Update or Archive; Learning From Our Older Blog Posts

Subscribers and followers will notice a clean, new look to Nocking the Arrow. No longer do I have to be a "Blogger Apologist" to the many WordPress enthusiasts out there, as a menu of new themes recently arrived at my doorstep. In the same vein as Sites, Google has added options to create a clean, contemporary look with your blog. Google announced their new Blogger themes in March 2017. Along with the improved look and navigation, they promise better fit and functionality on mobile devices. This update has corrected the frequent crashing of the Blogger mobile app on iOS devices.

The recent arrival of these themes to my Blogger dashboard coincided with Aaron Davis's Twitter inquiry about blogging platforms and spam blocking. It took a few years for me to get the look and function of "Nocking..." just right. It took me less than an hour to wipe out these customizations in favor of a voguish theme closely resembling beautiful views offered by blogging platforms such as Medium, Weebly, and WordPress. I selected the Notable theme in basic white, adjusted the accent colors and fonts to taste, and then reviewed my changes in a live view. If it could be any easier, I'm not sure how.

The new themes can be accessed by clicking the "Theme" link along the left side of the Blogger dashboard. Blogger themes can be customized by changing color and font settings.

More advanced customization can be achieved by altering or introducing new lines, of HTML code. Be prepared to either relocate or remove previously installed gadgets as some of these will not fit your newly updated theme. I removed several gadgets to reduce clutter and achieve the minimalist appearance I have grown to appreciate through daily jaunts into my blog reader. Removing gadgets created more screen space for text and graphics. If you want to see my Twitter feed, follow me on Twitter.

Should older blog posts be archived or updated?

This is a question I've grappled with for some time, more so now that I have refreshed the appearance of this blog. Reviewing archived posts allows opportunities for reflection, assess changes in thinking, and appreciate personal growth. Revising posts helps keep the material current and accurate. Broken links, grammatical errors, and outdated design can be corrected with a quick update to an archived post. I frequently update my earlier blog posts to make corrections, adjust spacing, and add resources to the piece.

What about you? Do you think of your blog posts as an archived journal, or do you treat them as living documents open to revision? Either way, there is knowledge to be gained by sharing our learning and periodically reviewing what we have shared.

"WordPress vs. Blogger - Which One Is Better? (Pros and Cons)." WPBeginner. 08 Sept. 2016.

"Share Your Unique Style with New Blogger Themes." Official Blogger Blog. 20 Mar. 2017.

"The Grind and the Streak." Edutopia. 07 July 2017.

Self-Directed vs. Self-Determined Learning; What's the Difference?

"We need to move beyond the idea that an education is something that is provided for us, and toward the idea that an education is something that we create for ourselves." - Stephen Downes In this age of abundance of information, shifting classroom pedagogy isn't nearly enough to make learning in school more relevant and authentic for the learner. Self-directed learning ( andragogy ), and self-determined learning ( heutagogy ) are the ideals necessary in making students " future ready " to live and learn in a web-connected world. While original research applied these concepts to mature learners, it has become apparent that even young children have an abundant capacity for recognizing and directing their learning. Anyone who has observed toddlers learning how to walk and talk understand the motivation and skill development that quickly develops during these processes. Considered by some to be on a learning continuum, self-directed learning, and self-determined

Board Games in the School Library: 3 Reasons Why It's a Winning Play

"Play is the highest form of research." - Albert Einstein “Play is the work of the child.” – Maria Montessori In our recently remodeled school media center, we have a space dedicated to active engagement in fun learning activities. Part maker space, part literacy lounge, board games are being incorporated to promote a culture of joyful learning. Whether it's a game of Rummy , Yahtzee , or Scrabble , family game night serves as a communication elixir and solidifies our domestic climate of togetherness. Shouldn't similar opportunities for interaction, challenge, and fun exist somewhere in our schools? Broken families, cultural fragmentation, and poverty are impacting opportunities for children to play. As we unpacked and tagged our new media center games, I was more disappointed than shocked by the number of students who had never played Monopoly , Boggle , or Sorry . One skeptical teacher commented, "Oh great, now we're letting students pl

The Classroom Experiment - Strategies to Promote Engagement and Learning

Dylan Wiliam is a prominent educator in the United Kingdom. His ideas and strategies are consistently mentioned in education reform circles. On an uncharacteristically quiet evening at home, I stumbled across these BBC videos, The Classroom Experiment . Although it took nearly two hours to get through the videos, I came away thinking that the teacher is certainly the most important factor in student learning, and that student learning can be improved with persistence and a willingness to become better at failure. For those folks that feel that teachers can be replaced by technology, these videos suggest otherwise. The Classroom Experiment - part 1 (58:00) The Classroom Experiment - part 2 (59:00) Dylan Wiliam at The Schools Network Conference (38:00) Here is a summary of the strategies and changes that Dylan Wiliam instituted to increase student engagement and advance student learning. No raising of hands - use Popsicle sticks, or some other mechanism to randomize th

Nocking the Arrow

Search This Blog