May
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31 Day Comment Challenge
May 4, 2008 | Tagged comment08 | 10 Comments
Here is a really fun one that I would urge all TLITERs to try out. I’m only on the activity for Day two and already I’m learning SO much. It is a challenge, with prizes and all, but most importantly having people participate will help to create connections amongst the blogging community. To check it out, go to the 31 day challenge intro page where you can read all about it. There is so much info there that just checking it out is well worth it. I feel like I’m on a treasure hunt finding great info at every step of the way.
From the main page you can join by adding your name to the Comment Challenge wiki. To do that on the wiki I went into the text editor, copied and then pasted at duplicate of the last entry in the chart. Then I typed my info into the spaces where his was. If you have trouble with it though, don’t worry. There is an email address and someone else will even add your name and blog site to it.
If you decide to join, do let me know. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to come back and post a comment here.
To follow my own personal journey on this blog challenge check out my blog at Betty Online and be sure to let me know where you’re doing your blogging. I’d love to be part of building a web of connections between all us techie teachers.
Comments
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Being a TLITE mentor, I’m thrilled to comment on this blog posting. This comment may not win as most ‘inspirational’ but add me to your list as a blogger and ‘commenter’, if that is a word.
James McConville
Welcome to the Comment Challenge. Glad to hear that you are enjoying it and that you are learning a lot. Can you tell me what do you think are the 3 most best things you have learnt so far from doing the challenge?
Wow, three best things I’ve learned? Well, to start I’ve had a paradigm shift in my thinking. But first, probably the second most important think is that there is a real art to getting the most of blogging. Even things such as where to comment can be important. For example, do I comment here or is it better to reply as my next post. I’m honestly not sure and therefore I’m going to do both: first this comment here and now I’ll move to my personal blog and finish there.
Definitely is an art of getting the most out of blogging. There are differing opinions on whether to respond back to commenters on your posts.
My personal belief is where possible it’s always a good idea to write a response back in the comments when someone has taken the time to comment because it shows to readers that you value the fact that people have taken the time to comment. If a commenter or commenters makes good points then turning it into a post is a really good idea.
Worth checking out Beth Kanter’s blog and Michele Martin’s blog to see how they both interact with their readers within comments and by writing follow up posts. This practice is really good for community building — where readers willingly write comments that help you with your personal learning.
[...] and Learning in an Information Technology Environment) not my own personal blog. So when Sue Waters commented on my post there and asked me what three best things I’ve learned from the blog challenge, I decided to [...]
I definitely agree with adding a response in the comment area as a way of acknowledging the comment. That makes good sense. And, if referring off to a different blog site as I did above, it would probably be a good idea to make the links work, which they do now. I guess the fourth best thing I’ve learned is that this can sure use up time.
You do get more efficient at doing it – if that helps to know
I’ve been following this challenge through Michelle Martin’s blog (I’m a fan
). The three things I’ve learned is thinking about how to bridge between groups, blog etiquette (from Sue Waters blog (I follow it too) and how to improve my own blog so maybe someone other than Michelle might read and comment on it. 
I’m still at a stage where there is only a few times I will comment on a blog because I really don’t have any thing to contribute to the thread, but I am still learning a great deal by lurking there!
Hi Cindy, thanks for adding your comment. It is so great to find TLITErs who are following some blogs. I’d love the link to Michelle Martin’s blog?
I’ve gotten really excited about blogging and the possibilities in classrooms with this challenge though I, too, often read without commenting. For me this challenge has given me a reason to step out of my lurking comfort zone and try to figure out what might be worth saying. I’ve been pleasantly surprised a few times that the person whose blog I’ve commented on has actually seemed to appreciate what I’ve had to say.
Good to see you at the final demos today. Wish I’d had more time to talk individually with people. A question I’d love to pose to people in TLITE, or anyone really, is what potential do you see for using blogs in classrooms?
Betty, here is the link for Michelle’s blog
http://michelemartin.typepad.com/ If the link doesn’t work then just google The Bamboo Project. She has a sidebar on the right with links to ple’s. I have found her information there very helpful.
Another fav is dy/dan – just google it. He is a high school math teacher with quite a blog following and I love his blog.
I rarely comment on blogs. I seem to be following people who have a great deal of significant things to say and as someone new to blogging I don’t feel I have anything important to add to the thread. I don’t want to be seen as the virtual “Tom Cruise jumping on Oprah’s couch” type! How painful.
So like you I found the challenge to help me move from lurking to having something worthwhile to add.
I’ll email you some info on the question you posed.