Today is exactly one year since I posted my first deep thoughts on this blog. Now my blog archive has a link for 2011 and 2012 - cool! Might as well call it Audrey 2011 and Audrey 2012, because this year I have learned, wondered, and lived right here on McSquared.
Did I do what I wanted?
My original idea for this blog was more or less centered around online teaching, and by that I mean REALLY online - the virtual, live classroom in which I teach. But 99% of what I learned and blogged about applies to any classroom. So my goal is a subset of what I ended up doing. Check!
What did I learn?
Specific tools: Voicethread, googlereader, googleforms, googledocs, geogebra, twitter, self-correcting quizzes, Camtasia studio, blogger, wordpress, codecogs, voki, and just started learning javascript!....embedding any of these in blogs, facebook, google+, countless combos of them all. In terms of teaching strategies: class blogs, flipping the class, Malcolm Swann activities.
The Big Picture: What I learned about me:
I need to blog.
I need to be creative.
I need to share what I've learned.
I need to share how that makes me feel.
I am in charge of 30 young people who also need those things.
Doing all this soul-searching in public is hard.
Doing all this soul-searching in public is easy.
I am jealous of people who get a bazillion comments whenever they post on their blog.
I need to comment on other peoples' blogs, whether or not they already have a bazillion comments.
It really is important to answer all comments on your post.
It really is wonderful when someone else answers your comments on their post.
Sometimes you can predict when you'll get a lot of reads.
Sometimes you can't - The Wizard of OZ?!?!?
When I am writing a post that really gets me, it is all can think about until I am done.
When that happens, I don't know if three minutes or three hours have gone by.
But my kids sure do. (The biological ones, I mean.)
Any future potential employer can read my blog before the interview and have a pretty good idea of who I am as a teacher and a person.
Any future potential employer that doesn't do that might not be an ideal employer for me.
An awful lot of people out there think people who blog are egotists.
I would much rather change that than be hurt or complain about it. Even if it comes from friends and family members.
An awful lot of people out there are afraid of technology.
I am still one of them (btw posting about my new smartphone really, really soon).
I have never read so much, written so much, struggled so much, learned so much, or grown so much as I have in this last year. And all because I was free to pursue my interests.....I wonder what would happen if my students had that opportunity?
One year from now, who knows? I'll just keep doing what I'm doing, and like Dorey says:
Congratulations! I admire your persistance, your willingness to be out there and your astute observations. I know that once I started reading blogs (and writing a bit) I couldn't believe how rich the opportunities were for learning from and with others.
ReplyDeleteBlogging is not egotistical (unless you are ruminating on personal issues), it is a way to connect, to examine one's beliefs and to share one's learning. Don't stop - I love to keep learning with you.
Thanks so much, Susan, for all your support and wise words. I'm not discouraged, not to worry, not contemplating stopping at all!
ReplyDelete