From Shy to Sharing

To blog or not to blog.  

That had been the question.  Until this past January. Then I had to, turns out that was the incentive I needed.  Not too surprising as it's the same one I use for my students.  Here's how, here's what to keep in mind, here are some topics to get started.  Now go.  I even helped get my daughter get started on one as we drove to the airport a few years ago.  She was about to do an overseas exchange and didn't want to have to write the same messages over and over to her friends and family.  So she blogged her experiences.  She had a reason.  We discussed Wordpress in the car and a few basic ideas. It was and still is very effective. While it started out as communication, it became more than that.  It became her. A voice that was intelligent, humourous, opinionated, and descriptive.  Add to that her burgeoning skills as a photographer and she soon captured the power of the blog.  She has an ever increasing audience and has expanded her writing to include magazine articles, online travel articles and food and restaurant reviews to name a few.  I was actually a little hesitant to start my own blog knowing I had offspring with waaaaay more experience.  But like her, I had a reason.  Someone asked me to share my thoughts and experiences.  And most of all, I had a little community who encouraged me.  That was so important at the beginning.  I will not soon forget this the next time I set a class of newbies into the blog world.  I'll also remember that, as with my daughter, this just may show me a new side to my students.  Taking this course allowed me to see and live both sides of 'Integrating Technology'.  I could share my experiences and try new ideas.  And it's worth mentioning again that the opportunity to comment on other blogs and read comments about mine were invaluable.
Oh and speaking of that little community?  Blogger has a nice feature that shows you details about your 'views' and a map.  While I thought I was just posting to my Google+ group, I now see I have views in India and South America! Amazing. And I must confess, exciting.  To think that someone on the other side of the world is reading my words is incredible. (Please don't tell me it's just a machine somewhere...)  I like picturing someone like me, who used to only read blogs. Maybe I'll inspire them to start writing and I will hear their voice.
Until then, what next?  Earlier today I found myself talking about a website I like with another colleague. Sumo Paint.  And I realized she would probably like to read about a few of the other ideas I have mentioned these past weeks.  So I'm going to tweet out my blog.  I've learned some things, I should share them.
In the meantime I'll take another course, of course!