Why researcher should blog

A colleague of mine just posted on Facebook an open question regarding whether researchers (she is an accomplished researcher) should blog. There seemed some guilt in her lack of engagement, but the replies seem supporting of her exclusive focus on research pubs. Here is my response (no more directed at her than most educational researchers):

• I have been blogging since 2002. I consider what I do a form of public scholarship and I wish more ed researchers would write for educators. If you follow what educators and those who present to educators write about, researchers get a bad rap. We tend to be regarded as out of touch and artificial. I think researches are too cautious and worried of what their peers would think of them for actually offering advice. Larry Cuban, Dan Willingham, and Donald Clark offer good examples of academics who blog.

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  Mark Grabe Since I am now retired I can be more open about my opinions. I think researchers leave the job half finished. Who is it that is supposed to bridge the gap between those who create research products and those who somehow have to make learning happen?