Best Blog Writing?

What is the best way to blog?
I have only just asked myself this question - and I am not sure I have any answers. At Manaia Kindergarten we blog as we would a daily diary - I guess you could call this the traditional way of blogging and it works well in a kindergarten setting, with the goals of informing parents about the daily/weekly learning experiences that take place at Kindergarten.
But what about professional blogs? As I have mentioned before I have a raft of unpublished (incomplete) blog posts. With a combination of writer's block followed by an onslaught of bloggable thoughts from various sources, I find my blog is feeling my blog posts are rather 'random'. It doesn't seem that my ideas are related or continue from one day to the next. Rather it seems like haphazardly inspired thoughts explored, analysed , written and abandoned. Followed by another random thought. Yes the thoughts may have something of value on their own - but is it best to have one's ideas following a logical pattern? Would that mean more to readers, would they read more posts, and therefor be more involved as a result of time spent on a blog? Or are today's readers more interested in one off blog posts, quick sources of information/discussion? Jumping from Google search to google search?

So - time to consider some organisation of this blog? limits to themes/ideas? a more narrowly defined thread?

100 Conversations - Part One

In true Web fashion - I have once again stumbled on inspirational blog posts that have encouraged my thinking and inspired another post.

100 Conversations is an initiative set up by Tony Karrer who maintains the eLearning Technology blog. Tony "is CEO/CTO of TechEmpower, a software, web and eLearning development firm based in Los Angeles, and is considered one of the top technologists in e-Learning. " (quote from Tony's blogger profile).

Within Tony's list of 100 Conversations - I believe there is a conversation for you. I have set up a draft post behind the scenes of the 25 of the 100 conversations that I feel inspired to participate in. This should keep me busy through the holidays. Thanks Tony for the ideas - it helps to keep me motivated.

The first conversation that seems relevant to me at present is number 31 on Tony's list of 100 Conversations. I address this for two reasons. One - it is relevant to my learning at present. Two - I hope to encourage other educators and students who are starting out in the blogging world or are wondering about their illusive audience.

31. How do I envision (envisage) my audience.

This has been an interesting revelation to me in recent weeks. Soon after my post "Generation C" on October 15th I began to feel very disillusioned about my image of my audience. Although I have a stat counter, I wasn't a very prolific observer of my stats nor did I really know how to explore my stats positively. As I belong to EntreCard - I envisaged my small audience to be EntreCard droppers (and I mean droppers not readers). I received minimum comments - and thus imagined I had no serious readers.

After blogging fairly noncommittally with little aim - on ICT in Early Learning - I was beginning to wonder what my motivations were for blogging and whether it was worth the space on the web. And then a light bulb moment encouraged by a conversation (a "verbal comment") I had with a member of the CORE Education team occurred. The CORE member had read my blog, enjoyed my blog and quoted my "C Generation" blog post in a recent job interview for CORE - a job she recently accepted. I was blown away and I was incredibly humbled. I had an audience I never envisaged. And what I had to say or highlight, was being noticed.

After this I decided to look more closely at my stats. I had recently loaded Feedjit widget to my site and when I explored this widget further - namely by clicking on the "Watch in Real Time" option - I began to take notice of who was looking at my blog, where they had arrived from, and what they were searching for. The thing I notice most was that there is a huge audience out there looking for information about technology and learning for young children. By observing readers search queries I have begun to target my post to address some of the queries educators have about technology in education.

I have realised that with the experience of introducing blogging to young children at Manaia Kindergarten, presenting with Tania Coutts at various conferences, and addressing queries that flow through our phone lines - Tania and I have some professional learning to offer on the world wide web as elearners and educators. And maybe this is something we need to take seriously and to post professionally as we become immersed in this ever growing global conversation.

I have also read that only approx 4% of readers ever comment. Thus one has to decide when beginning a blog, what is the purpose of the blog, what do I hope to achieve by blogging, and what do I want to get out of it. I have decided that although I LOVE COMMENTS - I will no longer write for comments. Now that I have some idea about who my audience really is, the aim of this blog is to advocate for young children, for their learning and elearning, their protection, and for their right to be considered competent contributors to everyday and global conversations and learning. The other aim is to encourage others to join this advocacy role.

So how do I envisage my audience now? Prehaps just the one, though I know of two others. And the rest? Well that is quite scary. I was the youngest in my family and my sisters had a lot to say at dinner table conversations. It took me until I was 21 before I realised that sometimes people listened to my contributions too. So I do worry that my contributions are sometimes that of the youngest sister and maybe not so well informed. Forgive me if that is the case. If blogging was truly an anonymous platform I'd feel better. However I want to be part of the conversation, to contribute, to learn, and to advocate.

I believe ones vision of ones audience does matter. It helps to get to know your audience through your stats if not your comments, and then to target your posts and provide a relevant message for those who really are your audience. And more importantly I believe the internet provides a platform we are privileged to have at our finger tips and to join the conversations as an educator and learner, either as a reader or blogger, is a privilege we should grab with both hands.

PS: Thanks Janine for being part of my audience. I have noticed and I do appreciate.

Do you have something to say about education? Can you contribute? Check out Technology for Teachers

Technology for Teachers, Technology for Education

Oh my goodness my mind is buzzing. I have a number of Draft Copy posts hidden away behind this blog. My fingers and allocated time, can not keep up with my questioning, readings, thought provoking conversations, and observations. But today (tonight) I will share with you some thoughts sparked by my recent posts, my ict facilitator's provocations, and professional discussions I have had with colleagues.

I blogged last month about the Benefits of Technology in Education and Naketa (our fabulous ICT facilitator for the MOEs ECE ICT PL programme) left me a challenging question in the comments... "..You have outlined wonderful scenarios in which ICT has enhanced learning experiences for children. I wonder how ICT has impacted on your own learning - personally and professionally." As I posted last week about encouraging students by leaving comments - I thought I should be using the comments I receive more productively and began to ponder on Naketa's challenge. I take time to ponder - which is a good thing sometimes... I will try to summarise my thoughts later in this post...

This evening I had a phone call from a colleague. We don't actually work together in the same kindergarten, but we are both passionate ECE advocates and enjoy philosophical conversations about education in the early years and the more formal education of the school system.

As a result of some challenging situations my colleague has found herself in recently - namely working with others who do not share her philosophy - my colleague began to think more seriously about setting up her own childcare centre based on her ideas on education and on life in general. We talked about the practicalities of this and expected outcomes. We chatted about ideals and realities. We considered the future of education and if our ideas will ever really be embraced throughout the education system. We reflected on recent conferences we have attended and the 'change' foreseen in the future for education - when IS this future going to happen. We concluded that the future is not tomorrow - the future is today.

Today there are tools and resources that can benefit education in ways that has never been possible. There are tools and resources available for educators to use for advocacy, to promote the best of education and spread this to the world. If my colleague were to set up her own childcare centre (and it would be an awesome centre) and 'experiment' with her ideas and philosophies and run it as a model for future education - she would certainly have hurdles. For one she has to fit within current education regulations. Secondly what impact would she really have on the education system as a whole in New Zealand? What impact would her childcare centre of 10pupils have globally.

The future is now. Now teachers with the convictions such as my colleague, who are passionate about a new way forward, who have the skills, expertise and knowledge of the emergent curriculum, who can see classrooms beyond the four walls - have the freedom and audience right before them. And I believe we should all be taking advantage of this. I believe we should be sharing our professional ideas globally.


And to my original question - How has technology helped me personally and professionally?
I remember a time some 30yrs ago when my mother was cajoled into buying the Encyclopedia Britannica. Nothing wrong with that 30yrs ago but it was more than we could really afford at the time. I remember using this resource for my school projects. I also remember being very distracted by these numerous books (12 books, all different colours and themes) whilst doing my projects. I would find myself reading about things I 'wasn't supposed' to be reading because they would have nothing to do with the project at hand. However I would suddenly see the potential in the information provided in these books and whilst reading I would find out about things that I had often wondered about. Some years later my family moved overseas to live and 12 heavy Encyclopedia Britannica's didn't quite fit into the suitcase allowance. So they were left behind.

I'm not afraid to say I struggled at school. No not because I did not have the E.B. I just struggled. I struggled to get my ideas down on paper with my blotchy pens, my constant typos that my pen would make (lol) and the permanency of the marks my pen would make (copious amounts of crossing out or twink didn't cut it for assignments), and the lack of quick easy information, would trip me up continuously.

When I reached teachers college 10years after leaving school and the home computer was well established - my grades, my confidence and my learning took on a whole new life. With the advent of the internet my inquiring mind found a new source of energy. And with Web2.0 I have slowly (and perhaps less confidently) begun to find a voice. And with that - along with my colleagues and the children at Manaia Kindergarten who blog about their ECE experiences - I have inadvertently entered the world of advocacy. Together through Web2.0 we are advocating for Early Childhood, for the emergent curriculum, for the future of education (seeing the children in action in the kindergarten blog is much more convincing than reams of type as seen here - so check out their blog - www.manaiakindergarten.blogspot.com ).

Web2.0 is a tool that teachers who are passionate about education can use to promote their ideas, to advocate for education - not just to those teaching in the early years but to teachers in primary, secondary, tertiary - and heck - in business too. Early Childhood teachers, and teachers who believe in a new approach to education, can begin a dialog, join the conversations, promote their ideas.

What can technology do for you as a teacher? as a professional? It can enable you to advocate to a wider audience and - and bring the future of education closer.

New Zealand Elections

OK - so the election didn't quite go my way. I don't mind admitting live online - that I am an avid Labour supporter. As has been said many times in the lead up to and post elections, National and Labour have come together in many of their ideas and policies. As the opposition party, National fought many of Labours policies. However during the events leading up to the election it amazed us all how J.Keys of National described much of those same policies as ones that made sense for New Zealand - like Kiwibank, Free ECE, not fighting in Iraq, and so on.

Keys' support for many of the popular Labour initiatives was probably concerning for many supporters to Nationals right - those that want more means testing, more user pays, lowering taxes for the wealthy. Those far enough to the right seemed to have moved over and voted for the ACT party. And those to the left who may have just wanted a change seemed to have been fooled into believing that National is a 'Centre' party close to the Left now - with leftist ideas, policies and practices. BUT this is not so! Because fundamentally Nationals philosophies still underpin its direction. And this was made very evident in John Key's acceptance speech. "What will determine our success is the unity of purpose. A willingness to work together, while recognising that our collective success rests on the success of individuals"

And so it is - National supports the individual. If John Key can rise up from state housing to Prime Minister of New Zealand and help to make things better - then so can you!! He does go on to say that "We need everyone working together because we need everybody to be pulling in the same direction - and if we do that then we will make NZ prosperous as we all know we can be." And I say - prosperous for whom? Such a veiw - that the individual can make it better for the collective - denies the innate selfishness of humankind... those that wanted lower taxes because they didn't want to help those who will never know what prosperous feels like.

To suggest that EVERYONE can reach their financial goals (and therefor some semblance of a decent standard of living) - denies those who work for the less fortunate for next to nothing, denies those who for reasons beyond their control they have to stay at home with no income to support children who don't fit into the mainstream of education, or the mainstream of anything, denies those who for reason's beyond their control will never fit into mainstream.

To say - to work together as individuals for collective success - is an anomaly. And I hope that National keeps to its word about many of the policies so supported by the collective for so long. And I would prefer to hear Key say "lets work together as a collective for the success of all and for the individual"

However there has been a vote for change.

Change is what New Zealand voted for.
But we do not yet know what that change will bring - and for whom!




(More on NZ politics and how it relates to ICT in Early Childhood later.)

Where's the learning?

Consider the new dawn of education, consider how technology is exciting the learner, consider our different strengths, abilities and interests, before casting your vote for education and the direction of NZ tomorrow.

by SilverSpikes | Make your own at www.toondoo.com

Then maybe try your hand at making your own statement with ToonDoo and adding it to your blog!

Are you - Generation C ? ...........................You could be!

"It's not that children are interested in technology. Its that they are interested in what technology can do for them"

We are talking about the new generation. This could mean YOU.
"Generation C is not age defined but means those who are CONNECTED, COLLABORATING, CONTRIBUTING, COMMUNICATING"
Matt Headland, MTV
Quote from interview on Radio New Zealand's National programme

As an educator you are sure to have Generation C students. You could join them. Get connected, take the risk and contribute, collaborate - get communicating with new technology. Its the only logical way ahead for education.

ULearn08 - 21Century Shift - Joan Dalton

What a dynamic speaker and a presenter of challenging thoughts. We all know that education is on the brink of huge change - Joan has visualised this in a very practical way. Looking back to the beginning of the 21century in 30years time what will we think of the classroom with four walls, one teacher and a set curriculum... when technology can connect the world, the students, the experts, each of any age or position in life. Young children teaching artists, primary children teaching the young mums and dads, students learning what they want when they want it because the resources will be (and in many cases already are) at our finger tips. "The world has changed, learning is limitless!" - J.Dalton

You will need high tolerance for experimentation and trial and error - risk takers will lead the way knowing that failure is ok - through trial and error we learn.
As teachers we need to facilitate and be language masters and inquirers. Lets grab the world of possiblities and get rid of words like "but...". "I Want you to...", "I'm going to give you some information that...." These comments assume the power stays with the teacher. We need to use a language of possibilities, the language of invitation , the language of inquiry and inclusion.That way we help children to self instruct - and maybe with these tools children will not lean towards self destruction.

Give yourself license to play - encourage play with possibilities
Believe in yourself.
Be wise - wise of mind, wise of heart, wise of soul.

A Whole New Mind - Daniel Pink