The experience of a newbie edublogger... (this is my metablog space)

For starters, this is my first blog post at the Classroom 2.0 Ning space.

In total I have made very few blog posts elsewhere, mainly in the context of reporting about an oversees trip on which I took students in March this year. But I have started my very own CleverLearning blog that will hopefully build over time to be a reflective space for me and possibly a learning space for others.

So, I have a few thoughts from my very new concepts of blogging that I'd like to share:

Blogging can be as much about me as it is about the readers - and that is ok! Traditionally, I am not a showy sort of person, so the concept of writing and posting pictures for all to see seemed vein at first. But now that I realise that my experience of blogging can be a reflective one, where I refine my thoughts especially through the comments of others on my blog, I have a calm sense about the project. It's not about me, it's about my professional growth which is OK because that is about my student's needs. If I grow, they grow and that is cool!
Blogging takes a commitment but shouldn't be an obsession. There are so many things in my working day that i could blog about but I barely get time to experience the things let alone write about them. So, I think that blogging can be a weekly or if not a fortnightly venture for me and that is OK too. More important than regularity is the quality of my posts - I want them to be deep thinking kind of posts. I can leave more casual comments to my twittering or other stuff.
Blogging adds a healthy level of transparency that people in education should seek. Transparency of one's thoughts and actions is a very powerful concept. I remember one day a long time ago getting an email from a mother of one of my students saying that she read my profile on my webquest and was very impressed with what I thought was important in education. The penny dropped - parents should know more about the teachers and what their philosophy of education is. In my experience, most problems between parents and teachers come from ignorance, so if we can narrow the gap of ignorance then we start to win more battles and work together rather than against each other. An honest and open approach is imperative for this to occur and blogs allow this to take place. That is why many company executives are blogging - if they have nothing to hide then why hide at all?

So, my fellow educators, I continue on my journey and will try to blog here as well as in my home space of CleverLearning.blogspot.com. I see this space as a metablog - a blog about my blog so expect more reflective pieces. Be sure to also share with me what you have found of the blogging experience.

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Comment by Durff on July 29, 2007 at 10:15pm: I'm very sorry, but there is no way that you can consider yourself a newbie at any web2.0 app. Good try....

Comment by Jason Hando on July 29, 2007 at 11:46pm: I am new at blogging, I promise! (but thanks for the affirmation)

It is interesting to have an experience with a tool everyone raves about and think through how it impacts you. I see things a little differently but certainly see the benefit overall as mentioned in my post.