Round 2....

I started a blog a few years ago and "fell off the wagon" rather quickly. However, I recently received an email from a parent of a former student. The parent mentioned how they appreciated seeing what I was learning about and what interested me in the world of Education and that I was invested in learning about my students and how they learn. That was the first time (3 years later) anyone had every commented on or about my blog. The lack of interaction with my blog was part of the reason why I "fell off the wagon" in the first place. I have seen and read other blogs and love the conversation that occurs around their sharing. That was my goal when I started to blog. Although the conversation and comments around my blog would be great....sharing ideas (mine and others) and reflection can be very powerful and should be done. Whether a person chooses to share their reflection personally or publicly is ultimately up to them.

My first attempt at blogging was inspired by George Couros who was the keynote speaker at 21CTLS (21st Century Technology and Learning Symposium). Mr. Couros is a huge believer of blogging not just teachers for reflection and professional learning but also for students to reflect on their learning. The interesting part of this for myself, is that I never "found the time" for my students (or myself for that matter) to truly reflect on their learning (this thought has sparked a variety of other ideas that will likely become future posts). Why not? Well, in my infancy of a teacher my thought was...how does blogging fit in my Math and Science curriculum (those were the two subjects I taught at the time)? As I have grown as an educator, with my new role as a Learning Coach and as the focus on Literacy becomes more pervasive in Alberta Education...blogging to reflect in all subjects not only supports the ideas of reflection to make learning powerful but also gets students writing to an authentic audience. What more can we ask for in a classroom??