5 Tips for Writing a Killer Blog Post via @RossCoops31 @TonySinanis @MsSackstein

I attended an #EdCampNYC session called "The 3Bs of Connection Education (Blogging + Branding w/ Buddies). The conversation was led by @RossCoops31 @TonySinanis @mssackstein. They shared ideas and insights with participants about being connected in general and blogging in particular.  A blog is one important piece of your digital footprint as +Tim Needles Tweeted along with the photo he shared of the session below.

"Your digital footprint is your new resume" Love @mssackstein @TonySinanis & @RossCoops31's relaxed #edcampNYC talk! pic.twitter.com/sFC2NdeY38

— Tim Needles (@timneedles) January 9, 2016

Here are some tips for those who are interested in bringing blogging into their practice that were shared by the innovative educators who were leading the session (along with a few from me).

1) Getting Comments

A concern for participants was that no one would comment on student blogs. Here are suggestions to remedy that.

1)  Write an email to parents telling them what you are doing and ask them to comment.

2)  Ask students to comment on blogs of others in the class.

3)  Ask other classes at your school to comment.

4)  Ask teachers you know have classes at their school comment.

5)  Try Quad Blogging. Edutopia’s Suzie Boss describes it here.  

6)  Make a killer Tweet (see how here) incorporating the link to the post and using the #Comments4Kids hashtag.

5 Tips for Submitting a Guest Post to a Blog

A fantastic way for educators, students, or companies to get attention to ideas or product is to contribute a post to a popular blog in your area of interest. However if you do, make sure you do your homework by keeping these tips in mind.

1) Comment on the blog

Don't just make a request out of nowhere. Be a participant in the blog's communIty. Add valuable and interesting comments to posts that interest you. The blog author should already be familiar with who you are because you are an active contributor who has smart ideas to share. If your ideas are strong enough, you won't even have to ask to submit a guest post. The blog author may reach out to you.

How blogging can give students a voice

Guest post by Connor Wood

Author’s note: Lisa Nielsen offered me the chance to do this guest post after I requested an interview from her for my blog Trismegistus Nab-tu-we. My blog is devoted to writing, politics, and philosophy of education. She was impressed with my blog and asked me if I would share information about my work. This post provides a student’s story about how I’ve used a blog and my personal learning network to share my ideas and give students a voice.

I run a blog called Trismegistus Nab-tu-we. I originally started the blog as a project for my high school English class. Unlike my classmates, who quit after the three posts required by my teacher, I kept going a while, trying to turn it into another type of blog. I talked about books, languages, liberal arts, programming, and internet culture. Then I got into politics, and occasionally, I still digress into copyright law and freedom of speech.I covered a whole mess of things. But it was not regular. I realized from my pageviews that without consistency and focus my blog did not seem to be worth anybody’s time.

Five months into my little foray into the blogging, I wrote a post on Standards. While I did not have any uniform agenda, it was a start. I cannot say that I agreed with everything I wrote then. My ideas were a product of the times, with the end of school, and a new superintendent looming, I just went where my mind was. Then, I let it rest.

Until summer came around.

Summer is a weird time. Students take this three month break from school. I did all sorts of things...and I still got bored. So I set out with a list of goals. I knew I would not complete all of them but they lead me to accomplish what I wanted them to. Along with my main goal of trying to start a writing career, they set me up to be more social and less afraid to approach people. I also became involved in the online community around me. I started commenting on Simply Unbound and Random Musings. Interestingly, just about everything I am doing now is a product of last summer’s boredom.

8 easy tips to keep in mind when starting a personal education blog

I started my education blog to share and reflect upon my experiences in 2008. Here are some things I try to keep in mind as I blog.

	What	Advice
1	Email	Use a personal (not work) email.
2	Disclaimer	Consider placing a disclaimer in your profile. It might not help if you do something that is not wise, but it will let your readers know the perspective from which you are writing.
3	Who	Ask permission when identifying anyone in school community.
4	What	Only post that which you would feel comfortable saying face to face or having appear in the media.
5	When	Post outside work hours.
6	Logo	Do not use logos related to your employer.
7	Real name or Alias?	Consider using your own name and publishing ideas you stand behind. Sharing wonderful things about our profession is a win win and aliases are often not too difficult to undercover.
8	Mentioning your employer	Consider posting only that which you would be comfortable having a current or future employer read.

Do we have to choose between student voice and teacher voice?

It turns out my support of student activist Jeff Bliss caused at least one teacher to announce on his blog that he wants to quit Tweeting and blogging.  

Friends bombarded me with the post, accompanied by comments like, “This is great. We don’t need someone like that representing our profession.” Or, “Wow. He must really be threatened by students being heard. I think that’s a good sign.”

I represent, apparently,all that makes him want to quit. The problem however, is that what he expresses in his blog is a poorly articulated, almost despondent rant. The discouragement that he is feeling is completely understandable; he sees Bliss’s attack as one more on the pile laid upon teachers whose hands and voices are tied tighter every day.  But what he expresses can have a dampening effect on those trying to amplify the voices that matter.

This is about more than one frustrated student’s angry words, and the shouts of praise and derision that followed. This is about whether a voice representing one view can marginalize or even erase another.

The Innovative Educator’s Top 20 Blog Picks

Here are my must-read blog recommendations for those who want to catch up on the latest news and trends in the area of innovation and education. These are blogs that have been in existence for at least a year. As an innovative educator, I am influenced by a range of sources such as principals, teachers, students, policy makers, parents, icons, and career experts. Listed below alphabetically are the blogs / bloggers that I follow to get ideas when it comes to supporting students in learning innovatively.

1. Adora’s Blog - Adora Svitak Teenager Adora Svitak is author, student, teacher, activist, and blogger who is passionate about bringing student voice to the education transformation conversation. Adora is a student leader. When you read her blog you connect with the her thoughts, dreams, predictions, and opinions that are representative of many students passionate about ed reform. Adora recently launched The Student Union Blog where young people can submit a text post, audio, quote, or video in answer to the question "What does learning mean to you?"
2. Angela Maiers Blog - Angela Maier Angela Maiers is a leader in passion driven learning and supporting teachers and leaders in creating learning opportunities that really matter for students.
3. BiblioTech.me - Michelle Luhtala
   BiblioTech.me is the blog of Librarian Michelle Luhtala who is a leader in thinking outside the ban and out of the blocks. Michelle was helped to lead the way for her school to trust students to use their own technology as well as have access to all web content. In her blog Michelle shares what happens when we stop fighting and start entrusting our children with the freedom to learn with the tools and resources of their world.
4. Career / Homeschooling - Penelope Trunk Innovative educators must always keep their eye on the prize. That is helping to raise young people that will have a successful home and career life. Penelope Trunk is the go to person for today and tomorrow’s career entrants. She is a trend spotter that knows what employer’s are looking for and what makes today’s youth tick. She is also an expert on managing the career / life balance. Her recently launched homeschooling blog features her journey of removing her children from school and taking ownership of their learning. She provides first-hand accounts of the rewards and struggles experienced by a dedicated, working mom.
5. Children Should Not Be a Number - Chris Cerrone
   This blog is authored by a parent and educator who is standing up and speaking out against standardized testing with a goal to return the freedom to learn to the hands of children.  The blog is Cerrone’s effort to start a movement to end standardized testing in New York State and our nation. He explains that parents need to start this revolution by opting out their children from state testing programs in order to take back public education from the corporate reformers who are destroying the education of our children. He is frequently covered in the local and national media about the ideas he shares in his blog and a contributor to opt out of testing sites such as Opt Out New York.
6. Connected Principals - George Couros Hear from school thought leaders from elementary through high school including some amazing princpals who I always look to for insight, advice and guidance like Eric Sheninger, Lyn Hilt, and George Couros, David Truss, Patrick Larkin, Jonathan Martin
7. Cooperative Catalyst - Multiple Contributors
   The Cooperative Catalyst brings together some of my favorite educator and student voices in education to come together to propose solutions and structures for re-imagining what self-directed learning can and should be. Many of the contributors also have their own blogsand sites which I highly recommend. Here are the contributing students (Nikhil Goyal, Jabreel Chisley, Line Dalile) and educators who guide and inspire my thinking (Marybeth Hertz, John T. Spencer, David Loitz, Monika Hardy, Shelly Sanchez Terrell, Kyle Pace, Pernille Ripp, Deven Black, Pat Farenga, Gwyn Ridenhour, Kirsten Olson, Paula White, Pamela Moran, David Wees, Melia Dicker).
8. For the Love of Learning - Joe Bower
   Joe Bower is my go to man for examples and research supporting the need to update our outdated practices in the areas of homework, assessment, standardization, accountability, and grading.
9. Getting Smart™ - Tom VanderArk This is a great site if for those interested in online learning and personal digital learning. Here you’ll learn about the latest trends, like badges for credentialing students, and important reports, products, and information.
10. Hagan’s World of Awesome - Hagan Miller
    Join young Hagan in his world of Awesome as he shares what learning looks like through the eyes of an early elementary student. Hagan began his blogging journey in Kindergarten recounting his awesome life via photos and Dragon Dictation, going back to correct any errors, and then working with his mom to finalize and publish stories about his awesome life. Read this blog to get the rarely seen perspective from the life of a child.
11. Laurie A. Couture's Blog - Laurie A. Couture Laurie A. Couture's blog provides a wealth of information in areas such as alternatives to meds for ADD/ADHD, respecting youth, and learning through life. Laurie provides real-life examples via her work with young people who've been damaged by school and through the beautiful way she implements these practices in her own family with her remarkable son Brycen R. R. Couture who among other things is a musician and child activist who blogs here.
12. Minds of Kids - Lisa Cooley The Minds of Kids is authored by radical school board member and progressive education thought-leader Lisa Cooley. Read this blog and its comments if you want to discover education transformation efforts from the view of a school board member.
13. Mrs. Yollis’ Classroom Blog - Mrs. Yollis
    This is the blog of elementary teacher, Mrs. Yollis who does a wonderful job of connecting her students to the world through the use of online media. This is a wonderful blog for anyone interested in best practices when it comes to blogging with students. Mrs. Yollis’s students have the option to contribute to the classroom blog, and comment, but it is not a requirement. Those students who show exceptional interest in writing can apply to have their own blogs. If you want to learn about best practices for connecting with the world through blogging, commenting, and Skype this blog is for you.
14. My Island View - Tom Whitby
    Known for his famous tropical shirts, Tom Whitby’s day job is teaching teachers to be teachers at the college level. He began this work after a few decades as a secondary English teacher in the NY public school system. Tom is a leader in connecting and making meaning through the use of social media including LinkedIn, The Educators PLN, and most prominently via Twitter for which he received the Edublog Award for the most Influential Educational Twitter Series, Edchat, which he founded. For those who are interested in discovering the power of social media in general, and Twitter in particular, this is a great blog.
15. Practical Theory - Chris Lehmann
    Here's the blog of the person who'd get my vote for U.S. Secretary of Education. Read Practical Theory. Chris Lehmann is a renowned thinker, writer, and speaker who every policymaker and administrator should be listening to. Lehmann is the principal of the Science Leadership Academy. He is known for leading a school that does more than teach subjects, but rather teaches unique individuals with passions, talents, and interests in an environment where technology like oxygen, is expected to be all around and used on an ongoing basis for survival and success in today’s world.
16. Seth Godin’s Blog - Seth Godin Known for his writing about about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, leadership and most of all, changing everything, took a plunge into the education arena this month with his manifesto, Stop Stealing Dreams.  Seth provides no shortage powerful quotes and inspirational ideas via his blog posts. Though Seth is widely popular, he’s not too busy to stop by and leave a comment or even make a call to authors of blogs who write about his ideas.   
17. The Daily Papert - Gary Stager
    Gary Stager is a provocative, antagonist, who is never afraid to tell it like it is. Stager has on the money ideas about topics like assessment and project based learning and he is happy to share them via his blog and social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Gary draws heavily on his work and experience with Seymour Papert, creating The Daily Papert as an effort to bring bite-size nuggets of Papert wisdom with an intent to inspire educators, parents, scholars and citizens to investigate more of Papert’s work in years to come.
18. Skipping School - Kate Fridkis Kate Fridkis is a 20-something Ivy league college graduate who is a lay cantor and successful writer who never attended school before College. She spent her life learning without school via a method called unschooling where youth are empowered and entrusted to learn naturally in life and explore and discover their passions. Kate explains how you can learn anything and achieve your dreams without school. Read this blog and be ready to rethink many of your preconceived notions about teaching and learning. Note: While this blog is not currently active as of 2/12, the rich content is worth checking out.
19. The Innovative Educator - Lisa Nielsen My blog, The Innovative Educator, is written with inspiration and guidance from all those mentioned in this list. I love sharing ideas about giving students the freedom to learn with the tools, resources, and in the ways they love best. I believe we should always support young people in leading a life of happiness and satisfaction where they can discover and develop their passions and that we should do our best to never go against the wishes of a child or their parent.
20. Read. Write. Connect. Learn - Will Richardson I’ve been following education blogger Will Richardson since his days as a classroom English Teacher where he spent 22 years. Richardson has been blogging for more than a decade serving as an outspoken advocate for change in schools and classrooms in the context of the diverse new learning opportunities that tech innovation now offers. Richardson has inspired many to share their voice through blogging on online media and had a great impact on my decision to launch The Innovative Educator more than four years ago.

10 Ways to Grow Your Blog and Amplify Your Ideas

I’m often asked for ideas by current or future bloggers about how to draw readership to their blogs. I’ve just celebrated my four year blogerversary, picked up a few thousand readers and I’ve learned a few things. Well, ten to be exact.  Here they are.

1) Write for real
Because I write for real I know I’ve amplified my ideas when it comes to at least one person and maybe even gained a recurring reader. When there is the one most important person in mind for that particular piece, I know that my post will have an impact with that person and likely be shared with others by that person. When you write for real, you know there is always at least one person seriously taking a look at what you’ve written and if others benefit, that’s icing on the cake.  

2) Cross post / guest post
Share your ideas with others who write about topics that are of interest to you by cross posting on another blog.  This will get your ideas in front of a new audience with a link back to your blog for those who want to read more.  

A blog carnival for those who have a LOVE of unschooling this Valentine's Day

If you LOVE unschooling you'll want to check out the Unschooling Blog Carnival which has a theme of L.O.V.E. in honor of Valentines Day. This means that all blog posts will focus on two things: Unschooling &  LOVE.  Bloggers from around the world share posts. Among them you will find these. Christina Pilkington who writes a blog called Interest Led Learning shares why her kids LOVE learning without school or subjects with a list of exciting "Firsts" captured via a fabulous journaling/scrapbook-type idea of recording life unfolding. Cydney Romano who blogs at Recording the Atoms writes about shifting her perspective and coming to a greater understanding of unconditional  LOVE. I share why I  LOVE how unschoolers learn.  Lindsey Wilson shares what she LOVES about being an unschooling family. Pam Sorooshian who blogs at Learning Happens ~ Unschooling Observations & Opinions writes a post called  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE where she reminds parents to look more closely at what they do "out of  LOVE ."   Dayna Martin overcomes her own judgements about another mom in Love It Forward. Kate Fridkis who blogs at Skipping School writes about sibling LOVE. These are just a few of them many posts you'll find. To read them all visit http://unschoolingblogcarnival.blogspot.com/2012/02/love.html

What is a Blog Carnival??

20 Ways to Get Ideas for Writing Blog Posts

I have been blogging for a few years now and I usually publish each day. I'm often asked by current and would-be bloggers how I come up with my blog posts. These are some of the ways.

1)  Someone asks me a question. Rather than just share the answer with them, I share it with the world as others may have that question too.

• Example: That is how this post came about.

2) I disagree with someone but politically it is not a good idea to vocalize my opposition. I write about it in generic terms on my blog.

• Example: 14 Ideas to Help Educators Update and Enhance Traditional Meetings

3)  I find a new way to use something and I want to share

• Example: Make and publish books for free with Flickr

4)  Someone says something powerful that would never be captured and shared otherwise. I capture and share it.

• Example: Ideas for Leading Transformation in Schools from Alan November

5) Someone asks me for advice. I figure this might help others too so I write a blog post, send them the link, and others benefit too.

• Example: Dispelling 8 Common Myths for Educators Considering Launching a School Wiki

How Blogging Has Helped Me Build My Personal Learning Network

I’m often asked why I blog and why anyone would even want to blog. The reason is that unlike previous generations I am able to connect with thousands of other educators, parents, and students around the world who share my passion and interests. I call these people, my personal learning network and we were brought together in large part as a result of my blog. Born in March of 2008, The Innovative Educator (http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com) is the heart of my personal learning network with Twitter, Facebook, discussion forums, and Face-to-Face connections serving as life blood that runs through it. While my main thoughts and ideas (educating innovatively, thinking outside the ban, passion-based learning) reside in my blog these other venues allow me to disperse and converse about them. As a result of these connections I’ve had opportunities to have powerful conversations, make meaning and deepen my thinking. While that is fantastic for my personal learning growth what is even more powerful is that as a result of my blog posts, and the connections I’ve made because of them, I’ve been able to help affect positive change in education.

I’ve connected educators working to harness the power of technology, lift the cell phone ban in their classrooms, schools, and districts. I’ve encouraged and motivated educators in supporting the authentic publication of student work and establishment of their own and their student’s digital footprints. I’ve found and connected teachers and educational leaders interested in harnessing the power of social media to positively impact students. I’ve helped schools and districts save thousands by learning to avoid unnecessary purchases and instead accomplish the same outcomes for free using tools like wikispaces, blogger, and Google apps or not purchasing unnecessary hardware like interactive whiteboards.

I feel fortunate that unlike my parent’s generation who screamed at a deaf TV/radio, or waved a newspaper at unseeing eyes, I have a digital voice and a means to share it. Today, through my blog I can speak back to the TV or radio, the newspaper, the corrupt business owner, or a policy maker through my blog and magnify the message, and sometimes call to action through my personal learning network. Unlike the frustrated adults of my parent’s generation and those that came before them, if I want to start a movement, share an idea, or convey a message, I do so on my blog and tap my PLN on the shoulder through digital and face-to-face (which is sometimes virtual) means and ask them to join me. As a result, we do indeed have the means to spread a message, affect change, and make the world a better place.

Blogs, Wikis, or Google Docs - Oh My!

I’m often asked by educators why I use wikis, blogs, AND Google docs. “Why not just pick one?”. The answer is because I use each in different ways. Each of these platforms can be used for numerous purposes. Here is how I use them.

BLOGS
Use: I use my blog to share original information that I feel will be useful for a wide audience. I can place links in other platforms as appropriate to my blog posts.
Ownership: I am the master of my blog along with contributing editors and readers can participate by leaving comments.
Service I Use: Blogger
Cost: FREE for Everyone!
Example: http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com

WIKIS
Use: I use wikis for group projects where multiple people are collecting and growing information. Wikis provide a very easy way for all of those involved to contribute. Wikis serve as containers that hold information that would be useful to those working on shared projects. My wiki has links to blog posts and Google docs. Another nice feature of the wiki site I use is the “discussion tab.” This enables contributors to discuss items related to the wiki page they are contributing to.
Ownership: There are administrators and contributors. The administrator(s) establish settings for contributors. Generally everyone has access to add and contribute information.
Service I Use: Wikispaces
Cost: FREE for Educators!
Example: http://21cpd.wikispaces.com

GOOGLE DOCS
Use: I use Google docs 1) just as others might use MS Word 2) to write collaboratively. I am writing my book using Google docs which enables my co-author and I to collaboratively provide input into the book chapters. I also use Google docs to collaborate with others who write guest posts for my blog. One of favorite uses of Google docs is to bring people together from around the world to contribute on a shared piece of work. Here are some examples of that:

• Innovative Ideas for Getting Teachers Excited About Building Their Personal Learning Networks Real Time from Hunterdon Central Regional High School
• Hiring the World to Be Your Professional Development Provider (free of charge)
• The PLN Matures. The Progression of the 21st Century Personal Learning Network
• Last Day of Free Ning Networks - What Should You Choose?

What is nice about Google docs is that you can see the cursor where other contributors are on the page and there is a chat feature so you can chat about your writing. There is also a revision history so you can see how the document has grown and who has contributed what.
Ownership: There is the document creator who can invite others to contribute.
Service I Use: docs.google.com
Cost: FREE for Everyone!
Example:


Over at the Free Technology for Teachers blog, Richard Byrne shares some more useful information for those wanting to know whether they should use a blog or wiki for a particular class or project. He shares Blogs, Wikis, or Docs: Which is right for your lesson? This is a great chart from Dr. Mark Wagner that outlines the features of each platform, each platform's drawbacks, and examples of each platform in use.