I just created a new video on blogging since Google has changed the look of the platform recently. This video runs through how to start out from scratch, and shows you how to set up labels which is an awesome way to keep a record for your professional recertification. You can label each post with teaching standards or codes each time and if your appraiser would like to look at some evidence that you have complied with the code or reached the professional standards, then you just click on the labels.
Once you have set up a blog, it is easy to add posts. Teachers forget to keep records of how they have grown and continue to grow as professionals, so I find it really easy to post up every few weeks or whenever I feel something important has happened in my teaching and learning space. I can keep a track of my inquiry (teaching standard 2) easily as well, and while your appraiser may not require you to do an inquiry, the teaching council certainly expects that you do.
Blogging is a great way to order thoughts and decode your reflections. As you write or express in a video or audio file, you are focusing on making sense of what you have done.
Of course, if you are just wanting to keep a travel log, it works just as well, if you add place names as labels. Happy blogging! I'm sure you will enjoy it as much as I do.
When I look at my own primary schooling, I cannot think of many moments where I was truly excited by what I had learned. It was relatively easy for me as I learned reading, writing, and arithmetic without trouble. I suppose this gives one the foundations with which to work. I had one teacher who seemed to show a real interest in me as a person - Mr Morgan - who took the time to talk to my parents about my strengths and weaknesses. He spent time with me after school to improve the look of my writing and also introduced me to the concept that Art was not beyond my capabilities. Hardly earth-shattering but it seemed the break-through to my idea that my capabilities were fixed.
Secondary schooling seemed to be a preparation for a lifetime of exams. I was good at them, but how relevant was it?
