Letters+to+Teachers

[|Here] is the survey I sent to teachers as a starting point for discussion before first session.

Sample Letters to Teachers. Feel free to use one below or add your own:

Dear Colleagues,

During the last in-service, I ran two sessions about blogging and social networks; I mentioned the possibility of a blogging club for teachers. This group would meet as often as the members deemed necessary and would discuss amongst other things why we  blog, how we blog, and how we can use blogs and other tools to build our own personal or professional learning networks. The hope is that if we build excited, talented, knowledgeable adult bloggers, we can create excited, talented, knowledge student bloggers.

While your blog would be the central platform, we will also explore other tools in the hope that this group will afford you an opportunity to begin the process of  creating a positive digital footprint for yourself and to allow you to model these newly acquired digital skills for your students.

I know we are all busy, but ppplease do not allow time or lack of experience be an issue; we will work to create an environment that is comfortable and works at your pace and need. I promise this will be an ongoing learning experience for you that will enrich both your personal and professional life and help you understand how we can harness the power of blogging and networked learning here at SWA. I have already connected with a few other schools in Asia and it looks like there may be a few beginning blogging clubs for teachers running at the same time as hours. Remember the best way to teach anyone anything is to model what you want them to learn. If we want our students to gain 21st skills then we must also be life long learners, so a  risk and learn something new.

If you are interested in starting a blog and working with me and other teachers to learn more about digital literacy, please email me (before the break would be great,  so I can start to think about numbers) and include the amount of time you would like to dedicate to a project like this, as well as the day of the week that works best for you. To begin, I would like to suggest Wednesday afternoons, but we can be flexible.

Extra points for administrators who join!

Sample #2

Dear Teachers,

In the last 24 hours, a plan has been hatched by some teachers in other schools and me…..

Have you thought about starting a blog? Or do you already have one but never use it? I’m looking for a small group (5 – 8 teachers and/or administrators) who would be interested in starting and developing their own blogs. We will find a time that we can meet to discuss why we want to blog (Personal? Professional? Both?), learn how to set up our own blogs, and see how we can use our blogs to help us develop a worldwide Personal Learning Network (PLN). We’ll discuss creating and controlling our ‘Digital Footprint’ and how we can use our online presence as a portfolio of our work and/or achievements.

To help with developing your PLN, we’ve found other teachers in other schools around the world (currently in Indonesia, and the United States; I’m hoping for schools in Japan, Korea and Singapore to join in as well) who will be starting their own blogs at around the same time. Our plan is to bring all of you new bloggers together in a **Blog Alliance** so that you can begin //to connect, share and learn with each other// and so that you already have a //worldwide authentic audience// for your writing.

If you are interested, please let me know! **The first 8 people who say yes are in, first come first serve!** Our plan is to begin in the first week or two back from the October holiday.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. You can find some more background information on how this Blog Alliance came to be formed [|here] and [|here].

Sample #3

There are many reasons to blog. Blogs can be professional http://onceuponateacher. blogspot.com/, personal http://intrepidflame.blogspot. com/, or for whatever purpose you want them to be. You could use a blog to keep your family & friends up to date on your adventures in Korea http://www.cokoreanadventure. blogspot.com/, express your thoughts on a personal passion http://cakewrecks.blogspot. com/, or share what you do professionally http://www.leighgraveswolf. com/. You could even turn your blog into a teaching portfolio @http://kimcofino.com/.

Have you ever thought about blogging but didn't have the time or didn't know where to start? Do you like to write but aren't really sure what a blog is? The ed tech team will be offering blogging support for anyone interested in blogging, learning to blog, or just curious about what blogs are. We will help you get started with whatever type of blog you would like. Join us this Friday at lunch in the "Bloggers' Cafe" (G building patio).

See you then.

Steve --