Micro Engagement is Killing Our Edublogging Community

One of the elements I have noticed that has changed in out edublogging community is the number of comments that are added to blog posts. The lack of discussion and further conversation is something I have missed from the blogging experience. Writing and reflecting upon my own practice is great in itself, but the ensuing discussions that occurred as a result of sharing often helped deepen my understanding or challenge how I was thinking. This depth of engagement seems to be a fading part of our writing community.

Since starting #28daysofwriting I have been able to re-ignite my reading and consumption of other people’s thinking through the blog posts that have been shared. I have been grateful for the few comments that have been added to my own blog posts so far this month, but am relatively surprised by the lack commenting and engagement I see around the education blogging community.

As my colleague and friend Ewan puts it in his latest post:

given the number of comments left on the first 14 days of this 2015 writing adventure compared to the flowing discussions one might have seen 10 years ago, I’m not sure anyone cares about many blog posts any more.

The engagement from over 110 educational bloggers for #28daysofwriting would suggest that it is still a viable format for reflection. But whether we care enough about other blogs is another thing.

Perhaps this is to do with the growing number of blogs that are active and the quality and breadth of blogging tools we have at our disposal. It would stand that an increase in the amount of posts that are shared and the number of educational blogs, would challenge the number of discussions that can be started. Maybe it is not that people do not care about blog posts but they are much more likely to be using that energy on their own blog.

I made the following diagram to help me think this through.

blog post engagement

There is nothing wrong with the amber lit retweeting and sharing, but for many people we are sharing in an attempt to have the most impact on others. The micro engagement that occurs as people share without reading and, reposting content without engaging any further, is much more prevalent than the more in depth discussions of 10 years ago.

Aaron mentioned in a comment on a post the other day that the rise of the mobile browsing experience is also another reason why people do not comment as much anymore.

At the macro level, the full realisation of a blog post’s impact, teachers think differently after reading something and act differently as a result (with their colleagues or with their class). I have been fortunate enough to be able to share ideas that have had such an impact. The usual way I have learned about such an effect is by reading other blog posts, as teachers reflect on their version of things and how they have adapted my original idea.

Of course we need content to inspire and challenge us, so we need educators writing about their experiences in the classroom. I want more and more people using blogging as a reflective tool and practice. Perhaps what we need is a focus on discussion, on building on each other’s ideas and then reflecting ourselves. And maybe it is this closing of the loop that is the most powerful.

What do you think? Is this micro engagement something that is eroding the discussions present in the community or are they simply happening elsewhere? What’s your take on it?

On a post lamenting the lack of commenting it is of course now mandatory to leave a comment 😉

Thinking about writing about Thinking

Time

As we hit the midway point of this journey of a full month of blogging everyday, (#28daysofwriting) I am just looking back on where I started and some of the challenges that I faced establishing a steady habit and what I have learned.

So the 28 minute time constraint seems to have been pretty handy in setting a limit that still allows ideas to flow and some time to think whilst writing. I have had a few days in the last 2 weeks when I have wanted a little longer, but I am happy with how I have been able to carve out the half an hour or so everyday to sit and write. So I have learned I can find the time when I need to – even just half an hour. Time was cited as the biggest challenge by those involved. I am hopeful that for everyone taking part they will form a better understanding of how we create and protect this precious time – or simply why it is still such a challenge.

The image above is a word cloud of the biggest challenges to getting into a regular blogging habit shared by the 100+ people who are involved this month.

I have learned that writing in the evening has been my go-to time for the activity. I might switch over and do some morning writing and see how that goes for me during the remainder of the month. Learning when we write best or when we have a preference to do so is hopefully a better understanding those involved in #28daysofwriting will have.

One of the most important positive outcomes for me was a shift in the way I have been reflecting and thinking during the day. I actually felt this very early on and it has been something that has continued. I am thinking about my writing more and identifying aspects of my work, or concepts I want to explore in more detail. Previously this was something I felt only when I was sat staring at the blinking cursor, ready to go. I have learned that thinking about writing more regularly throughout the day has helped clarify my thinking. I have opened up the positive aspects of the thinking process that goes on with writing to be woven into the fabric of my day.

500 Not Out

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This is my 500th blog post.

I am not one for milestones but this digital space has been close to my heart ever since I started. It has contributed in so many different ways to where I am today. So I am taking a minute to look  back a little on where it all began.

I started writing a blog back in late July 2006 (wow, close to 9 years ago). It was called ICT in the Classroom and I set out to share about just that:

“So here I am – first blog about me and my ICT. It is something I am passionate about and hopefully this space will be somewhere for me to channel my thoughts a little and to explore my experiences of ICT in my classroom.”

In those days I had a blog with Edublogs. They did a sterling job of helping me get started.  I am still grateful to James, Sue and everyone at Edublogs for helping me and thousands of others get started with blogging.

My first real post was about, surprise surprise, blogging! And it would seem the enduring nature of this tool remains strong today:

“This whole blogging thing has caught up with me. I have started one for my son to record his first few years with us – I hope it will be something that he enjoys looking back upon later in life. It is great fun to do.

My own blog will be a learning curve as well, I have begun to explore the ways that blogs can be used in education and specifically with my class next September. At my first teaching post I had to build and maintain a website, fitting this around work is hard. The beauty of blogging is how easy it is to create and publish work online.”

It is “fun” and even easier nowadays to publish content in beautiful ways.

I also began to understand the social aspect of blogging. As I have said before, for me it was the first social platform I experienced. I connected with other bloggers through the beauty of the pingback. If you were added to a blogroll it was a massive win!

Commenting was essential for establishing connections in those pre-Twitter days. This is where the rich discussions would unfold. Sometimes far outweighing the published words in the original post. Another blogging habit would be creating a post based on someone else’s writing. This reaction or commentary style post was common and helped snowball ideas. This was especially true when they were about classroom practice.

I had the privilege of reading many blogs to gain some idea of how to behave. I am grateful to Peter Ford, Ewan McIntosh, Doug Belshaw and many others who helped me figure it all out. Getting a blog comment from these legends was always exciting. (Amazing to think that now I can call Peter and Ewan my colleagues)

I hope that projects such as #28daysofwriting help you discover or get back into this glorious habit. And I am resolute that I will be around to talk about my 1000th blog post.

The Future of #28daysofwriting – your ideas wanted

Fast forward another 22 days and we will be looking back on a solid month of writing, giving out fingers a well earned rest and wondering how we made it through. But what comes next.

I started the idea to get back into a writing habit and be much more consistent with my blog and the act of reflective writing which I enjoy so much. I don’t know about you but even after just 6 days things are different and I am loving the challenge. Of course having over 100 other educators, bloggers and companions for the journey is making it extra special and I am staggered by the response from everyone involved. There is even a bunch of Grade 5/6’s having a go which, by all accounts, is going down a storm.

So what happens next, the group simply disbands and we go our separate ways, warm and fuzzy inside from the companionship, the new writing connections we made across our network and in our own habit? We find a mountain cabin and spend the rest of the year reading the posts. Or can we continue to develop this idea further.

BadgeHere are some ideas that have been shared around already:

  • 28 Days of Writing occurs again at some point in the future allowing a new cohort of colleagues the chance to enjoy the journey together.
  • 28 Days of Commenting – a fading part of our community in my opinion and something we all should do as much as writing our own content. Perhaps such a clear focus on it will help. Maybe a new group could be writing whilst another is commenting 😉
  • A classroom ready version of the challenge – something that is perhaps shorter and gamified for the classroom to get kids enjoying the experience. As I mentioned above it would be lovely to have classes taking part, perhaps looping into #classblogs and the like.
  • Developing some strong aggregation tools to help people enjoy the growing number of posts – after all if 100 people write and publish for 28 days that is a significant amount of reading. Any stylish, functional aggregated lists will help. I am thinking a Flipboard magazine or Feedly collections etc
  • How might we celebrate the achievement or even the milestones along the way? Writing and publishing for just 7 days straight is a pretty great achievement and that is just 25% of the way through!
  • What fun badges could we make for the different types of writing, content and experiences we have along the way?

For this to continue and become an enduring feature of our writing community it will pay to consider some new ideas to take it forward. At the heart of it is a simple idea which no doubt will continue but I would love to see what more we can do to refine it.

What would you like to see next? Please share you own thoughts, ideas and reactions in the comments below.

As ever good luck with your own 28 minutes!

8 Reasons You Should Have A Professional Blog

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The way we share our thinking and reflections nowadays has burgeoned with so many different creative platforms. Blogging is one of the original social networks and has been a cornerstone in my professional life for many years now. Take a look through these reasons for reflective posts on your blog and commit to the future of your writing space.

1 – Make Room for Yourself

A blog or publishing platform serves as a wonderful personal space for you to retreat to, the digital version of a shaded tree, the tranquil spot for us to ponder and work through our thoughts and ideas. Preening this space is a common behaviour, with widgets and sidebars tweaked and themes tested. A blog becomes a personal / professional thinking space.

2 – Catharsis

One of the major reasons for writing regularly that I hear is that it is a deep thinking process that is becalming. When you have to communicate your ideas to others, to an audience, whether real or projected, it forces you to tie off the loose ends and to work towards greater clarity. Personally this is a hugely important process for my own thinking. The scattered threads of ideas and concepts come together through the act of writing and the satisfying synthesis of my thoughts is often cleansing.

3 – Model a Growth Mindset

Pretty much everyday in the workplace or in places of learning we ask others to reflect and share what they are thinking. This is especially true in schools and places where learning happens. The last few years has seen a huge shift towards reflective portfolios and gathering personal evidence of thinking and learning. But we need to model this too. We will be better placed when we deeply understand what it takes to regularly reflect and make written records of that thinking. We need to model this behaviour and we need to better understand what we are asking of others – writing your own blog helps with this.

4 – A Space to Reflect

As reflective practices go the writing process is a unique one in that the output is so tangible. It is nothing like just thinking through your coffee break about what occurred in that last lesson or making mental notes about how a project went. When we reflect and write that reflection we are being deliberately meta-cognitive as the process forces us to make language choices in how we are going to record our thinking. Such a deep meta-cognitive task means that writing is a strong reflective activity.

5 – Ship Your Ideas

Get them out there. Use your blog to craft them over time or post them up quickly in their raw, nascent glory. But get them out there, share your ideas. Ship. When we take the disposition that we are going to share our ideas and thinking we begin to open up to how others can help us. When you begin blog posts with: “So I have had this idea…” you extend an invitation for people to come along with you and to perhaps build something together.

6 – Gain Perspective

When we are open to comments and thinking from others we are much more likely to gain a richer perspective on the issues we may have originally shared. Writing and sharing a blog post on an issue or idea we are working on allows us to see it from the reaction and perspective of those who read it. From those connections and comments we gain valuable insight – “I am not the only one”, “There is a different solution I have not thought about”, “I want to find out how they worked through this.” Gaining perspective on our own issues and challenges is huge benefit from sharing our own blog posts.

7 – Build a Community

Without question one of the core motivations for my own writing is to participate and engage with a community and to gather like minded others (and those who think differently) around the blog posts I share. The discussions that spring up and unfold underneath our blog posts often offer rich ideas and resources. It is a social platform after all and it is about making connections with others – I remember the days of the Blogroll (lists of other blogs you read) and the Pingback (adding a link to someone’s blog post) being currency in an exchange that strengthened the ties amidst bloggers. Don’t forget the community of other writers too, read and comment on their blogs, message them via Twitter, learn about them. After all the connections I made through blogging changed my career.

8 – Build a Professional Thinking Archive

As somebody once said to me “Nobody else is going to tell your story” – your blog becomes a powerful archive of your thinking, ideas, projects, successes and professional reflections. When consistently added to over years it forms a strong part of your professional existence and clear way to communicate what you are about. Reminiscing on old post, especially during periods of your life that were rewarding or deeply challenging is a privilege – it offers you a way to peer back into the mind of your former self. Not simply to look at the old photos and groan about the haircuts, but to be able to reflect on the way your thinking has changed, grown and adapted over the years. Blogging gives us this privileged chance to speak to our future self.