That’s a Wrap Folks(onomies)!

It’s time for the final blog posting and I am somewhat daunted. How can I sum up my learning experiences over the past ten weeks in a single post? And then I realised, I don’t need too. Just take a look back through my blog (scroll right back down to the bottom). As you read through the postings, check out the videos and gawk at the images, what do you notice? That’s right, a journey. I’ll be honest, day one of the blog I felt uncomfortable, I didn’t know what sort of approach to take. Thoughts running through my mind: Should I inject humour into an educational blog? Do I need to use formal language? How on earth do I embed a video?!? 
 
Week 1, my blog posting was brief and let’s be honest, a little bland. No video, links, images or colour, simple text and not much of it. Week 10, and wow, the results couldn’t be further apart if you tried. It is like one of those Danoz Direct Ads on morning television; the before and the after shot. I am quite proud of what I have been able to do. When Mark showed us the blogs from last year I thought, Wow. Tag Clouds, Wordle images, videos, Vokis and Storybirds. And yet, somehow, I have managed to create every single one of those tool AND embed them onto my blog (a feat in itself). 
 
Things I have tried to do over semester:
•    Make the blog page my own. Almost everyone was using blogger; however, I did not want my page to look like standard template. I have tried to individualise it by playing with the background, changing the font type, adding gadgets, and injecting my own voice into the page.

•    Making it fun! The focus for this blog was on e-learning, and I have found ways to make the content more interesting to read then just writing text.

•    Injecting my own voice. Initially, I struggled with this as I did not know which direction to take. However I decided that by being a little more informal, this would personalise the blog and make it fun and engaging for others to read.
 
The advantages of blogging were that I could get feedback from my peers, who would usually question me; ask me to clarify; or correct my spelling and grammar (thanks to Geoff). I can see myself using blogs in the classroom. Firstly, they are so easy to set up and personalise. Secondly, the educational benefits are unlimited. Students could use it to improve their writing skills; their spelling abilities; their editing skills. From a teacher perspective, I could see exactly what the students had learnt if they were writing a reflective blog; and provide instant feedback on their work. 
 
The main drawbacks of this experience were that I always wanted to write so much about the whole area we had covered the previous week. Long, rambling posts are boring for readers. I had to be succinct and concise. Secondly, trying to comment on everyone’s posts and keep up with what is happening online was bordering on information overload. I chose to focus on a few, and then check in on the rest from time to time.
 
Overall I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience and will continue to make postings on this blog. I am glad that I have an example of a Web 2.0 tool that I can use to impress (hopefully!) future employers. I may even start up my own blog (subject matter to be decided) and I hope you will all continue to read it, enjoy it and provide me with feedback. Thanks for all your comments. After all, a blog is not really a blog if it is not being received by readers out there on the web.