Joh Blogs

Why do I blog? The simple answer is because I can, although I wonder if I really can because I just lost the post I wrote, drip by drip all day, so it looks like even on my blogs birthday, this will be a rushed effort, but longish, cause there is stuff I want to say.

I have been a journal/diary writer, since I could write. I have simply extended my reflective writing to an easier to keep(than boxes of handwritten notebooks sitting rotting in the garage) and more considered (due to being public) form. I read plenty of great blogs that are well written ie: minus all the spelling, punctuation and grammar mistakes that make me cringe when I reread them. They have beautiful photos and images on them. I don’t put a lot of time into a post to be honest. I have at times, but most of the time, I don’t have time. I am self conscious a lot.

I started, to learn about it, yet my original purpose didn’t happen. I wanted to use it in my English classes for students reflective writing for them to become more considered about what they write. Some of my students were starting to write posts on ‘myspace’ and I hoped to teach them how to be appropriate as well. I believed the peer assessment/sharing would improve their writing and give them a ‘real life’ audience, that would make it more interesting for them. It’s taken most of the 5 years I’ve been into it, to get the school to provide anything like a capacity to do that. I’m almost over the idea after that amount of struggle.

This year we had an English, Local History and IT blog for my classes and it has been effective in different ways. The year 10 classes have got closest to what I was hoping for. Some students have become uncomfortable about it, because it means that others will read their writing. They never struggled or cared as much when I was just correcting their work. It has challenged them. They have produced some good writing.

It is challenging. That is what I have learnt. You are putting yourself out there, not that I’m brave enough to do it in a big way. I understand now, that it is not as simple as it looked to me when I started. Particularly when people tell you they read your blog, you become very conscious of audience. It’s sometimes hard to ignore the voices in your head and say anything. It’s personal growth inducing.

People have said they find blogging to be self indulgent and egotistic. I’ve heard this at work. I have reflected on it. It doesn’t feel like that to me. I can’t seem to convince others I work with that there is any merit in blogging in the classroom. Many of them don’t have the technical skills and it makes it difficult to teach them the how, let alone the why or what value students could receive from it. I have given up, it is what it is.

Darren Rowse:Why Do We Blog? lists many responses from bloggers about why they blog. He asked twitters and facebook friends a couple of years ago and I don’t think much has probably changed. Most of their reasons ring true for me, although I don’t earn a living from it I more than cover any expenses. My favourite is ‘joewaters: I always like to have the last word’

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