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#EduCoach Blog Challenge is BACK!

Last October (2015), during Connected Educator Month, the #EduCoach Twitter Community took part in a blog challenge. Many educators used this form of open communication to share ideas with others, reflect on educational practices, and connect and collaborate with one another. They were challenged to post once a week and encouraged to comment on fellow bloggers posts. You can read more about educational blogging and other challenges in my guest post in ASCD’s Inservice Blog titled Blogging to Enhance Your Professional Practice.

Recently there has been renewed interest, so the #Educoach Blog Challenge is back! Rather than choosing a particular month we simply encourage you to participate year round as your schedule allows.

What is #EduCoach

#EduCoach is a Twitter Community for anyone interested in instructional coaching. We officially chat each Wednesday evening at 9pm central standard time. The chat was co-founded and continues to be co-moderated by Jessica Johnson and Shira Leibowitz and myself (Kathy Perret). Our first chat was July 27, 2011, and we are still going strong, constantly welcoming new friends to the fold.  The hashtag is used often during the week to share resources and reflections with the larger community.

How does the Blog Challenge Work

Simply put, the #Educoach Community is challenged to blog once a week, throughout the school year and summer as time allows. We know that everyone’s schedules are different. So rather than designating an official posting day we encourage you to blog once a week. Tweet your blog post using the #educoach hashtag.

How Do I Get Started?

Step 1: Start a blog if you do not have one. Reach out to someone in your PLN to assist you if needed. The #educoach community is there for you! 

Step 2: Add your blog URL to this document as an indication that you will be joining the #educoach blogging challenge. Please remember this is not binding. If you are unable to write a blog post each week, that is fine! 

Step 3: Post a new blog post once a week and tweet it out using the #educoach hashtag. Don’t feel bad if you miss a week. We all know that schedules can get busy at times and priorities need to be set.

Step 4: Return to the Google Doc to add your blog post title and URL for easy reference. The #educoach hashtag fills up fast most days. This list will serve as an archive of all the posts. 

Step 5: Extra Challenge → Try to comment on at least 3 other blog posts during each week. Commenting helps all bloggers understand the reach of their content. It also helps you build your PLN and share your own thoughts. 

What Do I Write About?

What you write about is totally up to you. In my guest blog for ASCD InService title Blogging to Enhance your Professional Practice, I shared 4 reasons educators engage in blogging. The list isn’t exhaustive. I’d love to hear the reasons you blog. Share your ideas in the comments below.

  • share ideas with others,
  • reflect on educational practices
  • and connect and collaborate with one another.

One word of caution – honor the confidentiality of your coaching work. Kenny McKee, a frequent #educoach tweeter, posted a great article titled Blogging Etiquette for Instructional Coaches. He shares some guidelines to consider.

Resources That May Be of Interest

There are several resources available to assist in your blogging and connectivity. A few to consider are:

We hope you consider joining the #educoach blog challenge!

We will officially begin the first week in May!

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