine, was labeled "blogs."
Now, these days, I don’t save blogs in my bookmarks. I use RSS like everyone else I know.
I chuckled to discover my first blog, and that back in June of 2004, I was sending a post to my teachers to "learn RSS."
Funny.
Four years ago.
And I’m still sending out the same messages.
Then, I was the lone user. Now, I am happy to report many teachers in my school use RSS. And they blog. And they twitter. And they teach me things.
This was a happy discovery.
My job is done.
I can relax.

Image: ‘A Picture Share3‘
www.flickr.com/photos/48600072071@N01/124936

I can always tell when I shift into my "need more time to read and figure out what to do with the information" mode.
The bag of dark chocolates in my desk starts emptying. It’s not me, mind you. I have no conscious recollection of grabbing, unwrapping, and sticking in my mouth the hundreds of pieces of sweet, bitter chocolate squares that seem to disappear during the day.
After sharing, showing, and collaborating with teachers and students the past couple of months, this week has been quiet. Grades and comments are due, and teachers, understandably, don’t have me on their minds.
So I am catching up on my reading, and when I do that, I eat chocolate.
This morning, for example, I skimmed DyDan’s blog to discover Patrick had a new post I hadn’t read yet. Good stuff about motivation and world domination.
But there was also a new read, and what a powerful voice she has: I am bound by law to have a sugar-bombed beignet and chicory coffee on Sunday morning at the Cafe Du Monde this weekend…" And that’s her writing about food. Wait until you hear her voice on teaching and homework….and she mentions Tom whom I read and follow. Gotta go there now….
More chocolate.
That post sent me to the ASCD website, where various bloggers summarize the recent conference…and link to things like "what the best teachers know and do." Save to read later.
WHY didn’t I think about going there? I wonder, as I take another piece of chocolate from the bag.
My Google Reader still open, I see Kim Cofino has shared a post–Arrgghhh, a new blogger, at least for me. Do I click and add yet another read? Skip it? No, Ok, ok, I say to myself, as I unwrap what I determine will be the last piece of chocolate this morning and read more on the McKinsey report and Finnish teachers.
My mind is also thinking back to the SOS podcast I listened to this morning, where I bumped into Sheryl….which reminds me, I gotta call Hiram to check on the PLP progress…..just one more piece of that blasted chocolate.

Something tells me I need to get back in the classroom or switch to apples.

Image: ‘Fairtrade chocolate pieces‘
www.flickr.com/photos/60364452@N00/903391978