In 2013 I resolve to stick to a plan…
cc licensed ( BY NC SA ) flickr photo shared by smithsoccasional
I have never made a New-Year resolutions and always got by, but in 2013 I feel there is something worth committing to (other than my beautiful family and friends, who have always been my first priority.) In 2013 I am returning to teaching in a formal sense since 2009. I have a lot more connections in the education world and most importantly I know I have the knowledge to share and lead others into this new fronteer of Education Technology.
I have always known I had the knowledge but I never had the belief. Until…July 2012 when I was an unknown, a blog that only a dozed people had viewed, approximately 350 Tweets, a frequent listener to the Ed Tech Crew Podcast, who was attending the CEGSA 2012 conference amongst educators from across the country. From the moment I walked into the Pre-conference Masterclass and saw a young man standing in front of the room (whom I initially thought was just another teacher attending the conference). I had Neve seen, met or even connected with George Couros before this conference – now I know usual practice might be to check out the presenter before attending to get some background on them, but I didn’t, I just knew I wanted to come in a connect with like-minded teachers from my area.
cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo shared by debaird™
Following this Masterclass I felt empowered and I knew I could push further. So throughout the next few days I introduced myself to many “known” Educators as I could and the conversations always came back to making connections, Twitter and Blogging. so I took up tweeting with a vengeance to beging with and then I knew I needed to blog. So, I moved my blog and posted a few reflections. For one of my posts I had over 250 views in one day! To me this was almost the ultimate, but since then I have written only 5 posts. It is not all about the stats for me, but I do like to see the acknowledgment that others are reading what I have to say.
I also enjoy reading posts that others have written – and then all of the conversation that goes along with it as this is one of the main purposes of blogging- to start the conversation. so foten when I’m geared up to write I have a look at a few of my favourite bloggers posts for that quick inspiration. But instead I get so caught up in the post, links and the conversation, I never get back to my own post. Therefore I must manage my reading and writing time better to allow me to do both.
I would love to know how others manage this dilemma.
It is not that I haven’t written regular posts because I’m too busy or that I don’t feel I have anything to write about, in-fact that is the complete opposite. I feel I want to write about so much I don’t know where to start. I have ideas when I’m driving, in disengaging meetings, or when I’m not near a computer with a list of tasks as long as my arm to have completed by “NOW”. I write them down as soon as I can and I have created a comprehensive list. But where to begin???
I have decided that I need a plan, and my plan looks a little like this:
- Get support and someone to keep me accountable (at least until I get the momentum going and this becomes regular)
- Start at the beginning (of my list and work through it regardless of the other ‘better ideas”)
- Keep Regular, I have two parts to my blog one which is the regular stream of posts, and the other is a list of teaching resources that I use/am made aware of. I also like to include a little blurb about the tool. So to keep regular I would like to make one addition to each of these every week.
- Read and share blogs from other educators and hopefully reflect on these also. I do read a lot of posts but I find they are so comprehensive that I don’t feel I need to comment.
- Make the time to read, reflect and respond. This, I suspect, will be my greatest challenge, but I am not here to make excuses just the plan. and Using all of my time in a more organised and constructive manner.
In addition to my plan I also need a few essential ingredients. These are things that are out of my control and I hope are of little or no impact to my plan. They include my timetable at work (I hope I have some time throughout the week were I can allocate to my professional reflection in an uninterrupted space).
Also the family, it often seems to happen when I’m geared up to sit and write a post I have family to deal with, wether it be homework, sports, or just generally being a mother. I must get back to blogging ASAP.
This is my plan that I shall continually reflect upon to maintain my regularity.
My motto to support my plan is on I heard at a training session last year:
Work Smarter, Not Harder.
If I can work by these two paradigms I believe I will have a successful year and beyond, connecting and reflecting with Educators from across the world and putting my stamp on a focus that I’m truly passionate about, on a personal and professional level.
I hope this helps me to make this a habit, and if it helps others to get up and have a go I would love to hear from you about your progress too.