EC&I 831- Purpose in a Blogosphere….
I have wandered around this site often. More like I slowed down, dropped the window, and marvelled at the dust on the windowsills…. I was more curious how long it would be still around considering I had added nothing to it’s content for a loooong period of time. Lots of reasons for that……I read blogs all the time. Most are complete garbage. Also, I had nothing to say. Nothing I wanted to share with the world. Now I join this course and a blog is a requirement. So I am back to the beginning. I don’t think in the beginning I understood what effective blogging entails. I am curious where that journey will lead me…
There is a tremendous amount of garbage and noise in the blogosphere, but there is much richness that lies within as well. Part of this course deals with managing and learning the new literacies, the ability to distinguish the noise from the important messages, and helping students also make these delicate choices.
Thanks so much for getting this started, and now that I am subscribed, I can follow your thoughts a bit closer.
All the best to you in this journey.
Alec
Good luck with your blogging! You think that most blogs are complete garbage? I wonder what blogs you’re reading. Yes, there is garbage everywhere, including the side of the road, however, we still drive down them. It is part of life! Blog about what you’re passionate about! Blog about the things you love. Blog your opinion.
I have a few blog posts on how to blog your way that I can send to you if you need some help. Keep blogging and keep it real, just as you have already done!
Good luck with your blogging!
I too was once very leary of blogging. I previewed several blog sites in the past, such as edublogger and blogger. I could never get involved in them for some of the same reasons you share. I have never been a big fan of writing, didn’t feel like I had anything worth saying or sharing, and I felt like it was something that would take up too much of my time with few rewards. I am a K-8 instructional technology teacher and wanted to stay on top of technology for my students. Many of them are familiar with blogging through mySpace. So, I recently started my own blog and although I am still blogging for myself and I have only received two comments, but the comments that I received did actually inspire me to want to write more. So I decided to think of my blog as my personal online teaching journal to help me reflect and record things that I do in my classroom and learn about on the web. In this way my blog will actually help me to become a better teacher. Good luck with your blog and your educational journey
Shaun, cutting through the noise of the internet is tough. You have to develop strategies to do so. Your blog is what you make it. Think of your audience, what is relevant to them? How can keep the message concise? It will come, you will discover your voice.
Shaun, I agree that the key is having something to say. But whatever it is, there seems to be an audience “out there” (in here). I do think you will benefit from the experience, and probably the journey of finding out what it is you want to say in a strong enough voice, that others might want to hear. Good luck with your latest return to the blogosphere.