Stage One: Where Do I Begin?
When first asked to create a blog, I was skeptical. Like many people new to blogging, it seemed like a waste of time. What did I really have to say that was worth sharing? Who would be interested in reading my posts? How often should I post? Should I attempt to be witty? Ultimately, with all of the blogging taking place these days, are any of my thoughts truly original? It reminded me of Natalie Portman in the movie Garden State:
Stage Two: Testing the Waters
After much deliberation, I decided that I was ready to make the leap: I created my blog. I relished in choosing my interface, changing the colors, and even adding a couple of widgets to the sides. And I posted....once. And during that week after my first post, I thought of at least four other topics that I might write new posts about. I created mental drafts of my ideas; they were witty and maybe even useful to my colleagues, if I had the courage to share the link with others. But I never got around to writing any of them. It just wasn't practical. I had grand plans of how my blog would not only act as a requirement for the course, it would also serve as a journal of my Language Arts lesson plans. 'This will be a terrific resource,' I convinced myself. 'I will use it as a reference in years to come to remember what worked best in my lessons.' Unfortunately, despite my good intentions, it just was not practical to post to my blog on a daily basis.
A few weeks passed, and I realized I needed to change the face and purpose of my blog. I decided on a new purpose--to record my reactions, opinions, and "innovative ideas" relative to the course. I would have an account of what websites I thought were useful, ways that I used various tools in the classroom, and interesting articles I read relative to the course content. Again, I mentally drafted my posts as I was driving to school. And I actually did get around to posting about some of these things on our Learning Commons blog. But it seemed repetitive to post similar topics here, so I put more of my energy into those posts (more on that in # 3 of my top ten list). As you can see below, I only got as far as stating my new purpose and requesting help crafting a new name for my blog. Once again, my best intentions never came to fruition. Were my blogging days numbered? Or were these just bumps in the road?
Stage Three: Finding My Role In the Blogging Community
It eventually became clear to me that I was not cut out for blogging. It didn't seem practical or useful to my teaching. I recognize that the future of technology in the classroom is evolving tremendously, and there may be a time in the future where I look back on "the days before blogging" either with a chuckle or a moment of nostalgia. Until that time, I realized that through my journey as a blogger, I finally found my place in the blogging community.
In every symbiotic relationship, there has to some give and take. In face-to-face conversations there are talkers and there are listeners. If these roles are not followed, chaos ensues, everyone is talking over each other, and no one is truly heard. I discovered that this is true in the blogging world, too. If we all spent our time worrying about our own blogs, we would be too busy to read other peoples' blog posts, and ultimately all of our hard work crafting the perfect post would be left unappreciated.
This realization led me to discover that the best way for me to be a part of the blogging community (and probably the Twitter community, too) is to read and seek out other peoples' posts. There are thousands of blogs already available to me that I should seek out and learn from. I will be the ultimate "listener" in the ever-growing online conversation. If we continue to "talk over each other" online, we will miss out on someone's great ideas. I am interested in what people have to say. There are experts and amateurs alike who have great things to share, and I my eyes and ears are open!
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