Yes, it was exactly one year ago when I published the first post. Seems like a good time to look at the results of this little project!
What did I hope to get from it?
- an incentive to keep myself up-to-date in my field: make a public commitment to read a lot of professional blogs and write about the most interesting posts
- an opportunity to talk to like-minded people both online and in real life: it’s great when you can discuss an article or post with colleagues
- a bit of a boost to my professional reputation: have my own space to publish conference presentations and event reports, share thoughts and ideas – well, you know 🙂
What have I got?
Honestly, a lot more than I hoped for:
- I’ve been reading more widely this year, and the best part is that now it’s easier for me to spot high-quality and inspired writing. I can see patterns emerging, old topics reinvented, new ideas exploding all over the blogosphere – and it’s really rewarding to be able to curate and share it all.
- I’ve met lots of new people online and in real life thanks to this blog. More than 500 subscribers, dozens of visitors every day – it’s not much compared to real ELT gurus, but I’m grateful to each and every one of you for dropping by (and I know you’re not my mum because she hits ‘like’ without ever reading the posts 😉 ).
- I’ve learned to use Instagram (yes, I’m that old) and Canva, and write a paragraph of text balancing between ‘useful digest’ and ‘no spoilers’ – so that readers find the time to click through to the original text.
- I’ve been able to spread the good word and share what’s new and what’s great in ELT with the colleagues at my own teaching centre and around the world – how cool is that?
- I’ve developed a new confidence in my blogging self: I know which topics get the most clicks (edutech, looking at you!), but I’m happy to write about anything that resonates with me – and I just love hearing that an obscure post has inspired someone to read more or given them a lesson idea.
I’d say it’s been a great year, and I hope there’s more to come!
Now for my new year resolutions, to keep that public commitment thing going:
- Experiment with new formats and media
- Publish more of my own work on the blog
- Hope to engage with you all a bit more 🙂
And what would you like to see when you open Kate’s ELT Crate next year?
Hi Kate,
Congrats on the blog anniversary! I’d be curious to find out a little more about you – I’m a very nosy person 🙂 – so I thought maybe you’d like to do a #YoungerTeacherSelf post or an #ElevenThings post for fun. Just an idea. If you’ve already done them, maybe you could point me to the posts?
Vedrana
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Hi Vedrana,
Thanks for the congrats, and yes, I’ve got to write something like this! Your ‘About’ page is much more interesting 🙂 Would go very well with my New Year resolutions to put more of my own work here!
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Congratulations! Great to know that this has been an enriching experience for you. Keep up the great posts!
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Hi, thanks for this! I’m surprised myself how much this blog has – enriched I’m not sure, but definitely changed me 🙂
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Keep up the great posts Kate, and let’s continue to engage our Ukrainian ELT Community to writing and sharing (more, and internationally!)
A sub-goal for 2019 is to meet in person?
Happy blogg-oversary, and Happy New Year!
Zhenya
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Ha, thanks Zhenya, and yes, let’s keep doing the good work, and let’s meet IRL at last!
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