Everyone said shrinking a 2300+ word synthesis paper into a 500-800 word blog post would be really hard. I was mostly worried about having to delete many of the sentences I had already written and revised and become attached to. I was also aware that many of my sources and quotes which I worked so hard to find would most likely be unusable or ineffective which now meant I would have to find new credible sources to backup my claims. And finally, I was worried that by shrinking my essay I would lose my well-thought out argument or I would not be able to convince a reader in the short amount of space I had.
Source: ABC
Now, I could sit here all day coming up with different challenges and never actually writing my blog post but that would be a waste of time. Instead, I tried to push most of those doubts aside and focus on getting it done.
Source: NBC
I started out by researching online articles about technology and education to see if there have been any cases where technology was incorporated into the classroom. I immediately learned that not only has technology had been incorporated but there were different levels of incorporation and common terms for the different levels. I viewed different sites to get a comprehensive idea of the different types of education and their respective level of technology involvement. I also found a lot of research projects providing positive evidence about adding technology into the classroom. I felt like I hit the jackpot.
Source: CW
I immediately jumped into writing my blog post about the different types of teaching styles and their own different amounts of incorporation of technology. As I continued to write my blog post, I found myself getting increasingly interested in the topic. As a future teacher, I am always looking for the best way to teach my future students. I genuinely believe that blended learning is the best way to teach students and prepare them for the future. Because I was so passionate about the topic, I found the blog post relatively easy to write. As I was finishing my blog post, I honestly felt super lucky that I had discovered such great information and that I became so passionate and interested in my topic because that right there made it so easy to shrink my essay.
Source: NBC
After I had finished my blog post, I was rereading it and was discovering that after the first two paragraphs my writing became very formal, similar to essay or academic writing. I found it incredibly difficult to incorporate more casual language into my explanations and arguments. I always struggle with revisions especially final revisions because I often get attached to my work and have a hard time letting it go or changing it even though often it is for the better.
Source: Universal Pictures
This was especially difficult to revise this blog post because as I was writing it I was so confident in my work that I didn’t want to change something I was already very happy with. However, I did revise my blog post to create a better balance of casual and academic language which is for the best because now my blog post is better than ever. I got rid of those useless sentences and formal language just as the ghostbusters got rid of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. Then, I reread it and was happy with my final result.
Source: Columbia Pictures
I am proud of my final completed blog post.
I am also proud that I pushed through my original fears and charged the mountain with faith in myself and my writing ability.
I feel very happy that I was able to become so passionate about my arguments and claims.
I am proud that I did not post an ok version of my draft and instead I pulled myself together and revised it to make it great.
And finally, I am proud that I did not wait until the last minute to start this blog post.
Well its goodbye for now…
Source: Disney
But I promise there is always tomorrow.