Learning to Blog and Blogging to Learn

“Are you reading other people’s blogs” Asked George Couros.

My answer was no! No wonder I was having issues blogging! Apparently, writing a blog doesn’t come easily to me and of course – one way of improving is by learning from others who have succeeded and are further along this journey than I.

I began reading, reading, reading, reading! There are SO many different blogs out there covering everything and anything! Being someone who is beginning to blog about education I naturally gravitated to those who also blog about this subject and as I began to read I could see a pattern emerging, like one of those old-school optical illusion pictures which you’d have to focus on to find the picture or message within…. do you remember those? Anyway…. from reading other people’s blogs I am learning to blog!

How do I blog? Well I ask this question: What have I learnt so far? Isn’t it a great question! It’s the main question that I ask myself whenever I sit down to write a blog. What have YOU learnt so far on this journey of being an educator? What have you learnt about yourself? What have you learnt about how students learn?

So, it seems there is an art of learning to blog which consists of reading others blogs and actually having a go yourself! What’s the worst that could happen?

The other flip-side of this blogging journey is the joy of blogging for learning.

I learn and reflect and refine my thinking through blogging! This doesn’t mean every blog has to be perfect and well written but what it does mean is that I need to get my ideas out there! As I write my ideas get better and are more refined and are even sometimes confirmed or challenged by others in the field! I love that! You know, the same principle applied when I was writing my PhD thesis. I didn’t always know what to write or how to convey my thoughts but sure enough, as soon as I began write the thoughts began to flow and as I got my work out there through conferences or publications others either cheered me on or gentled challenged me to make me better!!

What is holding you back from blogging? Give it a go and who knows your Professional Learning may go to a whole new level!

I know it can be scary but I believe it’s something necessary…. check out this Youtube clip about the transition from using scrolls to pages – yes a help desk was needed and it seems like a different way of thinking lol… blogging can also seem like a different way of thinking and it can seem daunting maybe even a bit weird and scary but it’s how the world now works…. I wonder if one day, everyone will be blogging? Hmmm… 🙂