Window to the EduBlogger World

Today education bloggers around the world will participate in collaborative events that will showcase the EduBloggerWorld online social network. I joined the network about two months ago, and have enjoyed the interaction between edubloggers from many different countries.

One of the main events of the day is the contribution of blog posts around a common theme from as many edubloggers as possible. Here is my contribution.

I started blogging about three years ago as a way to challenge myself to improve my writing, and hence my observation and reflection, as I looked around for things to write about.  I've started and abandoned several blogs before creating this one as I learned more about the technical side of putting together a blog and also narrowed down my focus.

This blog is where I write about how we learn, how we use what we learn, and whether formal education helps or hinders those processes. I might write about education policy, cognition, education technologies, and my own "aha!" moments as I learn something new. I have studied pedagogy, literature, anthropology, linguistics and public administration, and I have worked both inside and outside the education sector in three different countries; those experiences, and a lifelong urge to find the connections between things, have given me a perspective that I think is worth sharing.

I blog principally for myself, as a way to focus my thoughts and find ways to articulate them effectively. Sometimes my thoughts strike a chord with other edubloggers, and so my blog create opportunities for me to have conversations with fascinating people around the world. I also blog as a way to share my discoveries with my colleagues, and as an example they can follow as they explore the possibilities of this medium in education. 

My window to the edublogger world is supposed to include a photo of either where I blog, or the view I have while blogging. I'm sharing both: the top photo is of my office in Ankara, and the bottom photo is my view of a snowball fight outside my window on a snowy day (notice the open classroom windows in the background?).

edubloggerworldmeetup2007

Comments

[Julie Lindsay]

Thanks for sharing your blog post! Your perspective and experience internationally and in education is certainly worth sharing.

[Darren Draper]

Great blog, Tom. As a Geometry teacher that still tries, I can identify entirely.

Oddly, we blog for the same reasons, as well. I use my blog as more of a tool for reflection.

I'll echo Julie's sentiments in that it's great to have your input on EBW - you have much to offer from your unique perspective.