A Year of Blogging

One year ago today - July 17, 2006 - I began this blog. It was my first blog, although I have created several since. It came to life at a large regional conference called High School's New Face. I didn't actually attend the technology workshop with Will Richardson - but he did our keynote and we all received a copy of his book. Harnassing the excitement of my colleagues - I sat down and experimented, making lots of mistakes, but also learning along the way.

My first blog post featured wisdom from the Wizard of Oz:

"But it is a long way to the Emerald City,
and it will take you many days.
The country here is rich and pleasant,
but you must pass through rough and
dangerous places before you reach
the end of your journey."

Looking back - I know I have not reached the end of my journey (does any educator?)but I have passed through some rough and dangerous places!! Unfortunately - some of those have been of my own creation. Not on purpose of course - but nonetheless, I hold responsibility for choices I have made.

Blogging hasn't quite gotten me what I had hoped. There have been times that I neglected it because it feels a bit like talking to myself. I believe that it can be a powerful tool - but instead of persevering, I let go and walked away. But I always come back.

I hope to use Web 2.0 tools to build community among teachers - to serve as a means to meet and share ideas, to break down the walls of our classrooms. I have moments of sucess, but they are fleeting. It seems that we are all fighting the drumming of time and trying to fit it all in - to many, blogging and using wikis seems like an "extra."

As I enter my second year of blogging, here are some things that I hope to accomplish:

1. Teach my colleagues and staff about blogs and wikis so that we can model their use. Currently- only two of five of us use either blogs or wikis. If we can train each other and slowly ease one another into using these tools, I think that we will be "practicing what we preach" and it can only benefit everyone.

2. Integrate my blogs and wikis into my workshops. I am comtemplating the blogs/wikis being added to my email tags and potentially to business cards. I know I would like them to be added to the BOCES website but might have to deal with some internal politics with that one - and understandably so!!

3. Track the time I spent on my blog/wiki development. This might be important in teaching about these tools to teachers - a way to decide whether they can fit it into their schedules. And a little action research never hurt anyone!

4. Connect more purposefully with other blog/wiki educators. I need to use Skype better and figure out what everyone is Twittering about. I want to partake in the on-line conferences and see how we can use those tools in our region. I get the basics - now I need to expand.

5. More of my writing. Not just on the blog - but for professional journals and colleagues. It will push my writing abilities (the point of this blog) but also help me to clarify the things that I value and believe.

I'm hoping that these goals will help me to utilize this blog (and Grand Rounds)as a tool for collaboration and reflection, to serve as a model for other educators, and to push thinking (and hopefully get pushed back). So - Happy New Year!