The end of one year, the beginning of something new?

I'm going to take some time to blog some really nice projects I've noticed recently by moblogging, or mobile blogging. It's not something I do very often. I've just discovered, though, that in 1st Class GNER trains you get free wifi (and free coffee) so I thought I would continue to interact with those finishing off at the eTwinning conference back in Nottingham as I bound through the English countryside homewards. And prove it with this mobile phone pic. I've got 12 minutes till I change to another train in Doncaster, so speed typing is of the essence.

Over at the Gordon Schools in Huntly, Aberdeenshire, a podcast has finally been published of their French plays from the Rencontres Theatrales. I'm sure after this courageous ambitious first project some comments would be appreciated. I'm particularly pleased as this is yet another MFLE-inspired blog, running on our Typepad server.

I know I ask my (very good) readers to comment on a heck of a lot of stuff but there is a reason for this - you're really good at it. Another reason is that it brings immeasurable motivation and pleasure to hundreds of school kids in our wee country. John Johnstone took the trouble to email me with some of the fruits of this year's work. In his words: "I can't even begin to figure out all of the connections made during this project." He's summarised a creative writing/theatre/podcast project that his kids undertook with the enthusiasm and vim of Carol Fuller, a teacher I had teamed up with a while back now for our Auschwitz blog/drama project at MGS. It's nice to know that from one comment left on one blog, all this learning can occur. They've even started a short-term Word Cup Blog.

All this had made me realise, though, that we are moving into a new stage now with our growing number of bloggers. Quicker than ever they are wanting to know how to build audience for their classes. This morning's podcast group, for example, were immediately asking questions about the blog and the publishing before we had even looked at a microphone. Jim Wenzloff sent an email asking how we could maybe collaborate internationally to get comments for our kids, something his listserv and our Commentz for Kidz are trying to do with some success but separately.

So, it's time for some new seminars and new posts, I think, on reading blogs and commenting, on listening to podcasts and sharing. It is blindingly simple when you've gone from 2 readers to 2000 or beyond; everything's easy in retrospect. But it did seem just to revolve around some critical factors:

1. Write regularly and try to make it interesting for an imagined audience;
2. Read people who share the same ideas and leave comments on their blogs;
3. Read people whose ideas are very different and enter into an argument;
4. Find other schools doing the same thing and agree to link up for blogging projects. Every time you do this they'll bring their friends to your blog, too.
5. ... anything else?

Comments

[chris]

Comment on a blog like yours with a trillion readers ... ;-)

[John]

I find sending him email helps too;-)
The Ewan Effect on the the Scots Edu Blogosphere has been amazing this year. Although I might sometime go for number 3 above (enter into an argument) here, there is no one I'd rather argue with, and no adult has had a bigger effect on my teaching this session.

Chris you can tell us, is/are Ewan Twins;-)

Now we have all these blogs going, we really need strategies to be able to follow and support the children's widely distributed conversations. So sort of super-cocomment that gets round children having the same logon, computer and browser as others in their class., or maybe just a class cocomment account?

[Haydn]

Hi John,

the Ewan effect also impacts on your Celtic cousins a bit further south. I mean us in Wales, if you hadn't guessed.

Through his visits and this Blog Ewan has had a huge impact. Indeed I do not think it would be to much to say that a large amount of the development in HE blogging and podcasting in Wales has been directly influenced by Ewan, or by those of us who are happy to sit at the feet of the master as his disciples - or perhaps co-workers if the paternal image doesn’t work for you Ewan :-)

Now I find myself going to other HEIs, FEIs and Schools passing on the message that to a large extent I ‘caught’ first here.

[Ewan McIntosh]

*Blush*. I didn't mean to incite an ooze fest. I know that the face to face (F2F) approach mixed with the online support through work and this blog has been the key mix in getting more blogs up than perhaps could have made it beyond three months. I am also thinking along the lines of developing cocomment for student blogs or using a set of RSS feed mixes (once we've worked on showing people how to read using RSS). Then teachers could make choices on what interested them. Hmm. Got some days working at home. I'll make this my coffee break task, though I might have a nap or two, too ;-)

[Conor Galvin]

Under 5 above: When you find an interesting blog tell others about it either by linking to it in your nav bar or by giving it a mention (with hotlink) in a blog post. Share the fun!