| Tweet |
... Part 3 - Thin Content
image: Sue Lyon-Jones
What would your definition of a good online lesson or blog article be? I suppose that's a bit of a "how long is a piece of string?" question, as people's approach to blogging varies widely.
Some edubloggers share lesson plans mapped out in meticulous detail and provide downloadable handouts and worksheets, while others just suggest interesting ideas for using materials in the classroom or throw out questions for crowdsourcing, and leave the rest to the imagination of their visitors.
All these approaches are equally valid, and of course quantity doesn't always equal quality. However, there has to be something for teachers and/or learners to sink their teeth into and get the creative juices flowing.
It seems to me that if you choose to share your thoughts about teaching with the world, then it pays to put a bit of effort into what you post, for the following reasons:
A Youtube Video Doth Not a Lesson Make
If educators visit your blog and all they find there are embedded YouTube videos, accompanied by comments along the lines of "Hey - I just found this awesome video to use in the classroom - Enjoy!!!"... their reaction is likely to be "WTF? That isn't a lesson! Where's the learning? I could do better than that myself!" ... and they will.
Search Engines Hate Thin Content
If you don't put rich, quality content on your pages you will never rank highly enough in search engines for people to find, and your blog will end up languishing in some dark and dusty corner of the web where only the most poisonous black hat spiders fear to tread. It's a blog eat blog world and there is a lot of competition out there. Granted, there are educational sites with weak or lacklustre content that have achieved decent page rank because they have been around for years, but the Google Panda has been cutting bloody swathes through their ranks since the beginning of the year and it's only a matter of time until they sink into obscurity.
Your Blog is Your Digital Calling Card
In cyberspace, you are what you post, and what you post is out there in perpetuity for people to read. Your blog is part of your digital footprint and presents you with the opportunity to shine next time an employer checks you out after reading your CV.
If you were chasing after a job, would your blog paint you in a positive light and perhaps prove to be a selling point that might just clinch the deal? And if not, don't you think it might be a good idea to do something about that?
Sue
Related Posts:
Five Surefire Ways To Kill Your Blog Traffic, Part 1: Intrusive Advertising
Five Surefire Ways To Kill Your Blog Traffic, Part 2: Bad Neighbours
Further Reading:
On Edublogging - KalinagoEnglish
0 comments:
Post a Comment