3/29/2004
Monday Five LVIII.5: Redux Remix
Flip is feeling a little too comfortable around here. 
In my Friday Five where I turned the tables on you and asked you to answer a few questions. That, however, was not good enough for Flip and re-asked the questions of me. I suppose that I shall indulge the readers.
1. Why did you start WIT (WIT referring to your blog in this case)?
When I first began teaching, one thing that I heard more than once from veteran teachers was I should start a journal to document the crazy and adorable things that children do. Good idea, however, I HATE journaling. The idea of taking to write something just for the sake of writing just isn’t appealing to me. During my first year of teaching I heard about this thing called a blog. I found the idea interesting and investigated it. Not knowing a thing about installing and running applications on servers I plunged head first into installing MovableType and getting it running. Through the blog, people where able to read my stories and even better, they could comment on what I wrote about. People commenting has become one of the main reasons that I blog. WIT has become an online community where have met all kinds of people I would never have met online. WIT has grown beyond its original purpose of sharing stories but that is the heart of WIT, a place for me to share stories, good and bad.
2. What’s your favourite part of WIT?
The comments. It is the area where WIT takes on a life of its own. I really don’t watch my stats to see how many people are visiting but I do get a little depressed when people don’t comment. It’s not the hits that matter, its the comments.
3. What is the thing you keep thinking you’ll add but never get round to?
A donation link. I have toyed more than once with adding a donation link or an Amazon Wish list. All the money or items on the wish list would be for my classroom but I just don’t feel comfortable with doing it. So I guess it is not a matter of not getting around to it, it is a matter that I probably won’t do it. (I say probably just to leave that door open in the future.)
4. What can I or anyone else do to make your day better? (No money or housework included!)
You can grade papers. I will have to consider if postage will be worth it. Otherwise, leave a comment!
5. Other than WIT, what is your favourite internet site?
You see the list of Required Reading on the front page of the blog? (The blogroll.) I like all those. A blog does not get listed here unless I really like it. I like most of the Edublogs too. The links listed from Homestar Runner and down are the nonblog websites that I frequent regularly.
Class dismissed!
PS There are no forums at WIT. I just wanted to see if anyone could find some. If you guys didn’t find any, I guess I was right, there are no forums.
PSS Got any other questions?
Filed under: Friday Five 2
March 30th, 2004 at 11:43 am
Thanks, Christopher!
["...too comfortable, indeed... the outright cheek...!" mutter, grumble]
March 30th, 2004 at 4:22 pm
Here’s an idea of things for the school, if not for your classroom. I put on my site a link for other people to purchase from Schoolpop and have a portion of the sale go to my son’s school. I find that to be less intrusive than a request for money or gifts.
March 30th, 2004 at 5:31 pm
I love comments too. I should be better about commenting at others’ blogs.
I added a wishlist, but it’s low on the page and kind of blends with the section it’s in. I put it there mostly for my family. I have received one gift so far from another blogger, which was a huge surprise. And I have sent gifts to other bloggers from their wishlist. It’s handy to have available.
March 30th, 2004 at 8:31 pm
I’ve also wanted to do a wishlist or a donation thing. I’m not sure how to go about it, but I would like to at least try it… Someday.
March 30th, 2004 at 10:20 pm
For the wishlist I think you just go to Amazon and create a wishlist and then post a link on your blog.
April 11th, 2004 at 10:22 pm
I did that… It’s interesting.