Day 31
Well I made it ~ one post a day for the month of May. Thirty one posts in total, with a range of topics, each one somehow connected to a daily event, a thought or a memorable encounter. A few days ago I shared the unintended outcomes of this writing journey in the form of a Top Ten List, but for my final post, I wanted to share evidence of the intended outcomes. As many of you know, I have been blogging for over 5 years and like most of us who have hit the Publish button, we never know if anyone is actually taking the time to read what we’ve shared and if they do, what do they think about it. Has it resonated with them? Will it have an impact on their practice? So as a part of this “Once a day” challenge I have been tracking evidence of “readership”. Our friends in the Research and Assessment department will be thrilled. The collection and analysis of data usually leads to a reflection on one’s practice and if necessary, a change in one’s mode of operation.
As I reflect on the data that I’ve collected, the first thing that resonates with me is the fact that without each and every person on the following lists, my blogs and the time spent blogging would have seemed less than effective. I’m hoping that everyone who sees their name reflected knows how incredibly thankful I am for their participation in this challenge. Whether it was a Twitter Favourite, a Retweet or a Reply in the form of a comment; a Facebook comment or “like” or a comment on my actual blog site, each and every written connection provided me with enough feedback and confidence to keep writing. This experience has solidified my thinking that writing is indeed a social learning experience and that when we offer our students the opportunity to write we need to create the conditions whereby the audience is more extensive than just the teacher. We also need to ensure that our students learn to incorporate emotion, contrast and controversy into their writing, so that others feel compelled to respond. But beyond the connection to the classroom, we as educators need to also embrace the power in writing and respond to each other, as an extension of our personal and professional learning.
I initially thought that my thinking would be pushed by the challenge of writing on a daily basis; little did I know that it was through the thought provoking comments that my “blog following buddies” selflessly shared that the true depth of learning would occur. And for that, I send my sincere appreciation!
Thanks to the following educators and authors who commented directly on my blog. Some of them even commented more than once:
Dawn Telfer, Carla Matos, Rick Pardo, Sue Dunlop, Joe Sheik, Rose Walton, Marsha Kelly, Cliff Kraeker
Doug Peterson, Dan Pontefract, Annette Gilbert, Catherine Zeisner
The following Twitter Followers Retweeted with a comment. Some of them commented on a regular and even a daily basis.
Sarah Sanders, Robyn Turgeon ,Michelle Koop ,Jen Aston ,Annette Gilbert ,Sharon Marshall,
Dawn Telfer, Sue Dunlop, Johanne St. Croix, Doug Peterson ,Ron Baker, Tammy Aiello, Marsha Kelly
Carrie McEachren, Chris Gunter, David Fife ,Ryan Matthews ,Maureen Murphy, Heidi Solway
Joe Sheik, Sabrina Tyrer ,Melissa Tuttle ,Madame Vint, Matt Tenney, Erin Mutch, Keith Tomasek
David Carruthers, Michelle Cordy
There was an extensive number of retweets and favourites. Thanks to all who felt that certain posts were worthy enough to recognize.
Thanks to the following Facebook Friends who used that social media platform to send a comment or two.
Denise Taylor Edwards, Scott Hughes, Dawn Ruddick, Donna Clark.
There were numerous likes on Facebook, including my own family, who up until now were not overly connected to my writing!
My self imposed daily writing challenge may have come to an end, but like all of those experiences which feed our souls and our minds, I doubt that I will return to my only once a month writing habit. I would imagine that I’ll find myself sharing, reflecting and hopefully inspiring others to share via my blog on a weekly basis at the absolute minimum.
Thanks so much for coming and writing with me….