Indian Teachers and Bloging

For long, a query is disturbing me. It has been placed by John Simkin in on educationforum.ipbhost.com in response to one of my post.


I consider John Simkin as my Guru in the field of bloging and using it as a tool in teaching and personal aggrandizement. Hence, any query by him is for me a moral duty to answer. However, I am not able to find any satisfactory answer to his query. His query was about the Indian Teachers who have developed their web sites as a tool of their teaching. This is something, which the European teachers are using as one of the aid for teaching. This is part of their ICT project. Use of blog and web site are two main features of their ICT projects. The Indian Government has launched Edusat and Gyandarshan a T.V. Channel as a part of their ICT project. Some of the teachers and the students of IITs have also developed some programmes in that direction. However, I was not able to explore much about them. The few links which I had opened through the UGC site, consisted of such technical instructions for use of the softwares which they had developed, that I did not find enough encouragement to explore them. I had started bloging and I was more interested in getting a practical shape for my efforts in field of bloging as a teaching tool. Anyhow, I have come across a web log which has attracted my attention.


The web log is titled India School News. It has address at Banglore Karnataka India. It has on it a directory of various schools. It is being aggressively used for placing the job placement advertisement by different school and coaching centers. There is one message section asking for membership in order to post the comments but there are very view discussions going on it. They must watch and explore the activities of educationforum.ipbhost.com of John Simkin in order to imbibe some finer points in order to make their more alive. Then there is a section on school products also. It is called school store. Presently they are promoting products of Encyclopaedia Britannica only. On the whole, it seems to be the right seed and may soon sprout into a green tree. However, they must explore the ways to popularize it.


I have been searching for the blogs by the teachers. I have found some of them. However, they intend to give many personal things on it apart from writing about the subjects in which they are dealing. The most impressive activity in this direction is that of Delhi Public School Delhi. Their computer section is doing something really worthwhile. I have a hunch that they are going to establish themselves as leaders in their field. This aspect, that is bloging as a tool of teaching will definitely emerge as an in thing.


In case of foreign teachers, I have been watching many such blogs. Some of them are really doing a great job. Some of the leading teachers and scholars are alive in blogs and regularly update their blogs and sites. I have made links to such blogs on my other blog at www.sumir-history.blogspot.com. I have commented on the contents of such blogs also. One of the main blog, which remain the centre of my attraction and am a regular reader of that blog is of Milind Brown. However, for the last two days, I have found that there is higher rate of attrition among the teacher’s blog. I have checked only in the field of history. Some of the blogs which I have are Teaching American History "HISTORY TOGETHER" Evaluation ; Teaching History is Fun ; Teaching American History to Today's Youth; History 479 & Student Teaching; Teaching American History : Podcasting in Action and many such other blogs. However, I have found that they are there only there for last one or two months. Secondly they are not updated after making some posting. Why have they discontinued? There seems to high rate of attrition in this field even in America and Europe. Further, they become very personal while making post. They discuss the working of their school environment and behaviour of their students. But they are discussing the subjects. Some of them are really talking something substantial but they are not of that level about which I have made links on www.sumir-history.blogspot.com .


I have to make some more searches and studies in order to answer John Simkin. I just remain short of telling him that I, the big I, seems on be the only one using Blogs as a teaching tool. That is other thing, it was he, or his forum which is equally well looked after by Andy Walker, that taught me about it. Some of regular teachers like Grahm Davis and David and apart from them a galaxy of young teachers and in addition to that Jane Walker from Australia, all of them have left their influence on the contents of my blogs. Further, I have not been able to pursuade my students to come to my blog. It is rather the American and Canadian students who are visiting my www.undergraduatehistory.blogspot.com for notes on Ferdinand II, Louis XIV, Feudalism, Industrial Revolution and many such other topics which have been developed as per the syllabus of Punjab University Chandigarh. Any how, I am still here. I am here only for the last one year. Secondly, I have also became dormant in case of above mentioned blog due to non-academic, discouraging and hurting atmosphere at my college where I teach. God saves me! The NAAC team, if it visit, may not read it.

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Edited on Friday, December 02, 2005 at 6.40 pm

In the posting Indian Blogs Mallika Chopra is discussing the similar thing but on different part of the spectrum.
Mallika and Shekar are discussing the plans and charter of the blog and how far it is achieving it. One thing which I found here, regardless of what is being said there, most of the blogger talk about politics and interested in giving their version on what is happening. One of the commentator had raised this point and nicely pointed out that all the talks are not enough pregnant to be delievered as concrete activity. Secondly, they are not confining to one field of discussion. It has been nicely pointed out by one of the commentator that with the links and connection, the people on the intent blog can bring around such a discussion which could help otherwise in some concrete terms.

Again, I am unable to understand the actual import of South Asia and then talk only about India. Mallika was right in pointing out that there should be some thought on similar blogs from Pakistan and Bangladesh. If she really knows there are some really good blogs from Nepal and they prefer to write in Devnagari.

Further, she finds it fascinating to talk about making links. She is impressed and fascinated by activities of some of them. I have read some criticism about such activities a year back. There was some force in the arguments of that blogger.

Finally how I wish that similar thing is done by Teachers of India, some thing similar to Delhi Public School of Delhi so that I can answer John Simkin.