Written by « Are you 
holding back something you think is too obvious to share?” We were discussing the advantages of blogging as a professional development tool and this question gave me pause. I’ll admit, my initial thought when I found out that blogging was an important component of Cohort 21 was, “But why? Who would want to take the time to read about my thoughts, failures, and successes in relation to my Grades 9-12 core French classes?”
This year I have the pleasure of participating in Cohort 21, a professional learning opportunity that challenges educators to actively learn about and develop 21st Century teaching and learning practices. We have a few face to face meetings throughout the year, but we are also using technology to share, explore, and learn. Blogging is just one of the tools that we’ll be using.
I’m beginning to understand, I think, that blogging is more about reflecting than about broadcasting my accomplishments (or lack thereof). More about collaboration than a one-way dialogue. More about being part of a learning community than working in isolation.
And so here I am. Taking a risk. Putting myself out there. And learning.
I will aim to not hold anything back and share my experiences with implementing more authentic learning experiences for my students in the FSL classroom. À suivre…
Great first post, Myriam!
I’m a Math teacher and I figured in my first Cohort year that nobody would be interested in my posts either. It may seem like French and Math don’t have much in common, but I often find that French teachers have the same issues that Math teachers do in class: we are both teaching a new language of sorts.
@ddoucet can chime in here as a French teacher, but I think plenty of other C21 members will also enjoy reading your posts this year!
@mlafrance Welcome aboard and congratulation! You took your first step and should feel proud for doing so. You are in great company. Many FSL teachers are featured in our http://cohort21.com/action-plans/ archives.
To name just a few……..
@jenbibby @ddoucet @mardimichels @mneale @vkraus @ecunningham @carolynbilton @sandygibson
You will enjoy this Saturday as we take you through some thinking to help you formulate your action plan.
See you soon!
J
Yay, Myriam! So glad you’re taking the C21 plunge! I guess I won’t be seeing you or @ddoucet at OMLTA this weekend… but maybe we’ll both be blogging about our Saturday ed-ventures next week!