Although it is not always viewed as professional development, or even professional reading, the regular reading of professional blogs by others in our profession is a great way to do some professional development. Whatever your role in education is, teacher, principal, librarian, superintendent, etc, you can find others in similar roles who are blogging on topics of interest to you. One of the benefits of reading blogs, is that it allows for dialogue between yourself and the blogger. This affordance is something that one does not get when doing other forms of professional reading. In addition, it builds your personal learning network (PLN).
Another aspect of blogging as professional development that is often overlooked is that of the blogger themself. No matter the size of your audience, blogging gives you the opportunity for reflection that is not usually afforded in our daily work. Ideally, dialogue is created to expand your reflection, but regardless of the number of comments or questions that your blog creates, the process is very valuable.
There are many different times and situations that work for blogging. One of the best times to write is when you are angry about an issue, but the worst time to publish can be when you are angry. Write when you are passionate but don't hit the publish button. Other opportunities exist when you are attending professional development or have an interesting conversation with a colleague.
Does it affect student learning? In my opinion, anything that makes a teacher think about their teaching has the potential for impact on student learning. This metacognition can occur as a result of reading someone's blog or writing your own blog posts. Blogging gives you the opportunity to take your thoughts further, in breadth and depth as well as in audience.
Based on the Blogging as Teacher Leadership session at Learning Forward 2011, presented by Terese Emry, Kathy Wiebke, Mike Lee, & Tom White - July 19, 2011 - Indianapolis, Indiana
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