Thing 5: Reflective practice

I don’t normally have the opportunity for much reflective practice at the moment, so this gives me a good opportunity to have a go!

So far I’ve found this programme to be very interesting and useful.  It has introduced me to several new tools, such as Blogger, Twitter and Google Reader, that are new to me, and has given me the opportunity to try them out in a ‘safe’ environment.  I had been toying with the idea of joining Twitter for some time but was a little wary to be honest.  However, writing a blog is something that I had not considered and would never have done were it not for this course.  Now I can see the benefits of exploring new tools and sharing your experiences with others via the blog.  Will I carry on blogging after this programme ends?  Possibly, but that largely depends on my employment situation by then.  I guess that blogging about any professional events or activities might be useful, but I doubt people would be interested in my quest for employment!

One area that I feel I could improve is commenting on other blogs.  While I did a burst as part of Thing 2, it has ground to a halt, mainly due to a lack of time, but also because commenting on strangers’ blogs is still outside of my comfort zone.  Therefore, I’m going to make a concerted effort to ‘get more involved’ and set aside some time each week specifically for reading and commenting on the blogs of others.  I’m also still considering my personal brand and am trying to bring consistency across my online presence.