As a team, Manaiakalani have advocated for the use of Blogger in the classroom. It's not the sexiest platform and it certainly has room for growth. It's often frustrating to see the enhancements made to a number of other incredible Google Suite tools, with Blogger just getting left behind.
Here in NZ, we have more than 22,000 learners involved in programmes where blogging is an integral part of the share component of what we do. As an avid blogger myself, I understand the potential benefits even beyond our classrooms and am passionate about helping teachers to see the power in it. But I am also a realist. I have been a classroom teacher, inundated and overwhelmed by the complexities of the needs of busy classes of 30 children, wifi that won't cooperate, devices that are not charged, assessments that require completion and the competing demands of other curriculum areas that appear to not 'fit' within the scope of blogging. So this series will attempt to explore not just the why and the how of blogging, but also to answer some of the challenging questions we must explore in order to help blogging gain the kind of traction it requires to be able to take on a life of its own.
In this first post, I will explore why we blog, what the power of it is and showcase some of the many blogs I'm enjoying around our country at the moment, both educators and students. I am conscious that 'done' is better than perfect and absent, which is often what my blog posts are when I strive for perfection. Please know that this is an inquiry - a place to explore the many facets of my topic, before endeavouring to get my research to the point that it is actually of use in its implementation in our classrooms.
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