Stop reading educational blogs
I was asked by a teacher the other day how I continued to find new tools and technologies that can be used for education. She didn't believe me when I told her that I learned about most sites through fortune cookies, so I confessed the truth.
I don't just read educational blogs.
To many people that may sound blasphemous, but its true. In fact, I'll go a step further. Many days, I refrain from reading educational blogs entirely. The main reason for this (besides time constraints) is that I generally agree with what most people have to say on those blogs. I have a vast amount in common with my fellow EduBloggers, and while reading what they have to say is comforting and affirming, it doesn't always challenge my current thinking and ideas.
Now this isn't meant to be a jab at my colleagues, rather a commentary upon where we draw inspiration from. I remember listening to a podcast discussing The Medici Effect. The author discusses how innovation is most likely to occur at the intersection of ideas, fields and cultures. A person who surrounds himself with like minded people and never branches out isn't nearly as likely to come up with an innovative idea as someone who goes out of their way to be exposed to new situations and meet new people as much as possible.
The point is, if you restrict yourself to reading solely like minded people, your field of vision narrows. Yes, you will still learn all sorts of new things to bring to your classroom, and will likely be exposed to new ideas from them, but your opportunities for striking upon your own innovative ideas will be severely restricted.
So while I don't recommend that you unsubscribe to your edublogs, you should take a break periodically and make sure you subscribe to feeds from a variety of sources. Some of my favorites are the Del.icio.us Popular page (recent sites bookmarked by large numbers of people around the world), Viral Video chart (lists the most linked to videos from a variety of categories), and 10x10 (a site that collects the 100 most popular words and pictures in the news).
Those sites alone provide an interesting cross section of some of the newest, most popular, and most significant sites on the internet. From the inane, to informative. But be careful, when you step outside your element, you never quite know where you're going to land. Just make sure you share the journey!
Comments
This is a very lucid and articulately stated notion. Thanks for the food for thought.
Posted by: Alecia Berman-Dry | June 1, 2007 2:50 PM
Steve,
I appreciate this challenge to the way that I have been spending my time in the blogosphere.
I wonder about one aspect though. If you rely on tools that point you to popular posts are you going to be inspired to different thinking or mob thinking? Perhaps finding some forward thinkers (who may not be the popular voices) in a different discipline would be more likely to generate innovation.
Laura
Posted by: Laura B. Fogle | June 1, 2007 3:34 PM
I would add to this.
Try out the sites your students are visiting. I know Steve that you do, but just a reminder, try out webkins, runescape, facebook, myspace, the more you know, the more you know!
Posted by: Cheryl Oakes | June 3, 2007 2:45 AM
I think it is important to read a diversity of blogs -- definitely MANY from outside your field (I like Guy Kawasaki and Businessweek and the Wall Street Journal podcasts - they are invaluable),
however, I find that it is important to read edublogs at least once or twice a week so that I can add a voice as needed. One of the powerful things about the blogosphere is the echo effect -- the more people that speak, the more likely that you are to be heard. I think that traditionally, the educational community is not doing a great job of being heard. With a cacophony of voices, perhaps we could get some attention for what needs to be done in education. So many in the news media are now using technorati and other aggregators to determine the "news" -- so I can see your point about not just partaking in a "group think" strategy -- however, I think "group talk" is vital to the future of education.
Posted by: Vicki Davis | June 4, 2007 1:45 PM
Steve, When I was studying for my doctorate professors always preached the importance of reading outside your field. I couldn't agree more. Some of the best articles and books that I've read have had nothing to do wtih education. But, they've been practical enough to enable me to apply them to education.
Posted by: Andrew Pass | July 18, 2007 11:16 PM