As people are joining #IMOOC, many of them are starting their first blog, are starting to blog again, or are using their space to blog for this learning opportunity. If you are starting your first blog, I would suggest something like wordpress.com or edublogs.org. Both are free, but the paid options are definitely worth it in my opinion. I am also a big fan of edublogs as you can tweet @SueWaters or @edublogs at any point if you need help, and they seem to show up like Batman in the night. Blogger and other options are great, but I am personally partial to blogs that are wordpress based.
Here are some quick ideas for when you are blogging for #IMMOOC:
- Put the hashtag #IMMOOC in the title. This way, when others share your post, it is shared to the hashtag.
- Do not feel you have to write a college thesis. Short posts and reflections can just be as valuable as long ones.
- Using media is awesome…Embedding things like YouTube, images from Instagram, or compiled tweets from storify, can also tell a powerful story. You do not need to be a “writer” to share your thoughts.
- When you tag your posts, use your own name in the tags. This will help bump your blog up in the google results when people search your name. The more you blog and tag your own name in the blog, the more likely when people search for your name later, they will find your space. You will thank me later 🙂
Here is the last tip that I have, and it is an important one…
Read each other’s blogs and find time to comment. There are some reasons behind this:
- It makes everyone smarter.
- It encourages people to keep going…many stop because they feel no one is reading their blog posts.
- It builds community.
I was asked the question today…How do you blog so much? Quick answer is because I read a ton of other people’s blogs. Personally I need to get better at commenting more, but I definitely try to share all of the great blogs that I read on a daily basis.
Hope that helps!!! Looking forward to adding YOUR blogs to my feed!
P.S. If you have a blog or are about to start a blog, add it to this google form. I will take the spreadsheet and share it publicly on this space so that others have access as well.