Welcome to the fifth step in our free professional learning series on building your PLN.

The aim of this step is to:

  1. Explain what a blog is.
  2. Unpack the benefits of using blogs as part of your PLN.
  3. Describe some of the ways people keep up to date with blogs.
  4. Explore how to use blogs as part of your PLN.

Blogs play an important role in most educators’ PLNs and making blogs part of your PLN is more than just publishing posts on your own blog. If you don’t see yourself setting up your own blog, there are many benefits to simply reading, commenting, and sharing other people’s blogs.

What Is A Blog?

Blogs have been mainstream for well over a decade, so you might be very familiar with what a blog is (you’re reading a blog right now!).

However, let’s take a moment to define what exactly a blog is as the term continues to evolve.

Over recent year, the lines between blogs, websites, ePortfolios, and other online spaces have been blurring.

BLOG WEBSITE PORTFOLIO

Dynamic Community

Feedback and interaction (comments, sharing, RSS, and subscription)

Typically journal-like

Static information 

General term for online space — complex or simple

Scaffolding, showcasing or organization of student work

Typically over a period of time (years)

A blog is simply a website, although traditionally a website will have been more of a static space.

What makes a blog different than a simple website?

  • A blog traditionally would be updated fairly regularly and display posts in reverse chronological order.
  • Comments have always been a key feature of blogs, providing an interactive space.
  • Most blogs have pages where some key information is housed that isn’t updated very frequently (for example, an About Me page).

Nowadays, some people have a website that has a blog component; the home page doesn’t change but readers can click on a tab to view a regularly updated blog.

An example of this is Langwitches’ “Online Hub”. This is a website that displays Silvia Tolisano’s professional portfolio and there is a blog section that readers can navigate to from the front page.

Langwtiches Online Hub

An Introduction To Blogging Video

This video also provides a simple overview of what a blog is.

Reasons Why Educators Blog

The main reasons why educators have personal/professional blogs include to:

  • Share information and tips with other educators.
  • Collaborate with a global audience. Increased collaboration with others leads to greater innovation and new perspectives.
  • Reflect on their learning or their teaching/work practices.
  • Learn how to blog themselves so they can use blogs effectively with their students.

Refer to The State of Educational blogging in 2017/2018 for more information on why educators use blogs.

Your personal blog extends your relationships outside of your school and allows you to connect with global educators who all willingly help each other.

Using Blogs As Part Of Your PLN

Sue Waters, who is the backbone of Edublogs has reflected on her own experiences of blogging.

I’m sure that lots of people would be totally surprised by the fact that initially I really struggled with the concept of blogging — ‘Why would anyone blog and why would anyone read their blogs?’

It took almost a year from being shown what a blog was to becoming a blogger.

The online tools I used before blogging were excellent for sharing information. But blogging gave me what they lacked; the ability to reflect, collaborate, exchange ideas, and connect with other people.

Ultimately, blogging completely changed my life; it’s the reason why I’m now employed to do the work I do and blogging helped me build a strong PLN.

It’s also important to remember that not everyone who makes blogs part of their PLN are bloggers themselves. It’s really up to you!

Some educators prefer to read and comment on other people’s posts while other educators also have their own personal blog.

If you have a vague thought in the back of your mind about starting your own blog but you’re not sure if it’s for you, hopefully Sue’s words above remind you that you can jump into blogging with some reluctance and you may be pleasantly surprised.

What have you got to lose?

Tips For Building Your PLN Via Blogs

The key components to making blogs part of your PLN are really simple:

  • Read and comment on other people’s blog posts. Then share anything that resonates with you with your PLN (e.g. on Twitter).
  • Publish posts on your own blog to reflect your thoughts, ideas, and/or to share resources. Remember, this is optional but keep it in mind!

Like everything, there are tips that’ll both save you time and make you more effective.

Reading Blog Posts

There are thousands of educators out there who are regularly publishing on their own blogs. Many of these blogs revolve around specific topics, interests, or subjects areas. Others are more general reflections on all areas of education.

Reading blog posts is an important part of connecting with other educators. But how do you keep up to date with your favorite blogs and know if something new has been published?

There are three main ways you can keep up with your favorite blogs:

  1. Email subscription or email newsletter if available
  2. RSS feed (using a tool like Feedly)
  3. Social media and curation tools like Flipboard

Interestingly, when we did a quick poll of our Edublogs community in July 2018, 61% of respondents indicated that their favorite way to keep up to date with the blogs they like to read is via social media.

Poll showing 61% people keep up to date with blogs via social media

This might demonstrate that people are okay with consuming information serendipitously (there’s no guarantees they’ll see posts on social media). To avoid being swamped by emails, perhaps people choose to subscribe to only their very favorite blogs in this way. Feel free to tell us what you think in the comments!

Email Subscription

Many bloggers have an option to be notified via email when they publish something new. This might be via a simple email subscription widget on the sidebar of their blog. In this case, you’ll receive an email automatically to alert you to new posts.

It’s also becoming more common to see educators (and bloggers in general) create their own personal email newsletter to keep readers up to date. This might be sent out every time they publish something new, or there might be a weekly or monthly summary email.

Check out the sidebar of your favorite blog and look for a sign-up box.

RSS Feed (Feedly)

One of the easiest ways to keep updated with posts from your favorite blogs is to subscribe to their RSS feed using Feedly. The free version of Feedly allows you to follow up to 100 sources which should be enough to keep you busy!

Refer to these step-by-step instructions on how to set up Feedly.

This short video by Joshua Essary explains how to get started with Feedly.

There are other similar tools, but Feedly is one of the most popular.

Here are just a few popular education blogs you can subscribe to using Feedly.

Click here to open this spreadsheet in a new window.

Social Media And Flipboard

If you follow your favorite bloggers on Twitter, no doubt you will see them announcing when they have something new on their blog. Of course, there are no guarantees that you will always see this.

Another option Sue Waters uses on her mobile devices is subscribing to her Twitter timeline and Twitter hashtags using Flipboard.

This pulls all the links shared on Twitter into her Flipboard account in a magazine format where it’s easy to read, share, and comment on articles shared by her network.

You’ll find detailed step by step instructions on how to set up Flipboard here.

Watch this video to see how Sue uses Flipboard.

Commenting On Posts

Your commenting skills and how you engage in comments with others on blogs posts is one of the most important, and often overlooked, aspects of using blogs as part of your PLN.

The comment section is where the deep learning, questioning, and reflection can occur. Comments turn your blog from a static space into an interactive conversation.

Commenting Tips For Bloggers

1.  Don’t just lurk — comment!

Of course you’re probably not going to comment on every blog post you read, but every now and then make the concerted effort to scroll down to that comment box and type a response, ask a question, or share your own insights. Your comments don’t have to be long to make an impact.

Remember, being part of a PLN is about giving as well as receiving. Taking the time to begin conversations will pay off!

2. Approve comments quickly

If you’re a blogger and someone leaves a comment on your post, make sure you approve the comment quickly (if you moderate comments).

There’s nothing more annoying to a reader to see that their comments haven’t been published. They might forget about it and not check back to see your response.

3.  Always respond back to readers on your own posts

If readers have made time to comment on your posts the very minimum you should do is respond back to your readers (ideally each reader) in the comments on your post.

This is very important for building your blog’s community; it demonstrates that you value your readers and their input.

Below is an example of replying back to a comment using threaded comments:

Comment on a post

4.  Use the Subscribe to Comments option

If a blogger provides a subscribe to comment option, then make sure you select this option when leaving a comment, so you’re notified by email of any follow up comments.

It’ll make your life easier. 🙂

Notify of follow up comments

Set Up Your Own Blog

If you’ve never blogged before, hopefully you’re reading this with the open mind to consider starting a blog now or even in the future.

But there are so many blogs out there! Why should I start one?

This is a common concern for people contemplating whether to start their own blog. They might feel like there is so much noise and so many blogs that are already established. They wonder what they could possibly have to add to the community?

We can assure you, you do have something worthwhile to share!

You are the only you. Your unique perspectives could be exactly what someone else needs to hear.

As George Couros has said,

My best advice…write for you and don’t overthink. See every blog post as a rough draft to something you are building over time, not a college term paper.

The more you do it, the better you will become.

The better you become, the easier it will be.

Be kind, be thoughtful, but don’t overthink. It is probably holding you back for inspiring someone else, and probably surprising yourself.

Still not convinced?

Check out Obvious To You, Amazing To Others by Derek Sivers.

A Blog Is Your Online Home

There are many advantages to blogging.

George Couros’ three reasons for blogging are shared by thousands of educators worldwide.

Reasons George Couros Blogs To share my thinking. To develop my thinking. To archive my thinking.

One of the great advantages of having your own blog when you’re setting up your PLN, is that it’s your online home.

Maybe you’ll discover a really cool tool, article, or resource. You could write about it (and share your learning with others).

Perhaps you’ll connect with some like minded teachers and possibly start some sort of collaboration. This would be perfect to blog about.

Even if your blog doesn’t really have an audience, a blog can be a fantastic place to keep track of all the work you’re doing both online and offline.

Your blog can also become an excellent professional portfolio. This can be an advantage when you’re trying to demonstrate who you are and what you’re passionate about for future career opportunities.

As Stephanie Thompson pointed out on her blog, 

An effective personal learning network and a willingness to share has enabled me to enjoy some incredible learning opportunities both inside and outside the classroom in the last few years. When I look back, even getting that first job offer in a market saturated with teaching graduates was directly attributable to an online professional presence.

What Platform Should I Blog On?

If you’re still reading, hopefully you’re thinking that setting up a blog is a possibility.

So you might be wondering where to set up your blog?

There are many choices.

Edublogs and CampusPress are powered by a customized version of WordPress. WordPress is the tool of choice for the large majority of professional bloggers and online publishers. In fact, over one-third of the entire web is powered by WordPress.

It’s highly customizable, export-friendly, and it works!

It’s free to sign up for a blog at Edublogs and it’s the world’s most popular platform for educational blogging. Just go to https://edublogs.org/ to sign up!

Read more about the advantages of using a WordPress based platform like Edublogs in this post. 

How Do I Start A Blog?

Ready to start your blog? We can help with that.

Our Personal Blogging Series takes you step-by-step through the process of setting up your own personal educator blog. It includes links to other educators’ blogs so you can see how they use their blogs.

Already dabbling with blogging? You’ll find our tips for writing more effective blog posts here.

Conclusion: Why Blog When You Can Microblog?

There’s a lot you can learn from getting involved in the blogging community whether that’s writing your own posts, or simply reading and commenting on other blogs.

However, this takes a certain amount of time. So what is the benefit of using blogs as a part of your PLN, as opposed to a tool like Twitter or other forms of social media?

Simply put, the more you put in the more you get out. Blogging allows you to dig deeper and really form strong connections with others. You’re not limited to 280 characters like on Twitter. You can write thousands of words if you like! Or at other times a few short sentences might suffice. The choice is powerful.

Tom Barrett created the following diagram for a post where he explored the impact of microblogging.

Tom Barrett Microblogging
Image by Tom Barrett

Tom Barrett said,

There is nothing wrong with the amber lit retweeting and sharing, but for many people we are sharing in an attempt to have the most impact on others. The micro engagement that occurs as people share without reading and, reposting content without engaging any further, is much more prevalent than the more in depth discussions of 10 years ago.

There’s definitely room for the amber, but think about the benefits that the green could bring to your professional life too.

Like all other aspects of building a PLN — what you get back is directly related to what you put in!

In an article for EdTech Review, Saomya Saxena explained how blogs are an essential part of an educator’s PLN,

Hence, blogs are one of the most significant online tools that can help you build your professional and personal learning networks. There’s no limit to the people we can connect with, be inspired by and stretch our professional wings with and blogging offers a great opportunity to do that. I feel that, blogs will be a must for anyone who wants to develop a PLN for himself, since it is the most open, creative and free way of sharing knowledge and expressing oneself. So embrace blogging in your daily lives and grow your learning networks personally as well as professionally.

Definitely food for thought.

Your Task

We’d like you to add your voice and ideas to our ongoing conversation about PLNs by undertaking one or more of these challenges:

  1. Share a link to an educator’s blog that you enjoy reading. Tell us what the blog is about what you get out of following the blog. Also, mention how you stay updated with the blog. Do you just check from time to time? Do you have an email subscription? Or do you use a tool like Feedly or Flipboard?
  2. Set up Feedly and/or Flipboard, referring to the instructions in this post. Leave a comment to tell us how you went setting up the tool. Let us know who you subscribed to and why.
  3. Write a post on your blog with your own thoughts about using blogs as part of your PLN. Please include @edublogs if you tweet your post so we can share your post with our network. Leave a comment with a link to your post so we can read it! In your blog post, you might like to cover topics like:
    • How do you use blogs as part of your PLN?
    • What tips do you have for newbies?
    • What did you learn about using blogs for building a PLN that you didn’t know?
    • What do you like/not like about Feedly, Flipboard, email subscriptions, or blogs?

Also feel free to leave a comment to ask any questions or share your tips.

How to leave a comment: Scroll down to find the comment box. Write your comment, then enter your name and email address (email addresses are not published). Enter the anti-spam word. Press submit and we will moderate your comment ASAP.

617 thoughts on “Step 5: Using Blogs As Part Of Your PLN

  1. Discovering the Shake up Learning blog, it was very nest to see all the educational resources it provides. It is a great resource to use while becoming a teacher. All the information it provides will be very helpful going into your first year. I want to discover more blogs and learn so much of what they have to share.

  2. A blog that I checked out was Shake Up Learning, hosted by Kasey Bell. The article I read was “15 Google Classroom Tips for Teachers”. One thing I really liked about this blog, is that it was also a podcast option. I chose this blog because I just saw it on Twitter, so I was going to check it out. This blog post specifically, because I struggle navigating Google Classroom, so reading these tips really get a better idea on how to work the online tool. One tip that really stood out to me was to leave private comments on students work, because it can help them grow. I love leaving small comments on my students’ work, because as a child I loved them from my teacher. I wanted to know what I did that was wonderful and what I needed to work on. I will definitely be using that when I have my own Google Classroom.

  3. I checked out the free technology for teachers and really enjoyed the resources that were shared. I think that this is a great source for teachers who aren’t very “tech savvy” and are on the lookout for new, innovative ideas. This is especially important now that most schools have technology assigned to students. I will definitely be checking this out again and using it in the comin g years.

  4. Unfortunately, I am not a huge blog fan. I have rather enjoyed learning about Twitter and using the resources that it has provided. They are much more concise and a little less time consuming than full blogs.

  5. I have never engaged in blogging, and I have not yet set up a Feedly of Flipboard account. However, based on what I have learned from this portion of the module, I am intrigued to create a Feedly account and discover and follow different education blogs.

  6. I opted to set up an account through Feedly, so I will be able to revisit that site and look up resources for future reference. I researched words pertaining to reading and children and found numerous valuable sites to follow. I have never heard of this research tool prior, and I am very glad I have been exposed to it.

  7. I opted to set up an account through Feedly, so I will be able to revisit that site and look up resources for future reference. I researched words pertaining to reading and children and found numerous valuable sites to follow. This is a wonderful site that I am sure I will refer back to frequently, in my professional career.

  8. Hello! I was inspired to create a Feedly account and started following some art education blogs. Step 5 was insightful and I love how it broke everything down in order to create my own blog. Stay tuned…

  9. I choose to set up a Feedly account. I wanted to be able to pick and choose who / what source I wanted to use as a valid and reliable resource. I used the link embedded in this segment. I linked up with Education NPR as a trusted and multi-opinion media. I listen to them a lot as well as the fact its an affiliated PBS network.

  10. I made a Flipgrid account and subscribed to both information for my college courses as well as 360 degree video ideas. I am able to stay connected with my professors and classmates regarding assignments and reflection questions.

  11. 2. Set up Freely/ or Flipboard account
    I set up a Freely account and it was super easy to do. I decided to follow “Organized Classrooms” and ” Technology in Elementary Education.” I chose to subscribe to them because I am not always a organized person and I think being organized in the classroom is very important and technology is everywhere and we need to know how to incorporate it into our schooling.

  12. I like Richard Byrne’s free technology for teachers website https://www.freetech4teachers.com/. Of course, I just recently learned about this site while going through the PLN tutorial, but I think it’s a site I’ll be checking often. I love the variety of resources that are published on the site, and it is filled with “how to” videos that can help teachers become more technologically savvy.

  13. I ended up setting up a Flipboard account and subscribed to #Primaryeducation. Setting up the account was very simple and straight to the point. Searching for content that interested me was also simple because you just type and then follow the ones you like. Through this, I discovered different news that’s going around the country regarding primary education. I think it is crucial to keep up and stay informed about these things.

  14. Blog: The Curious Educator (https://www.curiouseducator.com/) updated by Debbie Campbell is a highly organized and user-friendly blog that offers advice and ideas about education. One post I found interesting focused on an activity teachers could use in a virtual setting where students type their answers without hitting “send,” then count three seconds and submit their answers together. This might be a strategy I implement in the future if I ever teach online.

  15. I made a feedly account and subscribed to school related blogs. This will come in handy in the future when I become a teacher. I can get ideas for my classroom and put out tips myself if I have any.

  16. http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/
    This is a link to Cool Cat Teacher Blog. This blog recently just posted about blended learning during the pandemic. There are posts as well as links to other creators. This is the first time I have seen this blog but I would subscribe to the blog through her website and then get notifications when she posts new stuff.

  17. An educator’s blog that I enjoy reading and learning from is http://www.primaryinspired.net/ which is led by Brenda who focuses her blog on primary level educational tips and ideas that help with targeted review for students of various levels and abilities. She includes freebies and lots of helpful ideas on how to ensure that each student is successfully learning and retaining information in the ways that work best for them. I love it!

  18. Two of my favorite blogs that I like to look at every once in a while are Free Technology for Teachers (https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2021/10/a-cute-series-of-videos-about.html) and Primary Punch (https://www.primarypunch.com/search?max-results=10). Both are great resources to help you keep up with new ideas and resources that are spreading around schools. Technology is especially important right now as schools are starting to lean more and more on technological resources for the classroom.

  19. I go on this blog: https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/blog/. It is called “Cult of Pedagogy.” There are many things you can read about and I even listen to the Podcast. I especially like the ones on classroom management. They are very helpful for me. I do not have a subscription- I just go on the website during my free time.

  20. I had never looked at a blog site for education or anything else really, but I like https://www.weareteachers.com/ after finding it in the module. The website has lots of helpful posts about how to navigate being a teacher such as “how to make phone calls home” along with fun ideas to implement in the classroom and free printable infographics and materials. I think I will just check the website periodically or follow their twitter handle and see the articles they tweet out.

  21. http://www.thelemonadestandteacher.com/search?max-results=10
    The recent blog I have to started to follow is The Lemonade Stand Teacher. She has a wide variety of classroom management tips, different lesson plan ideas on teaching different topics, and she also includes links to her TPT, Instagram and her FaceBook. Her page is very organized and it is simple to navigate. I enjoy going and checking out the different lesson plan ideas she publishes and I even save some items to utilize in my future classroom.

  22. I set up Feedly, already there are so many blogs I want to follow. I started off by just searching education and the plethora of people and companies to follow is mind blowing. I’m going to start following NPR: Education and Ted-Ed and the NYT for educators immediately. I didn’t realize there was such an easy way to get so much information just from searching one word. I started off with just #education because I didn’t want to overwhelm myself with too much too fast and then miss something, but I hope to add and find new blogs in the future.

  23. I set up an account with Feedly, and found it pretty easy to get started. One of the blogs I followed was https://www.freetech4teachers.com/ since I feel like I can have some trouble wrapping my head around using certain technologies for teaching History, a subject that I believe works best when students are talking with each other in real time.

  24. 1. Share: https://heav.org/blog/
    This is probably not a blog most aspiring public school teachers would read. It is interesting to me because I was homeschooled, and I like to see how other people deal with homeschooling. This blog shares ideas about different aspects of homeschooling. I just check in from time to time, as I’m not really much of a blogger, but there’s an interesting post about homeschooling with a military family. I can relate to that lifestyle. I think that’s what I get out of it. Maybe it’s not information I could really use as a teacher- though there are some posts that are useful, like the post about bears…- but it makes me feel relevant. Like my life experiences are somewhat normal.

  25. The blog that I enjoy browsing the most is C3 Teacher’s Blogs (https://c3teachers.org/blog/). This blog focuses on the C3 model and using inquiry in the classroom, which is key in an area such as Social Studies. I generally check in from time to time, usually when I feel I need ideas for my own class inquiries.

  26. A blog is an online discussion or informational website that consists of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries posts. Typically, posts are displayed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent post appearing first at the top of the web page. One of the reasons educators should use blogs is to collaborate with other educators, reflect on ways to improve their teaching or learning style, and share a variety of information and tips with other students/parents.

  27. I went on a few of those website to see maybe get insight from the comments and wasn’t disappointed with the results

  28. 1. Share a blog

    I checked out Bethany Petty’s Teaching with Technology blog found at: http://usingeducationaltechnology.com/. On this site, Ms. Petty has many, many resources to aid and inspire teachers teaching with technology. Although her focus is on History, there are many hyperdocs, activities, instructional videos and more. There are also links to several books that focus on technology enhanced learning written by Ms. Petty that would certainly be of use to educators looking to up their technology use in the classroom.

  29. I love the post on this page, “to share my thinking, to develop my thinking, and archive my thinking. One thing about blogs I have noticed with cooking websites. Someone will write a back story, share their recipe, and photos to go along with it. I always notice in the comments that a community is there supporting the blogger, asking questions, and sharing advice. I think that that would be something helpful to see within educational blogs.

  30. 1. Share a link to an educator’s blog that you enjoy reading. Tell us what the blog is about what you get out of following the blog. Also, mention how you stay updated with the blog. Do you just check from time to time? Do you have an email subscription? Or do you use a tool like Feedly or Flipboard?

    Flipboard:
    https://flipboard.com/@coolcatteacher/education-teaching-tech-48b0u51kz?from=share&utm_source=flipboard&utm_medium=share

    The blog I found on Flipboard is called, Education, Teaching & Tech. It provides information on all things education. One post I really enjoyed is titled, “Hands-On” Meets “Minds-On” – New Research Shows Learning Is More Effective When Active. It talks about different resources to keep students engaged which is essential to a student succeeding. I think that keeping a student engaged is the second most important thing that a teacher has to do. Number one is the content. I don’t have an email subscription or use Flipboard, but now I will use it as a resource.

  31. Set up Feedly and/or Flipboard, referring to the instructions in this post. Leave a comment to tell us how you went setting up the tool. Let us know who you subscribed to and why.
    I set up a Freely account and it was easy to set up. I did it through google and it only took a minute. I subscribed to random teacher accounts I found who shared information about teaching. I like the information they share about ways to make activities more engaging for students.

  32. Share a link to an educator’s blog: One of my all time favorite blogger is Tara Eiken, who was a 4th grade teacher but recently switched to middle schoolers this past year. Her website is https://4thgradefrolics.blogspot.com
    She was a resource I used when I was in my Interdisciplinary Science 310 class where we had to create lessons and activities related to Science SOLs. Ms. Eiken’s blog helped me tremendously as she wrote full descriptions and the importance of the activities thoroughly without writing in a “boring” manner. She wrote her blogs as if she was talking to her friends which made the blogs super engaging and fun to read while still being educational. She posts all about simple and fun activities to do with the students that keeps that interacting with the materials learned but are also enjoyable for them.

  33. One educator’s blog that I have enjoyed is Trevor Muir’s. He is a teacher who posts a lot about project based learning, which is something I have recently been interested in learning more about. I actually don’t go to his actual blog very frequently. I follow him on Facebook and Twitter, so more often I see the links to his blogs there. I would definitely recommend checking him out: https://www.trevormuir.com/blog/

  34. I created a Feedly account and followed a blog for new teachers. This is especially important for me because I still have about a year left in my education before I step foot into the actual teaching world. I really liked how Feedly was set up, and will continue to use is hopefully for years.

  35. A blog I really enjoy is “cult of pedagogy” hosted by Jennifer Gonzales. Her blog revolves around her podcasts where she hosts a variety of guests on a variety of topics for educators to listen and read about. She turns educators on to resources from people from many different walks of education to allow us the opportunity to dive deeper if the topic interests us. She has talks about literacy, diversity, prominent issues within schools and the hard hitting things that many of us may not think of right away when we think of education. She houses her podcast, blog and videos on her webpage that you can access easily by visiting http://www.cultofpedagogy.com .

  36. Here is the link to the educator’s blog (Kathleen Morris) that I enjoy reading: http://www.kathleenamorris.com. This educator’s blog is about “The Best Video Creation Tools For Teachers and Students.” In this blog, Kathleen Morris discusses video creation tools and how they are essential for teachers and students. From the following this blog I get key tips on specific tools I may use, as a teacher, to create videos for my fellow teachers and students. Morris also supplies her blog readers with tips on how to make videos, while using these tools, even better. I stay updated with Morris’s blog through receiving subscription emails, so I know when she adds a new post to her blog.

  37. Set up Feedly and/or Flipboard, referring to the instructions in this post. Leave a comment to tell us how you went setting up the tool. Let us know who you subscribed to and why.: After I put in my email, I searched up education and added things like TED-ED and then I looked up social studies education and added things like the History Teacher’s Blog. As was the case with Twitter, I feel like teachers would really benefit from a more dedicated, education only site.

  38. 2. I made a Flipboard account. It was a bit of a struggle at first due to the site glitching (not sure if it was because of my browser of the site itself), but afterward, I found I enjoy the flow of the app. It is basically a way for me to consolidate news regarding my interests into one convenient dashboard.

  39. I made an account with Freedly and started by typing “education” into the search bar. Immediately, there were sources I could follow such as Ted-Ed, education NPR, free technology for teachers, and so much more. I like how you can fine-tune your search result to get really specific. I also like how it gives a brief preview of the kind of content you’ll find in the sources. I think this is a great resource for educators because it has so much information just by doing a quick search. I also found it extremely easy to use and didn’t run into any issues or confusion on the layout of the website.

  40. A blog that I enjoy is The Jose Vilson (https://thejosevilson.com/blog/). This blog has a focus on inner city areas, and speaking of relevant information that teachers and students can resonate with. I currently do not have an email subscription, but I will typically check the blog if I want to stay updated, and learn more ways to integrate important news into lessons. You can sign up for an email subscription free of charge to stay updated. I really enjoy this blog because it has a strong focus on teachers of color, and offers opinions of real people and real experiences. The blog is not your typical, “teaching is great and here’s why!” It really focuses on the important aspects of education that many of us are working to overturn. It addresses equity, politics, standardized testing and so much more.

  41. https://resilienteducator.com/ This website is a huge hub of knowledge and resources, and their blogs are excellent. This is a site I scroll to from time to time, but I don’t necessarily have a subscription or use a specific tool. Their blogs span a variety of topics, and I’ve been able to find one that meets what I’m looking for every time that I’ve sought after one.

  42. I took a gander at the Feedly platform, and from what I have seen it was quite like Pinterest, in that you can choose topics in which you have a passion for or are interested in and subscribe to find videos and/or other resources to check out under the same topic. What was great about it was that you can separate different resources into folders depending on which site you happened to come across them in, and that was a convenient feature about the site. Even though I was subscribed to it already on YouTube, I looked at the educational resources and found resources like TEDTalks, PBS Kids, National Geographic, etc., that it was great to see so many resources that I can utilize from one site.

  43. I started following https://www.thedaringenglishteacher.com/ who’s entire goal is to deliver tips and tricks for secondary English teachers. They have blog posts about teaching specific content, posts about bringing out the creativity in lesson plans, and even a blog post about how to prep for when a sub has to cover your class. She has her website set up so that if you subscribe to her email list then you’ll receive “one freebie” (free resource or activity) per week for 15 weeks. Of course, this is how I’ll stay up to date with her blog rather than using a third-party tool like Feedly or Flipboard.

  44. In an earlier post I mentioned that I frequent “Cult of Pedagogy” (https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/). This blog has great ideas for educators on pretty much every subject in the form of both web articles and podcasts. I don’t have any formal method of using this blog, rather I just check it from time to time, but perhaps in creating my PLN I will add it to an RSS feed.

  45. I enjoy the cult of pedagogy blog (https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/blog/). Jennifer Gonzalez is a former ELA teacher who posts on almost all things education. The content includes instruction, classroom management, technology, learning theories, book reviews and more. I like the cult of pedgagoy because it is so comprehensive in content, yet still seems conversational and personal. I follow cult of pedagogy on Pinterest and when a new blog is posted, it will show up on Pinterest.

  46. So I set up a feedly account Ann I started following a lot of preschool related blogs an account because I currently work in a preschool and it’s actually very useful because I’m able to find things like after school activities an carpet time games which is very useful for my current job. I really like this site so far and I can actually see myself using it.

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