Getting Started

Well, I have put off really starting this blog for months now. I have had the best of intentions. After reading Will Richardson's book, Blogs, Wikis, and Podcasts, and reading his blog I was blown away by the power of a blog and other web based tools to motivate students to write. I thought, "Wow, I need to do this so that I can provide a model for both writing and use of web tools for students!" However, I just never could seem to motivate myself to sit down and do it. I have started blog entries in my head, over and over again, but to just put it out there on the page seemed more than a bit intimidating. Yet, teachers ask their students to do this all the time--put their thoughts down on paper (or in digital text, which is my preference) and turn it in to be graded and left open to criticism. And a blog is putting it out there for strangers to see! (Yes, I know you should not start a sentence with and or but.) However, (is that better than but?) I am taking a class on writing and one of the choices for our final is to start a blog, so here I am!
The purpose of this blog is going to be to write about strategies to support students with technology, but this introduction is really just about me getting over my fear of writing for general consumption. As I write I do realize however, that without the technology I am using there is no way I would ever do this. I need to be able to cut, copy, and paste. I need to use spell check and right click. I need to be able insert, delete, and rearrange my thoughts. So I am beginning this blog on how to help students use technology to achieve in school and I am using technology in order to do this. This may not be nearly as inspiring as Will Richardson's work, but it is a start.