Teacher blogging survey (from the OU)
Alice Bell is conducting some research at the OU’s IET, and is asking teacher bloggers to participate. You can email Alice directly at [email protected], or as I am doing, respond in a blog post and send her the link.
Blog URL:
www.glengilchrist.co.uk
What do you blog about?
Anything remotely related to teaching science and maths, running a department or my random insights and geeky ideas
Are you paid to blog?
No.
What do you do professionally (other than blog)?
Head of Science in a secondary school
How long have you been blogging at this site?
2 years
Do you write in other platforms? (e.g. in a print magazine?)
I’ve written a book on “data analysis” for teachers Beyond The Mean
Can you remember why you started blogging?
I wanted to communicate with my students in a way that was not controlled by my school – specifically I wanted to post YouTube clips that the school locks out.
What keeps you blogging?
Two things: (1) It’s become a part of my reflective practise and how I test out what I really think and (2) I like the fact that in some small way I am contributing to a wider professional discussion
Do you have any idea of the size or character if your audience? How?
My site receives 150-200 unique visitors per day – so 3,000 per month. I use a WordPress plugin called “StatPress” – most come via direct links in Twitter and about 25 per day by searching for content in the posts.
What’s your attitude to/relationship with people who comment on your blog?
Comment is free and I love it that people take the time to comment. When I visit other blogs, if the article is interesting I always try to comment as it so’s to the writer that the audience has engaged.
Do you feel as if you fit into any particular community, network or genre of blogging? (e.g. schools, science, education, museums, technology)
Teacher bloggers, #UKEDCHAT and #ADDCYM
If so, what does that community give you?
For me the community is my source of CPD, inspiration and often time motivation. Sometimes that “WOW, I never thought of that”
What do you think are the advantages of blogging? What are its disadvantages/ limitations?
For me, the advantages of blogging are that most posts are not written on demand to suit the agenda of a larger organisation, unlike traditional print media. For me, I find blog posts more “real” and grounded than articles I find in (the TES say) – that’s not to say they are more “true” and less “biased”, just closer to the coal face.
The limitations / downside revolve around quality control – good blogs have a reputation that you can judge by the comments / feedback. However, until you start receiving 1,000s of visitors with 100′s of comments, your site can look a bit bare.
Do you tell people you know offline that you’re a blogger? (e.g. your grandmother, your boss)
I link to my blog in email signature, but that’s about it. Some colleagues know I blog, but it’s not on my business cards 
Is there anything else you want to tell me about I haven’t asked?
mmmMMMMM – No
