Week 8 Reflection

Essential Questions: What does it take to write a quality education blog? What does it take for organizations like Mind Shift or Edutopia to procure credible guest bloggers? Research at least 3 professional education blogs.

In my mind, having readers and followers is what it takes to be considered a good education blog. It turns out there are a few other qualities that define a top-notch education blog.  Teach.com released a list of the Top 100 education blogs and they base their criteria on the following information:
  • Social Reach: The combined social shares on Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook of the ten most recent posts, as well as the blog's main domain.
  • Activity: The frequency at which the blog posts articles.
  • Authority: Measured by the number of inbound links to the blog.
  • Teach Score: This is a subject score that measures how media is used on the blog, the relevancy of the topics, and the overall presentation of the blog (Corrado, 2017).
In my research I found that in order to become a guest blogger you usually have to fill out a proposal that shares your topic and a brief outline of what you want to write about.  The Learning Scientist wrote that they look for guest bloggers who are "teachers who are interested in sharing their classroom practices that are based on strategies backed by research" (The Learning Scientist, n.d.).

When I read this weeks topic, I thought it was odd and figured no one really used blogs anymore.  Much to my surprise, there are hundreds and hundreds of wonderful education blogs out there.  I enjoyed taking a look Edutopia, Mindshift, and Free Technology for Teachers. 


Resource:
Corrado, T. (2017, February 1). 10 Education Blogs You Should Follow According to Teach.com. Retrieved March 6, 2020, from https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/education-blogs-you-should-follow-teach-com-list

The Learning Scientist. (n.d.). Guest Blog Instructions. Retrieved March 6, 2020, from https://www.learningscientists.org/guest-blog-instructions

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