Why Teachers Should Blog

This post in nothing new, but rather is a collection of ideas gathered from many places and a way for me to work out an idea.

I started blogging way back in 2003 when I went to Japan as a way to keep in contact with my friends and family. It evolved into a photo blog, and when I became a teacher, it became what it is today - a blog for me to reflect on teaching and learning.

I am a believer and proponent of blogging. 

I believe teachers should blog for the following reasons (which are all related and some could probably be combined):

1. Blogs are a great platform for reflection. Write about your day, lessons, current issues, or ideas you have and invite others to join the conversation.
2. And speaking of ideas, blogs are a great way to keep track of ideas you have. Sam Sherrat had a great line in his Learning2 talk,"Ideas are like bubbles, if you don't catch them, they float away."
3. Blogging also has the potential to show you your own thinking. As Shelly Blake-Plock explains, in ‘Why Teachers Should Blog’, “… to blog is to teach yourself what you think.”
4. Not only does blogging show you what you are currently thinking, but it keeps a record of it so the changes in thinking can be seen over time. 
5. Blogging helps me organize and articulate thoughts in my head and helps me work through ideas.
6. It helps make connections to other topics.
7. Blogging is a great way to share ideas with others and make connections with other educators. 

Like I said, this is not groundbreaking, but I was doing #5.

You can also take a look at George Couros's ideas on the topic.