But What’s the Big Deal about Blogging in Education?

Educational leaders can use blogs in a myriad of ways. I’ve seen blogs where the principal updates the community on school happenings. I’ve seen blogs that discuss education and politics. I’ve seen blogs that are reflective of professional learning. I’ve also seen blogs that help teach others about ideas or technology. All of the blogs I’ve seen are trying to inform others and reaching out to a community, be it the local community or a professional community. It’s about making connections.

On the flip side, educational leaders might use blogs, not as authors themselves, but as resources in their own work. Some might follow blogs that are writing about a topic that is relevant to the school leader. Others might read them to find excellent ideas for their own schools. The bonus about blogs is that readers can insert themselves into the conversation by commenting. This often sets off professional conversations, more connection-making. Reading them or writing them, blogs are a positive in the educational leader’s world.

Finding and Following Principal's Blogs

Doing reading for graduate school can be some pretty dry stuff, but every once in a while it lights a fire under me. Nancy Dana's book Leading with Passion and Knowledge: The Principal as an Action Researcher has a pretty interesting section on reflective blogging for principals. Sadly, some of the information is outdated with links that lead nowhere, but that is the nature of our dear, dear Internet. So I went through what was available and found some keepers.

School leader blogs to peruse:

• Leading 180 Days
• Principal Reflections
• Practical Theory: A View from the Classroom
• Principal Learner
• PHSdirectorBLOG
• Learning to Collaborate
• The Elementary Principal
• From the principal's desk
• The Transformationist
• Kimberly Moritz BlogPosts
• The Woodland Brag Blog
• Education for All
• Chalkdust101
• dangerously ! irrelevant
• Education Innovation
• Principal of the Matter
• Sentiments on Common Sense
• The Principal Blog
• Creative Tension
• grand rounds
• School-of Thought

 Blogs for school news:

• Almost Monday: Wildwood's Weekly Staff News
• Spring Trail Tiger Times
• Georgetown Elementary School

Professional blogs for school leaders:

•  LeaderTalk 

These links originally came from Support Blogging! - Links to School Bloggers, but many of the links were broken, so I culled and came up with these.