Reasons teachers don't blog

I'm a little overwhelmed by the response to my post yesterday entitled Seven reasons teachers should blog which as I write this, is racing toward 2000 views in just 24 hours. Thank you to all those who have taken the time to stop by and read it. It is turning out to be one of my most successful posts of the year, and not just because of the hit rate. It seems that many teachers are interested in blogging (or edublogging), but for various reasons are not yet in there, getting their hands dirty. Some of those commenting on yesterday's post added further reasons why teachers should blog. Currently we are now up to 10 reasons, and I'm sure there will be more added in the coming days. You are very welcome to add your own reasons there.

But I'm concerned about the reasons teachers don't blog. One of the reasons teachers don't blog is because of fear. Fear of posting something they think will be 'below standard' or 'missing the mark', and I would imagine that many fear their ideas and best practices being held up in the spotlight in public, on the web. Some teachers may fear what their bosses might say if they start blogging and say things that their institute might not agree with. Others simply cannot blog because their school is blocking access to certain tools and services on the web. Some complain that they don't have enough time to blog, and are tired when they get home from a hard day in the classroom. Some may think that they have nothing to say that would be of interest to other teachers. These are all valid reasons, but probably the most trenchant barrier to blogging is that many teachers still don't - or can't - see the incredible benefits blogging can offer to them, personally.

Think about it. Blogging is essentially an online diary that enables you to put down your ideas and return to them at any time. The blog can be private - for your eyes only. You only publish what you want to when you hit the Publish button. But sharing ideas and growing a personal learning network are becoming synonymous for many teachers. The advent of social media such as Twitter and Facebook is ensuring that teachers can quickly build contact lists and engage in conversation with their counterparts all over the world. I will stick my neck out and suggest that this kind of informal and free continuing professional development is making more inroads into better pedagogy than any single CPD programme could ever achieve. When teachers blog, they create content, commentary, arguments, resources, links and artefacts that are freely available on the web. In return they receive comments from colleagues that may include other useful resources. Combined, this dialogue creates a digital footprint of useful materials that other teachers can use, engage with, and reflect upon. Edublogging is creating a global discourse that transcends the physical constraints of time and space.

In my view, there are more reasons for teachers to blog than there are reasons against. There are more benefits and barriers. So I encourage you to take the plunge if you have not already done so, and get blogging. Barriers are only barriers if you can't get around them, and if there is a will, most barriers can be broken down. If you are a new teacher blogger I invite you to post your blog URL in the comments box below, and if you are a genuine edublogger, I will make sure it appears for all to see on this blog.

Image source by 2create


Reasons teachers don't blog by Steve Wheeler is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.