Why did I start a professional blog?
The initial purpose of my blog was to record my professional development and to document how I am meeting the AITSL standards. The structure of the blog site as a journal (blog) enables me to categorise my posts under relevant teaching standards. I can then show anyone how I have met the standards. This has resulted in me getting to know the standards better. All of this is worthwhile in meeting my registration requirements but I have also discovered other benefits of publishing my professional experiences.
Professional Benefits of a weekly blog
I’ve written before about the personal professional benefits that I have experienced from blogging. And now, that I’ve been writing down my professional reflections for almost a year there is no going back for many reasons.
Just as our students are faced with access to so much information that they need to make sense of, I am also continually learning- trying to absorb and put into practice new technologies and new ways of teaching.
My blog helps me to make sense, by reflecting and categorising my new learnings. I’ve written about exciting lessons, student feedback and the flipping of functional grammar with my EALD students. Or sometimes I just reflect on videos I’ve found, workshops I’ve attended and presentations I’ve delivered at AISSA, DECS and the Literacy and Numeracy Conference.
Building professional relationships
As a result of blogging I am now following other blogs that inspire and inform my learning and teaching. I’ve also had exciting comments from readers and I am building professional collaborations, especially now that I’m using Twitter.
Some blogs to follow:
For his caring, sharing tone. The “awesomness” of his open heart is always inspirational. Whenever I’m stuck or unsure of how open I can be I go to his site and realise how important it is to “reach out”.
For information on ICT . He recently published useful guidelines on screen casting software and ipad apps.
21 Century Educational Technology and Learning
This blog has grown into a space where educators from around the world share their thoughts about inquiry, questioning, student centred learning, letting go…Contributors write about their experiments, successes and failures with inquiry learning. They grapple with issues and provoke other ways of thinking about learning.
Learn to blog
Learning WordPress
Thanks Ann for the tips on the benefits of regular blogging which is something I should do myself.
Thanks, yes it is important to find time to quietly reflect.