First day on the blog

As an inexperienced blogger, I expected that I was going to feel completely out of my comfort zone having to build a page that housed all of my thoughts and feelings on a particular topic. Blogging is not something I am familiar with so it was interesting to learn how and why it is used as a tool for teachers. Having (finally) set up my own blog, and browsing through Mandy’s blog, I can certainly see the potential benefits of using blogging as a tool within teaching.

This incredibly fascinating clip by Michael Welsch demonstrates the complexity of the web nowadays, but not in a negative light. Web 2.0 makes connections. It makes connections between people and places, sites and links, here and there. I want to be able to develop my knowledge to better understand and use these connections.



To anyone who does happen to come across this blog, I would encourage you to watch this short video. It compels you to engage with the material and take in all of the information displayed.

Before today I considered myself to be relatively social network savvy. I use Twitter and Facebook on a daily basis (albeit for personal ‘gossip catch up’ more than for academic purposes) so I’m fairly familiar with the way they work. I have previously dabbled into using my personal networking skills for learning purposes; I followed a number of lecturers while studying towards my degree and was also involved in a Psychology Society Group on Facebook with fellow students, but it was fascinating for me today to discover the flip-side of this; an introduction into the ways that social networking can be exploited for predominately academic purposes, and the potential dangers of using this as a resource.

Technology will continue to develop and will continue to be important within the learning environment, presumably even more so in years to come. It seems to me that I am lucky to have an experienced web surfer, blogger, teacher, and social network savvy lecturer to educate me on the ins and outs of the World Wide Web and its benefits to me as a future teacher.