Step 5: Using Blogs

 Using Blogs as part of your PLN
 The next step explains how educators consume or create blogs to connect with their PLN. The fifth step in our free professional learning series on building your PLN. Blogs play an important role in most educators’ PLNs and making blogs part of your PLN is more than just publishing posts on your own blog.
What is a Blog?
Blogs have been mainstream for well over a decade, so you might be very familiar with what a blog is (you are reading a blog right now!). A blog is a dynamic community with feedback and interaction (comments,sharing,RSS, and subscription). Typically is journal-like. A blog is simply a website, although traditionally a website will have been more of a static place.It is not a website with static information and general term for online space — complex or simple. It is not a portfolio. Nowadays, some people have a website that has a blog component ; the home page doesn’t change but readers can click on a tab to view a regularly updated blog.The blog perfect
Reasons why Educators Blog
The main reasons why educators have personal/professional blogs include to:

• Share information and tips with other educators.
• Collaborate with a global audience. Increased collaborating with other leads to greater innovation and new perspectives.
• Reflect on their learning or their teaching / work practices.
• Learn how to blog themselves so they can use blogs effectively with their students. 

Using Blogs as part of your PLN

Sue Waters, who is the backbone of Edublogs has reflected on her own experiences of blogging.” It took almost a year from being shown what a blog was to becoming a blogger. The online tools I used before blogging were excellent for sharing information. But blogging gave me what they lacked ; the ability to reflect, collaborate,exchange ideas, and connect with other people. Ultimately, blogging completely changed my life ; it is the reason why I am now employed to do the work I do and blogging helped me build a strong PLN.” It is also important to remember that not everyone who makes  blogs part of their PLN are bloggers themselves. It is really up to you!

Hopefully Sue Waters words above remind you that you can jump into blogging with some reluctance and you may be pleasantly surprised.