That's a wrap for blogging Spring 2026, but first: Blogscars! (Blog Post 8)

     

    In reflecting on blogging my journey this semester as a graduate student, I have been grateful for a space to think through different texts and discussions in class while playing with the voice and identity that writing for a blog provides. I have certainly come a long way professionally from the creation of my blog, when I had just entered the English Education program and was only beginning to conceptualize what it would mean to have my own classroom. This has affected how I've been able to respond to many of these prompts and I've appreciated the space that blogging has allowed for me to consider and reflect on my own teaching practices in light of new learning in class. Outside of the professional sphere, I have also noticed changes in my writing and this semester as I approached writing blog posts I felt more comfortable and natural exploring the space of writing for a blog. It turns out this is not unusual, as there has been a connection between blogging in the classroom and increased confidence in reading and writing, among other rewarding outcomes. Looking back on my posts from this semester, these are my nominees for best posts in each category.

1. Professionalism: Writing and Civic Engagement: How can feedback and revision strengthen their relationship?

    I nominated blog post 5 for the category of professionalism because in this blog post, I felt as if I included a good balance of professional reflection on my own work as a teacher and notices from working with writing coaches this semester. The application of my professional practice and reflection and connection to new content that I had learned in class, like the importance of providing opportunities for civic engagement, is why I believe this post is a good representation of my professionalism.

2. Mulitmodal Design: Playing with Multimodal Response: Text Animation for "We Don't Have Time for This" by Brianna Craft

     For a good display of multimodal design, I selected blog post 7, which includes the book trailer I created for We Don't Have Time for This by Brianna Craft. While the book trailer is a natural display of multimodal design, I believe other elements of this blog post also display my learning in the importance of multimodal resources. For example, the link included in this post has many multimodal resources for students that help make fair use approachable and understandable for all ages. I also included a photo of the book I made the trailer for with a review and bits of text included in protest signs to make clear which book is included.

3. Creativity: Venturing (back) Into the Writing Coach World!

    I have chosen blog post 2 as an example of creativity in my blog posts. In this blog post, I began to feel more comfortable exploring the mode of blog post as a form of writing and exploring a more comfortable tone in my writing. I also included my collage and some personal photos (including a childhood photo) that helped creatively explore my own identity as a writer and reader.

4. Civic Engagement: Students' Right to Write & Understand AI

 As an example of civic engagement, I included blog post 3, where I explored the use of AI in the classroom. In this blog post, I reflected on civic issues that result from the use of AI and different potentials for approaching teaching about these issues and AI use in the classroom. In considering these issues and their impact on my own teaching and the role of teaching in general, I think I modeled civic engagement. However, I did misstep in the photo inclusion of this blog post, which was a good learning opportunity and allowed me to learn from the mode of blogging as I was able to learn from comments.

 


And the Blogscar goes to...

Signal & Noise by Amanda

I was fortunate to read Amanda's blog, Signal & Noise, several times this semester and I am happy to nominate her for the Blogscar. Amanda made great use of the mode of blogging, sometimes playing with the form of her writing through repetition or use of digital space in very effective ways. I found Amanda's reflections on course readings and personal experiences to be very deeply thought out and I always felt as if I had learned from reading her reflections and thinking in her blog space. 

 

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