TLC Blog

Is blogging a beauty or a beast?

by Nina Jackson on April 27, 2015

Is blogging a beauty or a beast?

I’m quite new to the world of blogging and have been very impressed with the impact it can have on those who both read and respond to blogs. I’m not scared of writing, as I’m a published author. However, blogging is not always about the words you write but about the visualisation and the takeaways people have from it.

I attended the the UK Blog Awards 2015 ceremony at The Montcalm, in London on Friday,17th April with @Candidagould where we were both privileged to represent @ICTEvangelist as he was unable to be there due to his work commitments in Istanbul – changing the world with his tech mastery again! There were hundreds of amazing bloggers at the event, and Mark won the Individual Education Category for his outstanding work. He doesn’t blog for glory he says, he blogs to share his thinking and pedagogical impact on, and in Education, so we can all think about things differently and try things out.

Blog awards

Mark’s award

 

Blog awards 2

Candida Gould and I attending the awards ceremony – oh yes, the Mad Hatter was there too!

 

Since attending the awards and testing the blogging scene myself, I have discovered that you have to marry your ‘Thinking Brain’ with the ‘Digital Brain’ and the complexities (well, when you start anyway) of lining up pics, getting the right resolution, spacing everything, checking your category selection and all the other glorious tech tools, it’s not the writing which is tricky, it’s getting used to all the formats and tools – getting your head around WordPress, especially when you have’t used it before.

As so many people blog now, I suppose it’s the usual cliché phrase of ‘practice makes perfect’ and that’s what I’m trying to do – get it right as best I can, and improve on my performance. Even better when others give me feedback – a little bit of AfL!

I have learned so much from others who blog and have been challenged on such a scale that is quite refreshing. I’ve been inspired by the work of Rory GallagherDebra Kidd, Jane Hewitt, John Tomsett, Mr.P’s ICT Blog and many many more. Too many to even list here, otherwise we could be here until Jan 2016. One thing I do know, is that sharing is a very powerful tool for us in Education, and the more we can all develop a Growth Mindset about progress and challenge, then the better it is for our children, teaching and learning.

Upon reflection, the mistakes I was making in the beginning and probably still am now, have helped me to create a check list (I’m not a fan normally, but for now a checklist will have to do) and as a ‘newbie’ to the world of blogging, and triple checking all the tools needed to make sure the blog has the right message, the tags, the categories, the alignment, pixelated images and videos, the checklist will stay for now.

I am going to blog as much as I can from now on, to get the practice in, and to see whether it is a good way of sharing MY thinking with those of you who read my posts.

Here are my ‘newby’ tips for blogging:

1. Get yourself a good blog mentor/coach.

2. Read the draft.

3. Read the draft again.

4. Preview the post and check.

5. Preview the post and check again.

6. Cross your fingers……and publish!

7. If people are willing to let you know there are a few little errors, thank them, and edit the post – quick.

8. Practice, practice and practice some more.

9. If you get it right, it’s a blessing….if it’s not then it’s a bugger!

10. Stick at it.

Do let me know what you think and any other tips you can share.

Over and out for now.

Ninja (as I like to move in mysterious ways!)

 

Nina JacksonIs blogging a beauty or a beast?

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  • Jill Berry - June 3, 2017 reply

    Thanks for this, Nina – and huge congratulations to Mark. I’d missed that!

    I just blog using @staffrm (https://staffrm.io/@jillberry) and I’ve found that a useful introduction to the world of blogging. I recommend that if people want to dip a toe in the water they can start out with that, and then move on to establishing a blogging platform of their own when the time is right.

    Hope to see you again soon!

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