Oh, the things I have learned!

     One of the most exciting things I have learned in this course is the process of setting up a blog- who knew it was so easy! I had never seriously considered setting up a blog for myself or any of my hobbies/interests because I was intimidated by the idea of it all- no more. I can set up a blog that is practical to my uses and manage it effectively. I can promote and monitor my blog with ease, whether I use it in my classroom or in my personal life. I can easily find my way around blogger and my dashboard and am confident I could do the same through other websites if I so choose.
     I have decided that I will set up a blog for use in my student teaching starting this spring term. I will begin Drama at McNary High School after spring break, and I believe that will be a good environment to promote a classroom blog. It will be a discussion forum for extra credit and if that goes over well, I will think about extending the use of blogs in my future classrooms. I look forward to getting students feedback and input for this type of learning tool, because I think it is a truly valuable outlet.
     I know there are many, many blogs currently being used in classrooms and I will continue to do my research about new uses. Teachers need to stay updated on new teaching tools and blogging is certainly one of them. I have good role models for uses of blogs in schools, so I have no qualms about incorporating this technique. I also know how to find interesting blogs that I find useful, including ones that concern the field of education. Educators should stay connected and up to date on concerns throughout the field, and blogging is a great way to do that.
    Overall, I am very pleased with my growth in this class; it was much less structured than classes I am used to, but I appreciated that at times. I felt free to post what I found interesting when I had time to do so. I enjoyed the process and look forward to blogging more in the future- thank you Denvy!