CSE 627 – Web 2.0 Tools – The Blogger

Update: As part of WOU CSE 694 class, I've created this blog and copy/pasted this post from my CSE 627 Web 2.0 tools blog (for background)

******************************

I’ve never been a big fan of blogging. It’s not that the content of some were not periodically interesting, informative, and even on occasion, intriguing. But after too many times of being sent to, being recommended to, or following a link to someone’s blog in hopes of time well spent by the end of the (all too often long) read, I resolved that the well part was going to be missing more times than not. The lengths, and the lack of organized threads and subjects of blog narratives and comments created more and more affection in me for the forum or discussion board tool, and ingraining a shunning response to even considering the use of a blogger tool for my own higher education classrooms.

However, now fast-forward several years to 2009 — a Computer Science in Education Web 2.0 Tools graduate class at WOU has me reconsidering the continuance of turning my nose up at this tool’s time-worthiness in educational settings. After studying the latest and visiting some award-winning blogs, I’m newly impressed with how less-personal-journal-y the latest have become, and the enjoyable educational sharing that is happening within this tool. I’m especially impressed with the wider offering of newsy blogs. in the classroom, I have now witnessed some fairly fun blogs and find myself wishing my sons had such cool blogs to be a part of following and/or creating; both what it would offer them in learning from the focused news, journaling and sharing going on, as well as the fly-on-the-wall-parent I could then be.

So, in light of my newly found respect for the blogger tool, I shall venture into the blogosphere with my first blog. I still start hyperventilating at the thought of not being able to thread entries (read: organize), but I take inspiration from those that have gone before me (and a brown paper bag) and begin to breathe deep, relax and look forward to having some edufun with an edublog!