So at some point in recent weeks the blog-post-o-meter rolled through 3,000, and if I’m even close in my estimation that the average length of posts over the last seven and a half years has been around 3-400 words, that suggests about 1 million words of writing and reflecting and thinking here. That’s a pretty staggering number in my feeble brain. You’d think that after all of that output this publishing thing would be almost as easy as breathing.
Well, it’s not.
I’m reminded of this because of conversations we’ve been having of late with team leaders in PLP. While the successes are many and impressive, a good number of people still find the thought of publishing to an audience, even a relatively small, private audience of like-minded souls, to be too daunting. It’s just way outside their comfort zone, and they just believe that their contributions would either not be relevant, interesting or useful. It’s hard to nurture these folks, to convince them to take small steps, to help them see the potential upside. And I really believe that there is an upside to sharing what you know and do with others; it’s the foundation for building learning networks.
But here is the thing: no matter how you slice it, blogging is a risk. And it’s a risk not just because you are putting yourself out there for the world, but because unlike many other types of writing that we do, it’s unfinished. At least that’s the way it feels for me. I don’t KNOW very much for certain. But blogging isn’t about what I know as much as it’s about what I think I know, and I find that to be a crucial distinction. For me, it’s the distinction that constantly makes this hard. It’s also the distinction, however, that makes blogging worth it. The one thing that a potential global audience does more than anything else is create the opportunity to really learn through writing in various texts, through the conversation and feedback that ensues. I say this all the time, that while a lot of my learning occurs in the composing of the post (or whatever), most of it occurs in the distributed reactions (when they happen) after I publish.
One thing I do know is that when I write with a humility of not knowing I get a lot more learning in return. That plays out in my reading as well. I am not the greatest commentor on other people’s blogs (though I am working on that.) But I find I am much more compelled to comment on posts where the author is obviously testing unfinished ideas. Where that person is not simply saying “this is the way the world is.” I find those types of posts less compelling.
And, obviously, the other risk is that my “thin thinking” will not simply be responded to but will be ripped to shreds at the hands of those who disagree or who may be smarter or more wordly than I. (They number in the billions.) Fortunately, that has not happened very often here, with some notable exceptions. What is hard to convey to new bloggers and publishers is that the debate is almost always civil, and that those naysayers who denigrate and tear down what they perceive as ignorance are not worth listening to. They are not teachers. I welcome disagreement, but I will tune out those who voice it with cynicism regardless of the validity of their response. When I read those constant smirkers, I wonder if they would treat younger learners the same way? Luckily, it seems, few of them are in classrooms.
Despite all of this, for me, right now, the rewards far outweigh the risks. I just wish I knew better how to convey that to those who see the scales tipping steeply in the other direction. And I wish I could help them understand that the angst I still feel every time I press “publish” is a good thing on balance, not something to avoid as much as to embrace as a path to a greater awareness of myself and of the world around me.
(Image “Sanskrit Blogging on the Rise” by chucks.)
I run into this problem all the time, both with the teachers I train and with my own blogging. If I’m blogging about my work, I struggle, fearing someone will shred my argument to bits. On the other hand, blogging on my outside interests is so easy, almost effortless.
I have a conference presentation to prep on blogging. This post has given me something to think about. Thanks.
“…blogging isn’t about what I know as much as it’s about what I think I know” — too true, Will, and nicely put. This blog post made me think (as you usually do). More specifically, about how critical it is to put work-in-progress out there. A blog as as a window into the process of learning? Maybe it’s the tendency we all have around the New Year, but last week I too blogged about blogging (metablogging?) – http://www.robinheyden.worpress.com. Be advised, my blog is primarily aimed at secondary school teachers, who are new to this world, and so there’s a bit of baseline background in each of my posts.
I think the meta part is a big part of this. I remember back in my Expository Comp classes (back in the days of paper) that what I was more interested in reading was their reflections on the process, not so much the essays themselves. I always LOVED it when I had students writing about how they took a risk and wrote about something they really cared about rather than the gun control, abortion, legalize drugs essays that were the standard fare. The writing about writing has always intrigued me.
I struggle with this same problem when trying to encourage the use of blogging in K-12 classrooms throughout our supported districts. After many conversations with participants and after careful deliberation myself, I am starting to wonder how much of this is actually about a fear of a lack of response as opposed to a fear of putting oneself out there.
Regardless, thank you so much for starting this dialog. 🙂
Part of starting a blog is being willing to write to the empty room, so to speak. But if you persevere and stay true to your passions, the readers will come.
One of my goals for this school year is to pursuade five our our principals to blog in the open air. I’m up to four but you illustrate exactly the next problem I have with their understanding of the process.
All but one of them want to wait until they have fully formed ideas and treatise-length posts before pushing the publish button. They are also nervous about allowing comments, especially from students, because they still haven’t grasped the idea of blogging as conversation. At least they have all accepted the concept of using moderated comments.
Anyway, thanks for the eloquent post. It will be part of the next encouraging email to my blogging principals. Now I have to work a little harder at getting number 5.
I think that as a teacher, every time we get ready for a class session, in which we are in front of a group of students who can learn from us, judge us, disagree with us, and even dislike us, there is a similar sense of performance anxiety. Or even more so, when a colleague is in the room (an actual adult!) or maybe even an administrator. But with blogs, the audience is hidden, and while the stage fright of being in the classroom might be real and tangible, the “stage fright” of the blogosphere can be as large or terrifying as you let your imagination make it. Even on my little blog with only a handful of readers, I can imagine hundreds and thousands of people reading and judging.
I guess my point is that if we can muster up the courage to teach, I’m glad we can muster up the courage to write. Thanks for the blog in general and for this thoughtful post.
You all make me grateful that mine is a small blog with almost no followers at all. And if it has a target audience it is made up of other book-lovers and my fellow librarians, both of which are kind groups who will treat me gently.
I’ve toyed with blogging for my students, but haven’t had any response thankfully. I did once make posting to my school blog part of an assignment for a class of 9th graders, but since they were an advanced class they simply followed the assignment to the letter rather than risk their grade. And so I’ve learned that blogging and posting to blogs cannot be assigned.
I also have toyed, OK encouraging both teachers and students to start blogging. I have actually began to assign blogs in my 8th grade tech class to get them started. Unfortunately they do not go beyond the actual assignment and stay put. I have also given them time to search http://blogsearch.google.com/ to entice them into blogging. Again with very little effect. The difference I see between you and is that I am not willing to stop at this juncture. My plans are to continue to encourage teachers and students, I am going to assign a blog to my 7th grade students, into the blog world. My only real comment to you is continue to assign and hopefully it will catch on.
I keep a blog for purposes of reflection and for practicing certain web skills. I do not publicize it because it is just a place to reflect on what I am doing and what my classes are reading. My students know about the blog and are encouraged to comment (in the hopes of making the classroom a bit more democratic perhaps). I talk in the blog about what I am struggling with as a teacher and invite them to comment. However, the idea of having those outside my classroom look at it is a bit unnerving, not least because as an English teacher I know what really good writing looks like. The blog is public, but not likely to be found in the midst of all the blogs out there. I like the private quality of it because it gives me a place to work out my thinking. I believe the old adage that writing is thinking and it certainly helps to crystallize my thinking and work my way through issues and concerns. I also like that it suggests to my students that I do not have all the answers and that the journey is every bit as important, perhaps more important, than the destination.
Cordially,
J.D. Wilson, Jr.
It’s Friday, and thus I treat myself to blog reading at the end of the day. Imagine my delight, when reading that even the Trailblazers experience the same frustrations and weariness that we folks with LITTLE blogs (tech specialist for two bldgs. in our district)go through. Thanks for sharing!
Your post echoed in my head as I wrote the summary of my first year as a blogger, which ends tomorrow, as I feel the same worry every time I push “publish” myself. It is a relief to read that even you worry about reactions sometimes. I was fortunate enough to hear you at the SOF Summit in Seattle (and it was very nice to meet you there, too), and your perspective on networking is very fruitful, I think. It is not about the tools, it is about the conversation, right? That perspective adds a lot more weight to blogging, but it also means that it is much more scary to lend a voice to it. An example: My blog (in Norwegian) is about blogging, teaching, web 2.0 tools, wikis and so on. Mostly I get a few comments on every post, which is very good because the conversation is good, but then a few weeks before Christmas I posted “Mrs Gadget’s Wish List” where I listed all the cool stuff that I wished to give myself or my family for Cristmas. I think that post merely broke the record in no. of comments. It is so much easier to discuss which computer is the best than to discuss the value of networking, collaborating and so on.
I find it incredibly hard to convice many people that blogging means expanding your horizon, to aquire a deeper understanding, and to find help and support when you struggle to understand. They are too intimidated to even try. Some of the kids in my class (they’re 19) act like foolish teachers when they comment on eachothers blogs: “This is weel done; You are very clever” etc. It is putting me down, but I’m not giving in. I hope that some day they’ll appreciate my little window into another way of thinking – of knowledge not only between the ears, but between the heads, too. That’s already a reality, they just don’t know it yet.
I hope this makes sense. What I really wanted to say was “Thank you for all the inspiration and insight, and for putting words to important ideas. Please keep posting”.
I’m kind of uncomfortable with trying to demand that people step up or setting goals to convince X number of people to blog. Blogging (like all technology) is a tool, not a goal.
“they just believe that their contributions would either not be relevant, interesting or useful”
Really, they might be right, and that’s something worth evaluating when deciding whether a blog is the appropriate solution to a problem. I don’t blog, and that’s OK. I read a lot, and I comment a little, and that helps me do what I’m aiming to do: learn.
Totally agree, Dave. Blogging isn’t for everyone. Unfortunately, I can’t learn from those who won’t share. Commenting is a first step, I think, but I hope if leads to more transparency and sharing in whatever form that takes.
I think one of the problems about blogging, especially for newbies, is deciding why you are blogging. If you’re doing it purly as a personal reflective exercise, then there’s no problem. But if you’re wanting an audience for whatever reason, you have to accept that it takes time and effort for that to happen. And I think a lot of people give up before they get to the stage that there is meaningful conversation going on based around their blog.
My advice: you’ve got to stick at it.
This post really is timely as I just started blogging this week and have 1 post so far. I credit PLP with giving me the encouragement to blog, along with my twitter friends.
It is good to hear that even you have that moment of hesitation right before hitting “publish”.
As a new blogger, I am still convinced that i have little to add, but I think it is time, as an administrator, to start adding whatever i can.
Thanks again for a great post.
Hey Ed,
Thanks for your great contributions to your cohort; you’re really leading your group to a deeper understanding of the shifts and Sheryl and I really appreciate your efforts. Sincere welcome to the blogoshphere; it’s great that your influence will be extending to the larger community.
Thank you so much for really touching the heart of what has been keeping me lurking at the sidelines! I am only a week into this but have read and learned from some amazing and thoughtful folks. I am an administrator craving more learning opportunities and hearty conversations. So far, I have simply commented when moved to do so. Your post has given me an infusion of courage and excited anticipation!
Thanks for commenting, Annie. And welcome to the conversation.
For many people blogging isn’t as big a barrier as commenting.
During the Comment Challenge most participants reported they seldom left comments on blogs; not due to lack of time but because they felt uncomfortable (e.g. fear of being judged, saying something wrong, or being new had nothing to offer). Yet many of these same people have their own blogs and interact (a lot) on twitter.
My interpretation of this gets back to ownership. On your blog if you are unhappy with what you’ve said you can make adjustments to it; similarly on twitter.
Getting people more comfortable with all these aspects is important as they are barriers to achieving the full benefits on learning online for both them and when they use it with their students. Whether it be through blogging, commenting, twittering or using forums.
Will,
This post, probably more than any other post I have read about blogging, gives me the confidence to keep going. I always feel that since I joined the conversation so late and that I am just a student teacher that I won’t have anything worthwhile to contribute to all of the amazing conversations going on. So knowing that you still feel angst when hitting publish is welcome to a newbie like me who feels that same twinge of nervousness. Thanks!
Well said.
One thing that I’ve noticed with my own blogging is that it’s made me aware of how uncomfortable it truly is to make your thoughts public. And yet, we expect (demand!) that of our students in our classes every day. They’re asked to answer question aloud in a room full of their peers, write and deliver papers on content they’re just learning, and create products to document understanding. To top it off, they’re then assessed by not only their fellow learners but by an expert in the field – their teacher.
I’m now much more aware of the reasons for my student’s hesitation to volunteer an answer in class. I had forgotten how it felt to be afraid I was wrong and that everyone would know.
By sidestepping my fear and blogging anyway, I hope I’m modeling for them the value of give and take in a learning oriented world. I hope they’re seeing that we’re all learners and by putting our ideas out into the commons we learn even more. I hope they see that all ideas have value – even the little ones that they think aren’t worth sharing.
And I hope they’ll begin to blog about them too.
That’s a great point, Michelle. And as with all of these tools and shifts, I think we need to experience them for ourselves first so that we can empathize fully with what our students are experiencing.
I think of blogs like yours as the “Behind the Scenes” portion of a DVD. Usually that’s my favorite part where you get inside the director, the actors, the process of creation. Final products are great but I’m fascinated by the journey. By the popularity of this medium, I’d say many feel the same way.
Really appreciate that, Dean. High praise, indeed.
Like many have said in the comments here, it’s reassuring to know that you still feel a tiny bit of angst when you press publish. I think when you start to express your opinions online it is an enormous risk. I still fear my opinions being ripped to shreads by others. I’m pleased to say nothing like that has happened (yet!) and instead I’ve experienced support and encouragement from people who are willing to share their thinking and extend mine. PLP is offering our learning community just such an opportunity. We need to continue to support our members at school level and within the extended network that is each cohort. Support and encouragement can foster participation. Small steps matter.
I keep a journal that is private and from my journal birth’s my blog posts. It is never easy and I worry when it is easy. I still hold back because of the F word.
Bill
‘And I wish I could help them understand that the angst I still feel every time I press “publish†is a good thing on balance, not something to avoid as much as to embrace as a path to a greater awareness of myself and of the world around me.’
Your last sentence prompts me to post because it expresses so well how I feel about blogging.
I used to keep a journal which no one else read. On the other hand, when you write for an audience it is empowering.
I think that blogging can be that way for students also. Their learning is infused with vitality and growth.
Hi Will,
Your blog was the first I ever read. Two years ago, at the start of a graduate diploma focused on educational uses of technology, your blog was recommended reading. We also studied your book in our learning about Web 2.0. I’ve continued to read Weblogg-ed ever since.
Although a blog-commenter for awhile, I started my own blog two months ago in preparation for blogging with my students. It is really hard! But I love it, and it’s encouraging to hear that role models struggle too! I liked the comments about writing about what you think you know. That helps me, beginner-blogger that I am…
Will ~
I will throw another pebble on the pile here by saying, thanks for your authenticity, your humility and your transparency! You continue to frame the conversations in a way that keeps this life long journey real.
I think WE continue to learn the Art of Blogging with each published post, and perhaps Malcolm Gladwell is accurate when he says, “we only become good at something after 10,000 hours of deliberate practice.” I for one am still working on my 10,000 hours (which by the way equates to about 10 years).
Keep on keepin’ on.
John Howell
Another blog post or another comment sometimes feels just like adding another pebble to the pile but
Sorry, I just noticed I didn’t revise my last comment very well. I should have deleted the last line that says, “Another blog post or another comment…”
Will
I am very new to this and I really find your blog interesting. I am reading your book for a class I am taking at Walden U. I am 50 years old and a High School Business Teacher and Baseball coach. I just started teaching 5 years ago after a 20 year career in the investment business. Any advise on how to get started with this or do you just jump in?
Thank you for this post! I had just finished reading a response to one of my comments that made me feel very defensive. My first thought was to “strike back”. Fortunately, I was able to vent in the comment box…and then delete my words instead of publishing them. You state that “…those naysayers who denigrate and tear down what they perceive as ignorance are not worth listening to. They are not teachers. I welcome disagreement, but I will tune out those who voice it with cynicism regardless of the validity of their response. When I read those constant smirkers, I wonder if they would treat younger learners the same way? Luckily, it seems, few of them are in classrooms.” After reading your comments, I no longer feel the need to have the last word and I have “tuned out” the negative comments. Thank you again!
Hi Will,
Ever since I witnessed your presentation and keynote during the NCCE in Spokane, WA, I have been a huge fan and a follower of Weblogg-ed. I continuously encourage fellow teachers to visit your site and comment on your blogs. I am truly engaged by your comments and insight toward the future of education. Your inspiration is leading me to begin my first published blog. Thank you so much, you are my tech mentor and I am more inspired now than ever to bring these new tools not just to my kids but also to my students.
The fear of being wrong or perceived as uninformed resides deep in my psyche. I wonder if it has do with how I was educated and the importance placed on getting the ‘right’ answers. Maybe blogging will help open up a willingness to share ideas (even unfinished ones) not only online but also with teachers down the hall. I am new to blogging and I consider writing as one of my weaknesses. What trumps this is my desire to provide the best education possible for my students. I appreciate your candor and the concept that blogging could possibly be difficult for you after 3,000 posts and several books, gives me hope. Thanks!
The thing that concerns me most about blogging is that circles often seem to close themselves. I read this blog because I am interested in integrating technology in the classroom and a lot intelligent and insightful people comment here so I find the information valuable, even when I question the conclusions that are reached by some. I think this is important, that in order for me to grow I need not just see what those that agree with me say but more especially those with whom I disagree. It is those that disagree with me that challenge my conclusions and practices and compel me to plug up the holes in my thinking. Ben Jonson said ““To make arguments in my study and confute them is easy, where I answer myself, not an adversary.†Blogging can give us the opportunity of answering, respectfully if in a comment but in my own mind where I don’t comment, points of view with which we differ. I worry though that blog cites often tend to be visited by those of like mind. I would like to find ways of getting those that distrust the technology to be part of the conversation so that those concerns can be addressed and common ground discovered.
Cordially,
J. D.
No doubt true, JD. And as Stephen Downes says, these networks have to be diverse to be effective. Which is why I’m working to read more widely and comment on posts that I disagree with. It’s a part of this whole networking thing that we have to challenge our students with as well.
I am currently in a graduate course for educational uses of technology, your blog and book are recommended/required reading for this semesters course. Participation with blogging, wikis, and podcasts are also required in this course. I find that as a beginner, this is really difficult to do.
In this course, it has been mandated, that each student start their own blog site, it is encouraging to read that experienced bloggers struggle also! Reading this is helpful to those of us that are just beginning to blog.
Thank you, Will. Each week is a challenge for me as a new blogger. I have started three of them: one to share interesting things I find in Ed Tech., one to share the learning and Journey part of the whole paradigm, and one to share a hobby that I have in my “other life”. All are fun and overlap sometimes and all provide a significant amount of guilt as the days go by without a post.
Then there is always the lurking question that I have to bypass, “Who wants to listen to me?”
Thanks again for your giving voice to what many of us feel.
Here’s a question: Do you think this near-panic we feel when we hit the PUBLSH button has anything to do with the rigorous education we were given regaridng “writing”? I went to school in the Sixties and Seventies. I am 49. I was always taught, “edit, edit, edit” before turning in a final version. It seems, maybe, blogging is asking us to back off on the finetuning and just, well, put it out there. Whatcha think?
Would it be possible that comments about your post could be the edit?
As a new student of blogging, this article helped me realize that I am certainly not alone in my fear of posting for the world to see. I liked the comment – if a person posts with the view of looking for input, you are more likely to post comments. I will remember that as I set up my first blog.
Thanks for such an insightful and honest reflection on the pitfalls and perils of pressing ‘publish’ (sorry for the geeky wordiness – I’m exercising my right to throw my blogging conscience to the wind)
cheers,
M
I know you’re not around as much these days, but thanks for sharing such an honest and insightful post. I’ve featured it on my blog as one of The Cornerstone accolades for January 2009.
http://thecornerstoneforteachers.blogspot.com/2009/01/cornerstone-accolades-january-2009.html
I find very interesting the way the author is opening new dimensions and concerns about this powerful sharing stage named blog. If we think of our students, it can be tricky to forecast who is going to feel free to speech (to write), who is going to panic. Because the levels of exchange are more exposed here, in an educative community. I usually have a good level of exchange with students (lots of LOL, emoticons, etc.), but so far it was like “talking” or informal communication. We are one step further, and now we open space for academic communications. How will that work with them? What will be the impact of this more direct, more personal, more close exposure of our ideas?
Good points to discuss!
It is often refreshing to hear from someone that they do not KNOW something or everything. Robinson’s post is one of those.
Why do people almost always believe that they have to know everything? What stops them from Learning and changing?
I recall a quote about change and fear of change that essentially said that it was fear of giving up “knowledge” that makes us fear change. But learning is about change … change of behaviour and that makes us fearful.
I think blogging is hard because it means opening yourself up to the public and there is a fear of ridicule (Do I keep my mouth shut and let people think I am a fool or do I open my mouth and remove all doubt?) or the fear of not being the Expert. Well in a world where tcchnical knowledge is doubling every two years (Did you know? 3.0) there is a good chance that we do not change our behaviour and learn that we will be eclipsed as the expert in the classroom. Therefore, I think that is healthy and necessary to test our knowledge and learning through blogging.
As a teacher who wishes to encourage blogging with students, the comments that resontated most were from the teachers who found that students did the assignment and nothing more because the end result (marks) were the goal moreso than the learning. Until we can present education as a never-ending Q&A&Q process (hey! let’s coin some new educational jargon and call it the pi learning process – ie never-ending)that requires the learner to build upon previous answers provided by others, students will seek only to provide the ultimate answer in the hope of appearing smarter than the rest of the students and therefore earning the higher marks.
Blog: A product of Modern Technology for Better English Communication.(please answer the following questions)
Posted on February 6, 2009 by lady17pink. edit.
Categories: …I’ts what I want to say….
These questions were made for our Term Paper. Please help us by answering the questions below.
1. How does blog affect the traditional way of writing?
2. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of Blog?
3. How does blog help you? Do you think it develops your Intellectual skills?
4.Blog : not just a hobby, but also a profession. Do you agree with the sentence? why?
5. Blog: A product of Modern Technology for Better English Communication. Do you think the statement is true? why and how?
thanks for answering! It helped us a lot! God Bless us all!!!
Hi, zelle–
1. How does blog affect the traditional way of writing?
Since I am 52 and accustomed to writing in proper English, I tend to write as carefully in my blog as I would elsewhere. Blogging does push me to include images (and, of course links) in my writing.
2. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of Blog?
The big advantage of blogging for me is that once I have captured my thoughts on my blog I can refer back to them easily. I used to keep journals for reflection, but in a print journal there’s no good way to locate previous writings on a particular subject.
3. How does blog help you? Do you think it develops your Intellectual skills?
Blogging definitely develops my intellectual skills. I am more reflective about what I read in books, magazines, and newspapers as well as on-line because I often blog about what I have read. Once I begin to blog on a subject, I am often more curious to seek out more information about it.
4.Blog : not just a hobby, but also a profession. Do you agree with the sentence? why?
I believe that blogging can be either a hobby or a profession. News blogs such as The Huffington Report are clear examples of professional blogs. My own blog is a hobby. I have no followers so it is little more than a personal journal for me, but one that someone else might choose to look at if they wish. Some bloggers fall into a gray area between hobby and profession. I am a librarian, and several of the best-of-the-best in my field are responsible for blogs that keep the rest of us current and inspired. In most cases they are not paid to keep these blogs, but you certainly couldn’t consider them just hobbies either.
5. Blog: A product of Modern Technology for Better English Communication. Do you think the statement is true? why and how?
I’ll say “true” although I would edit the phrase to say, “Blogs: A Resource of Modern Technology for Better English Communication”.
Why? Both students and adults are encouraged to write because the blogging platform is available. Writing is the second key element of English communication standing alongside (obviously) speech.
How? Writing had fallen out of fashion for the “everyday man” in the last half of the 20th century. Authors and poets abounded, but the age of the well-thought out letter or diary entry had faded away to almost nothing. Blogging has caused a re-birth of writing by and for all.
Some will say that blogging is not “proper” English Communication because many bloggers work with a style not seen before, having created a unique grammar and vocabulary for blogging alongside the new language norms for e-mail, chat and texting. I feel that since the English language has always been a flexible and changing language, the language of blogging is perfectly acceptable for communication as long as the blogger and those reading the blog agree that it is.
Everyday is a testing for me as new in this field of blogging. As a new blogger this topic assist me recognize that i am not alone in my fear of posting article for the world to notice. This thing is fun but it gives amount of guilt as day passes by without a post.
I teach third graders, and we have a blog. During the first few months of school, I find that the kids are worried about making an error or a misspelling. I spend the first half of the year coaching them and convincing them that they have great ideas that people want to hear. The blog is such an authentic writing project for them because their audience could be anyone in the world. I spend a lot of time building a foundation and convincing them that they are thinkers and writers. Class discussions help immensely because they can put their ideas from the discussion into their blogs. Having an author write back to us on the blog helped too. Grace Lin was kind enough to post some tips for young writers. They were really excited to blog after a “real author” read their work.
It is the beginning of March now, and I am pulling away from assigning blog topics. We have made podcasts, had Skype calls, and had dimdim book club meetings (where they only communicate with one another through typing), so the kids have learned to express themselves well. They are much more confident. Now, I am sitting back and waiting to watch the real blogging begin. We’ll see if all of that scaffolding pays off. I think it will! 🙂
http://blog.woodward.edu/ps_edmison