Mar
2013
1,000th Post
I’m taking part in the Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by Ruth and Stacey over at Two Writing Teachers. I hope to write every day for the month of March and then continue weekly each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slices. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.
One of my students pointed out earlier this week that I had posted 995 posts on my blog. I’m glad he pointed it out because I don’t usually pay attention to many blog statistics other than the cool map. I love to see where visitors to my blog come from. Since this post is number 1,000, I thought it was time to reflect on my blogging journey.
I was introduced to blogging in a workshop I attended on incorporating technology into language arts classes. I actually created a different blog to begin with, but our school’s spam filter ate the support emails and I lost the password. I then set up a gmail account and started this blog on October 20, 2008. The first post is a letter to my students inviting them to reflect on a book they are reading. I was hoping to use blogs as a way for my studennts and me to write about our reading, modeled after Nancie Atwell’s reading letters. I have been doing that, but my blog has evolved into so much more.
I use my blog to share the books I read, post class assignments, provide resources to my students, showcase student work, and reflect on my teaching. It is partly a personal book blog and partly a class blog. I have considered starting more than one blog (I actually have a Live Journal account where I spent one summer writing about my writing and connecting with other writers) to have a separate focus for each, but I like having them combined. I do make use of categories and tags and pages to organize the different parts of my blog, but since I’m one person, I like having my thoughts in one place.
The best thing I did to improve my blogging was to take part in one of the Edublogs challenges. I learned much more about how blogs work, and it was the first opportunity to connect with other teacher bloggers from around the world. I still follow some of the teachers I met through that challenge. They also convinced me to give Twitter a try. I’m glad they did because it has allowed me to connect with passionate teachers from all over. Now I have met even more through the Slice of Life Challenge. I have been very discouraged this year about the direction education is headed. Connecting with other educators who are working to educate children as more than data points or test scores has done much to encourage me. Thank you!
I am also inspired by the posts I read. (Who can stop at just three? I have developed the habit shared by other bloggers of commenting on the posts directly beneath mine as well as visiting those blogs who are starting to seem like friends.) Just yesterday, I was inspired by Robin, who created a word cloud of her blog. I wondered what footprint my blog leaves. I used Tagxedo to create a visual footprint of my blog based on the most frequently used words. I think I like the footprint my blog leaves.
What footprint does your blog leave?
Maria Selke (@mselke01)
March 25, 2013 at 7:18 am (11 years ago)I had no idea Tagxedo could do that with a whole blog! I may have to try it 🙂
Congrats on 1000 posts! I’m about to hit 350 and I thought that was amazing – It’s been so nice getting to know you over the Slicing days!
Mrs. McGriff
March 25, 2013 at 7:54 am (11 years ago)it was something I learned, too. Thank you. I’ve enjoyed reading your blog and getting to know you.
Jaana
March 23, 2013 at 10:26 pm (11 years ago)Congratulations! I just checked out tagxedo and creates my own picture of the words on my blog! Love learning new things from other bloggers.
Mrs. McGriff
March 23, 2013 at 11:07 pm (11 years ago)Isn’t Tagxedo fun? I love the variety of texts you can import so easily–and all the cool shapes and colors to choose from.
Melissa
March 23, 2013 at 9:11 pm (11 years ago)Congratulations! I just started really blogging due to the Slice of Life Challenge. Maybe I’ll reach that magic number someday!
Mrs. McGriff
March 23, 2013 at 11:06 pm (11 years ago)I never would have dreamed I would reach it when I started. I just kept going.
Carol
March 23, 2013 at 7:29 pm (11 years ago)1000th post! Woo-Hoo! I agree with you- blogging and slicing have opened whole new worlds for me. I’ve met and been inspired by educators all over the world. Amazing! I also love Twitter, although I don’t use it nearly as often or as well as I should or could. I like your suggestion of five minutes a day. That would be better than I do now! I haven’t ever used Tagxedo. Have used Wordle, but can’t quite get the hang of how to export my creations…See you on Title talk tomorrow!
Mrs. McGriff
March 23, 2013 at 11:07 pm (11 years ago)I’m glad you reminded me of Title Talk. I was thinking it was next Sunday. I’ll try to keep up. It was really easy to save a jpeg of my picture from Tagxedo. I know I’ve done it from Wordle, but it’s been too long ago.
Margaret
March 23, 2013 at 5:41 pm (11 years ago)I am now following you on Twitter; although, it still daunts me. I’m not sure yet how to make good use of it.
1000 posts! I thought I was doing well with 150! The SOLC has really helped me write more and to think more about writing. Like you, I get involved in reading other blogs. I get so much inspiration from this community.
I just started blogging with my students this year on kidblogs. The district doesn’t block it, thank goodness. My students have loved it. I find they are more excited about writing than ever before.
Love your footprint and seeing the big words Blog, Books, Day, and Read.
Mrs. McGriff
March 23, 2013 at 6:11 pm (11 years ago)Yea! I’ll look for you on Twitter, too. The best advice I got starting was to just spend 5 minutes a day. Most of my 8th graders like blogging, too. We’ve been lucky that a few authors have even dropped by with encouraging words.
elsie
March 23, 2013 at 4:41 pm (11 years ago)I cannot even fathom 1,000 posts! And to think you have been doing this for ten years, Wow! I love your footprint tagxedo! I’m glad to see that you will hang around the slice of life clubhouse on Tuesdays.
Mrs. McGriff
March 23, 2013 at 5:13 pm (11 years ago)I’m am surely hooked on Slicing. I’m glad I have Tuesdays to look forward to. Oops! It’s not been quite 10 years. The 2003 should have been 2008. I’ve fixed it not. But it has been 1000 posts. I can’t quite believe that either.
Robin
March 23, 2013 at 3:48 pm (11 years ago)Congrats on your 1000th post! That is a huge milestone! I love your virtual footprint…great idea! Thanks for the shout out too!
Mrs. McGriff
March 23, 2013 at 3:57 pm (11 years ago)Thank you for the idea! I’ve used Wordle before, but didn’t know I could have a word cloud pick up my entire blog. It was interesting to see what showed up as the most used words.
Diane anderson
March 23, 2013 at 12:54 pm (11 years ago)Wow! 1000! I just reached 100 during this month’s Slice of Life Challenge. I started blogging in March last year. It has been a great learning experience. Your post today has given me even more ideas to try. Thanks!
Mrs. McGriff
March 23, 2013 at 1:23 pm (11 years ago)Thanks! Congratulations on 100 posts!
mshaseltine
March 23, 2013 at 12:20 pm (11 years ago)WOW! I just love your blog. 1000 posts! That’s quite an accomplishment. I’m at a mere 78, but I’m loving it and reaching 1000 is certainly a goal to reach for. I, too, am on twitter and love the PD opportunities it affords me. I recently met two twitter friends for the first time…in person…at a conference. Exciting! I can’t wait to explore your blog some more. Thanks again and keep up the great work!!
Mrs. McGriff
March 23, 2013 at 12:43 pm (11 years ago)Thank you! It completely took me by surprise. I guess those posts add up over time. I have had a chance to meet a few of my Twitter friends at conferences, too. It’s like meeting a long lost friend for the first time.
Gail Stevens
March 23, 2013 at 12:14 pm (11 years ago)Congratulations! That’s quite a milestone.
I am a total newbie at blogging…just started with my first Slice of Life Challenge, but find I am really enjoying it! I want to continue to write and blog after the challenge and am already looking into other blogging challenges to keep me motivated.
Thanks for sharing your success!
Mrs. McGriff
March 23, 2013 at 12:43 pm (11 years ago)Welcome to blogging. THis is my first Slice of Life, and it is amazing. I’m looking forward to continuing weekly through the year, too. The Edublogs challenges are open to any platform. I liked it because it taught me so much about how to blog better.
Nanc
March 23, 2013 at 11:09 am (11 years ago)1000 is so awesome, congratulations. I am starting to wonder about twitter…I need more confidence. I think the Live Journal has possibilities also. I’m wondering if I can get a link to view yours. xo
Mrs. McGriff
March 23, 2013 at 12:13 pm (11 years ago)I am glad I am on Twitter. I just drop in and out as I have time, but it is a tremendous resource for for PD connections. I love #titletalk on the last Sunday of each month. Teachers & librarians dish titles around a specific topic. There are other chats I’d like to check out like #engchat. There are many chats based on subject/grade/leve/interest in education. I also took part in my first edcamp thanks to Twitter connections. Here’s the link to my LiveJournal page. I haven’t updated it in several years: http://kaymcgriff.livejournal.com/