Thing 24: Refresh Your Blog

It was good to get back into the blog again. I haven't really used it much since finishing 23 things, except as a way to get back to some of the resources I worked with.

I did give my blog a new look and added some links at the bottom. Some of the new gadgets might be useful if I get into using this more consistently. I switched out my avatar for a traveling photographer. We're heading south for spring break, and I'm ready!

As for blogging, I'm still considering setting up a media center blog to post on my main media center page. I just haven't had the time to get it done. We've been heavy into technology training for our teachers, and that has taken most of my time.

I did work with one of my English teachers this winter to start a blogging activity in his Explorations in Literature class. He had all the students set up blogs in blogspot. They put the settings to private and shared access with him as the teacher. It seems like a nice safe way to set it up in the classroom. We also took the advice of the teachers in Edina and sent a parent permission slip home. So far, it has been a nice way for him to get his students writing and reacting to literature.

So with Thing 24, I start my journey discovering more things on a stick.

Thing 1: Blogger

This was not too difficult to set up. I had a little trouble with knowing what would appear as my identity at the top of the blog and which would appear in the URL. That part could have been clearer. It would be cool if you could enter into a screen that actually looked like the product you'd be creating, so it would be clear where everything would end up.

The Avatar was pretty easy too once I found the tabs for the clothing. For awhile, I thought I'd be stuck with the poker player guy. I'm not sure if it adds too much to the blog for me, but kids would probably get a kick out of it. It is safer than an actual photo, I suppose. It gives a little exposure to Avatars too since they're pretty popular with the kids.

I think a blog could be a good way to get out general musings on a subject. It could also be used as a message board, but I think the biggest problem would be to actually get people to read them. If no one reads them, then they are a waste of time. No one wants to waste time. I suppose this means a person would have to promote the blog, starting with a known audience like a staff of teachers or a body of students. I could possibly make a link from my main media center page to the blog. The advantage of that over just posting news on the media page would be the potential interactivity.

Secondly, the blogger would have to post something worthwhile or nobody would ever come back. As a high school media specialist, I could see blogging a research tip of the day or a website of the week. The blog could also serve as a newsletter in blog format. Allowing for responses would make it more interactive than a traditional newsletter which could be appealing to some.

I'll have to give this some time to see if I like it or not. I've never spent too much time with blogs, but I'm willing to give it a shot. I'm also going to post a picture of my media center on here to see how that works. That's it for now, I guess.

HS Media Man