Why Use Blogs?

Blogs are awesome and have so many uses, regardless of your position in life. As an educational leader, there are many purposes, uses, and reasons to be a blogger. Here are just 5 of those reasons that I think blogs are great for educational leaders:

1.) You get your thoughts out shortly after you have them. Too often we think of something and then forget about it. We have a flash of brilliance, and then it goes away just as quickly as it struck us. My last principal always carried around a pad and pen, and was frequently jotting things down. I wonder if he was doing something similar. By writing those things down and then blogging them, we put our thoughts out in written form. From there you can look at them and either expand upon and develop them, or decide that your formerly considered flash of brilliance was more likely the result of a lack of sleep or dehydration.

2.) Your blog can serve as your electronic journal. I hate writing lengthy entries by hand. I do not mind typing at all. I do it all the time anyway, why not put it to good use? By creating an online journal, you forge a virtually permanent database of your thoughts and ideas. In "Leading With Passion and Knowledge" (Dana, 2009), the author references the "pensieve" idea from the Harry Potter books. This basically means you can see your thoughts and ideas afterward and consider them from a different angle and perspective. I bet that Albus Dumbledore would have been an excellent blogger.
3.) Be an example. As the supposed "head learners" of your school organization, principals can demonstrate their willingness to also learn and develop themselves by doing two of the main things that we expect our teachers and students to do in the classroom: write and use technology.

4.) Collaboration and networking. By blogging and sharing your thoughts and ideas with the educational world, you can connect yourself with other educational leaders and authorities that you probably never would have met or spoken to otherwise. Blogs, and the internet in general, give us the ability to collaborate with anyone else who is also willing to use the internet and share with others. Make sure you choose wisely who to collaborate with though.

5.) You can help someone. You never know who will read your blog and potentially benefit from your ideas and thoughts. How many times have you or I benefited from the research, brilliance, and thoughts of someone's online posting without their knowing it? I estimate that I am on the receiving end of this on an almost daily basis. By blogging, not only can you help yourself and those you are collaborating with, but you could very well unknowingly aid someone else in their time of need. In a profession where we are encouraged to take what people are willing to give to make ourselves better, we also need to be willing to give.