Best Blogs 2011

Here is a site that ranks the best blogs. Check out the nominations. It also shows previous winners.
http://edublogawards.com/2011-3/best-individual-blog-2011/

Blogging and Education – What are you waiting for?

What’s the big deal about blogging?  Well, if you’re asking yourself this question you are probably as old as I am.  At least I feel old.  When did I stop paying attention to progress?  When did progress stop paying attention to me?  If you are like me, you remember when email was new and cool.  I paid attention.  I got it.  I understood its importance.  I remember talking to people who are my age now and how reluctant they were to embrace this new and awesome technology.  I was so hip.

The class we are participating in at Colorado State University, and in particular the Adult Education and Training Master program, has exposed me to my closed-mindedness.  When did I get so smart and when did I stop valuing others’ ideas and opinions?  Why am I not taking advantage of all of these valuable contacts and content?  The people who are blogging are people with something to say.  Why be satisfied with experiencing communication only within my family and working acquaintances?  Why be content with the conversations that I have with myself in my head?  There are people out there who think like I think.  There are people out there that are willing to give me ideas and to share knowledge…for free!  And after researching around the internet for this blog, I have come to realize that many of these people are genuinely fun.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that everyone who blogs does so for good intentions and with productive results, but checking out the blogs to find out is part of the fun.  You can check out as many blogs as you feel like.  There are literally millions to choose from.  It doesn’t even matter if the blog you subscribe to has to do with education or with your future; it is a contact, which brings me to my next point.  Can anyone really have too many contacts?  Do you ever run into a problem and say to yourself, “Wow, it sucks that I have so many contacts to choose from to help me with this problem”?  I have kicked myself many times in my life for not taking advantage of opportunity when it presents itself.  There was that Apple thingee back in the 80’s and now there is this grasping technology through blogging thingee which presents itself now.  The deal with Apple is far behind us, but blogs are here and my feeling is that they are here to stay a while.  So I am making the effort to get out of my self-induced cocoon like existence and I am going to branch out and subscribe to some blogs.

A blog that I read really caught my attention about how important blogging can be for college students.  If it is important to students, it should be important to their teachers.  The blog topic is called, 5 Reasons Every College Student Should Blog.  The blog mentions five very compelling reasons that college students should blog.  Reading through this blog set off a light bulb in my head.  Every question that has ever been asked and answered has probably been done on a blog. 

I have been talking only about how you and I can consume intellectual property.  Guess what?  There may be people out there in cyber space who really want to know what you think.  I know it sounds scary but, after you have looked around, participated on a few blogs, and when you feel strongly enough about something…start your own blog.  There are many free sites listed in this blog to help you get started.  Go out there.  Ask questions.  Get answers.  Engage the people you want to engage.  Find someone who is really famous and engage them on their blog.  Who knows, maybe they will comment back to you.  How cool would that be?  Many professionals to include top educators really put themselves out there for public consumption through blogging.  It is a shame that I haven’t been taking advantage of this tool for work, education, and entertainment.  The access is limitless.

So, I would ask for the participants in our Processes and Methods class to take a few moments, think about my confessions of non-participation and tell Team 2 your thoughts and opinions about blogs.  Use the comment section below. What have you learned during this course?  Can you see the opportunities that present themselves through immersing yourself within the world of shared thought?  Can you see value in blogs as a teacher?  We really want to know.

How to Generate Blog Traffic

How Blogs are Beneficial to College Students

Journaling

Students are often away from home for the first time and need a place to vent about their problems. It is also a way to release stress after a long day of classes. Blogs can help with both as well as give students a hobby to keep them busy and not homesick.

Careers

Blogs can help with writing skills as well. Students who want to be journalists, screen writers or professional writers can use blogs to help with their ideas.  Because of the competitive nature of these careers a blog can also help as part of a portfolio of writing samples.

The top 25 blogs for college students are listed on http://www.invesp.com/blog-rank/College. This is a way for college students to see that others may have the same difficulties they do and work together to make both college experiences better.

Creating a Blog

Here is a tutorial on how to create a blog. 

If you would like to watch the video directly from You Tube click on the link below,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIXJ71TEhdY

Free Blogs

There are several free blogging sites out there for use. Here are some of the more popular ones:

www.blogger.com

http://wordpress.com/

http://www.dinstudio.com/

http://www.myblogsite.com/

Creating your first blog.

What is a blog? A blog is a website that is updated from time to time with new information. Team 2 created this blog to show how blogging can be used in education.