Scratching the surface

This article from eSchool News online does a nice job giving a basic overview of the rise of employee blogging, and the questions that administrators and CEOs face when it comes to crafting guidelines and regulations for employees. It also praises blogging's potential, especially for educators:

Self-initiated and often self-sustaining, employee blogs can speed information sharing, increase problem-solving, and improve productivity within an organization. For example, teachers can post an internal blog about a challenge they're facing in the classroom and receive hundreds of potential
solutions from their colleagues quickly and easily.

Combined with RSS feeds, which automatically update subscribers whenever new content is posted, blogs can be used to swap lesson plans, teaching strategies, discipline tips, and new research. Blogging's potential for connecting and engaging employees in online conversations can help reduce classroom isolation,as teachers find a home in professional online communities.

Blogging also can help educators meet and converse with colleagues in other district schools without leaving their respective school campuses.
By increasing collaboration, many school leaders hope blogging will help their faculties generate new and better ways to help students succeed.

Since I began blogging in December, I've felt more energized and excited about what I'm doing in the classroom. Being able to easily communicate with educators from across the country and the world has broadened and deepened my sense of professional community. I still find it amazing that I'm able to get lesson ideas from teachers in Texas, Hawaii, or Alaska - but I can, and I have.

I feel we are just beginning to scratch the surface in terms of the digital innovations that will shape public education in the 21st century.