This post is the second in my series of Up and Coming Blogger Posts.
The first, A Bigger and Better Teaching and Learning Circle mentioned how expanding the EduBlogsphere and hearing less-heard voices currently on the fringes would improve the blogging experience for all of us exponentially. Getting more people involved is my new thing, my new cool.
This post begins what I hope will be a weekly custom: Every Saturday it will be my endeavour to introduce you to a blogger whose writing you should check out. I have laid down 3 simple criteria for identifying these bloggers:
a) A Technorati Authority of 25 or less.
b) One post in the last 10 days and at least 5 in the last two months (this would give me a large enough sample of posts to decide on whether the writing appeals to me as also to exclude bloggers who write sporadically).
c) Focus on personal, opinion-driven writing, rather than on posts linking to other writing without comments by the writer herself.
The chosen blog will be linked on my site, will always be linked every subsequent post in the Saturday Spotlight sessions, and will hopefully get some traffic going towards her blog that should get her to write more and write better. A recent convert to blogging myself, I know how important readership numbers and feedback can be in the early days.
I have also tried my hand at Photoshop (first attempt ever) and created a badge the blogger may like to display on her site (there is a smaller version of the one below, Nancy!)
The blogger who kicks off the Saturday Spotlight Award is Nancy Flanagan who writes at Teacher in a Strange Land
Nancy has been blogging since the start of 2007, but is no newcomer to Teaching. A Doctoral Student, Nancy is a 31-year teaching veteran and has a varied career that spans Teaching (web and classroom), Providing consultancy to the Michigan Ed Department, and running all-line communities and workshops to promote Leadership in Schools. She was also Michigan Teacher of the Year 1993.
Congratulations, NANCY!
She has a warm and thoughtful writing style and she gels teacher and administrator persepctives quite eloquently. Most of her posts are comments on reports and surveys emanating from Research Universities and Think Tanks- I found her post on Tracking Students by Achievement Standards quite interesting and extremely well-written.
I hope you will visit her blog, read her posts and write in with comments. We need to motivate her to write more often than she does. Here is her link again:
Teacher in a Strange Land
Happy Reading!
More about Up and Coming Bloggers:
1. Eric Turner over at Second Hand Thoughts runs, I found out through his comment on my first post in this series, a similar exercise. You can access his latest blogger finds right here. (I love his Green Blackboard Award!)
2. Dr. Scott McLeod has been posting information and comments on new bloggers intermittently. You can access his range of posts starting with this one on Pete Reilly.
I’ve been ‘lurking’ on your site since I read your post on sexual harassment (no pun intended).
I have always believed, and as a 46 yr old Language Teacher I have an understanding of good writing, that you have a gift with the words.
Today, as you posted this, I realized (as I suspected) you have a good heart too.
You’re on my feed!
Weel done, great blog and great posts!!!
Adrian, thanks for the warm compliment and for subscribing to the feed. I look forward to your presence on the blog regularly.
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Thanks for the notice and recognition, Vivek. I was just about to send you an “8 random facts” meme, but then I noticed you had completely outclassed the random-facts competition by putting yours into a poem.
I’ve got you in my feed and will continue reading.
Nancy