Personal Reflections About Blogging

 As you read the blog above, you may have noticed that the line between professional ideas and personal opinions became blurred.  How do you think this kind of transparency affects the school community?

I think the way this kind of transparency affects the school community is positive overall.  Blogs provide a good way for administrators to be proactive in addressing issues that may be seen as controversial by the school community.  By building an atmosphere of trust and goodwill administrators open an avenue for dialogue, discussion, and feedback from the school community.  Blogs facilitate ongoing conversations between administrators and the school community in which multiple stakeholders can contribute their comments and opinions.  By having a blend of professional ideas and personal opinions on the blogs, the school community would view the administrators as more human and be more comfortable expressing their comments and opinions and probably be more likely to share their comments and opinions.

Were you more drawn to those posts with personal reflections or did you prefer to read blogs in which the author focused on the issues important to school leaders?

When reading through our assigned list of blogs, I preferred the authors who focused on the issues important to school leaders rather than the authors who used personal reflections.  This seemed to be more what I was interested in to help my school district.  I thought the personal reflections of the authors were based more on their opinions rather than their research.

What are your initial thoughts about the type of blog you would want to maintain?

I think that the type of blog that I would want to maintain should contain several elements.  My blog would be used to:  1) inform the school community of changes and reminders about school events; 2) update stakeholders on the progress of ongoing school activities;    3) facilitate interactive dialogue with the school community leaders; and 4) promote positive public relations.

How would this type of blog meet your administrator needs?

This type of blog would meet my administrative needs by:  1) providing transparency and accountability with the school community; 2) providing an efficient method for updating the school community about news and events; 3) costing less than paper communication; 4) building school community relations; and 5) updating those individuals who are advocates for the school.