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Writer's pictureJames Kieft

Why blog ? - my reflections 7 years on


Being dyslexic reading and writing is not my favourite thing. If someone had told me I would have written thousands of words voluntarily on a monthly basis and even offered to contribute to guest posts for publishing on external sites I would not have believed them.


However as my edtech blog enters its eight year, with a revamp and new location on my main website I thought it was time to reflect why I have come to enjoy blogging and highlight some of the wider benefits.


Initially my first posts were rather short and to the point, however with practice and positive encouragement from colleagues and peers the posts have grown in length. Technology has also played a part with improvement in talk to type tools enabling me to dictate my posts. I have felt more confident to express myself through the written word.


They say that practice makes perfect and it's 10000 hours to mastery, well certainly rings true as I have gained more experience in writing posts, I have found the writing process easier and more enjoyable. This in part has been helped by the positive feedback I have received , when I started I would have never expected to be approached by companies asking me to review their sites.


With reference to the requests for site reviews, I made a conscious decision right at the start of the blog that was only going to do positive reviews and my decision to feature a site would be based around how useful I thought it would be in supporting teachers and students.


To those of you who are thinking of starting to write a blog I thought I would highlight some of the benefits as far as I see them.


The first one is an opportunity to express yourself and share your thoughts on a particular topic, I like that it requires a period of reflection and an opportunity to put your thoughts and feelings in order. I find writing a cathartic process, I enjoy sequencing my thoughts, considering what it is I am trying to say. I also get a huge sense of satisfaction in thinking someone may have benefited from reading one of my posts.


The second I have found that by sharing content publicly it has enabled me to connect with a wider pool of like minded people and this in turn has helped my own development, with others more likely to share with me. The growth in my PLN (personal learning network) has also helped me to come up with more ideas for posts.


Having a public professional profile has also had other positives, I have had opportunities to share my knowledge and expertise at numerous events.


I could understand some being nervous about putting their thoughts online however in my experience the majority of people are very positive, with posts being liked or ignored.


So if you're considering writing a blog,I would strongly encourage you to do so.



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