Thing #3

I have already used blogs in my teacher education program for various things and hope to use it in my classroom when I go out into the educational world.  This includes research for projects, creative classroom ideas, and opinions other teachers have on certain aspects of teaching.  

For projects, some teacher blogs have already compiled a wealth of information on the subject that you are interested in.  It is very useful because they have already done extensive research and have made it available to others.  One has to be wary though because sometimes the research is one sided and does not support both sides of the issue.  

Many blogs also have creative and new ideas on how to teach a certain subject matter.  This is very helpful and aids a teacher at looking at teaching in new ways that may help their students learn more efficiently.  I have found that some educators will provide resources and shopping lists on the lessons they teach to help those who would like to try a similar idea.

I will also use blogs to see what other educators think about issues such as No Child Left Behind, Common Core, Inclusion, etc.  It is useful to see where the trends in education are going and how that will impact what is going on in the classroom.  Teachers who have more experience and who may have a blog will have a different opinion on these things then a parent or a law maker for example.

The website that we were directed to is very useful and it is interesting to see all of the different blogs that teachers put out there.  They put a lot of time and thought in what they are producing for others.  I think they will be very helpful.  These were just some of the ways blogs will be used in my future as a teacher.  The list goes on and on with other helpful hints such as classroom management and communication.