Hello! Bonjour!
Here I am, writing my first blog post for my first ever blog. I have been mulling the possibility of starting a blog for a while and looking for the courage to just do it! I had been reading the great and wonderful blogs of people in my Personal Learning Network (PLN) and wondering if I really had something to say that people would want to read.
So I put a few feelers out there on Twitter, letting people know my trepidation and was greatly encouraged by the wise words of @PrincipalDunlop who told me to "do it for yourself, not others" and @gunnellAP who encouraged me to "write about things that are professionally important to you. Things about teaching and learning that can improve your school." What great advice! Thank you!
I am still struggling with the voice aspect of blogging. I have read some really great academic blogs, some really touching blogs and blogs that are downright hilarious. What will my voice be? A colleague in my PLN, who works in my school district said, "just start at the beginning and speak from the heart... no wrong way to do it." Thanks, @graingered. I think that is what I will do. If I'm serious or touching or hilarious, I think that will shine through.
My goal this week was to just get started. I didn't actually set this goal until Wednesday's #educoach Twitter chat where the topic of blogging came up and I met two other people who, like me, have been tossing around the idea of starting blogs. There, we publicly stated that we were going to get on the blogging bus within the next week. That's the thing about goal setting and making it public. You have to follow through. This is exactly what I needed to get started so here I am, @smilelyndsi and @philgriffins! I am looking forward to reading your blogs too!
Another reason that I now have for getting this blog going is that my 9-year old son wants to create his own blog. He saw what I was working on and thinks it's pretty cool. He has his blog all planned out on paper including a bio, weather updates and Lego news! He inspires me!
I know this first blog is more of an introduction, but I do want to say that I am excited by the growth that I hope to experience through blogging and about the contributions I will hopefully make to my PLN. It is time to stop lurking and start participating! The amazing community of learners on Twitter is so positive and I want to support and encourage others but that rings false if I am not willing to jump in and share my thoughts and learning with you too.
I will sign off with a word of encouragement to other aspiring and reluctant bloggers from @shiraleibowitz, "We're with you when you are ready!"
