1. Google – I would 100% agree. I don’t think I really used search engines before Google came along.

2. Wikipedia – This is now so useful that it is often my first port of call, nevermind my pupils’.

3. Twitter – I believe this is the best source of CPD that I’ve had over this past year. Although it’s probably stopped me blogging so much!

4. Comment is Free – A particularly Guardian inclusion which I’m not sure I’ve ever used.

5. BBC iPlayer – I don’t use it that often, but when I do, it’s great – and its existence would encourage me to get rid of the TV at some point in the future.

6. iPhone – I don’t have one, but I know many people who do, and it did start that whole era of touchscreen phones. I’ve just got a BlackBerry, and I can see that being a big change. In fact, I’m typing this post on it now.

7. Craigslist – Never used it.

8. Facebook – Of course I’m on it! But I don’t use it so much these days. However, I still use it to keep in touch with old friends.

9. iTunes U – Need to look into this one.

10. Spotify – I think I’ve signed up to this but I’m not so much into listening to music. Don’t get me wrong – I like music, I’ve grown up playing the violin and I love to dance. But my husband is the DJ round here so I pretty much let him get on with it! A pretty eclectic mix anyway!

So, that was the Guardian’s top ten. What about mine? Of course, there’s bound to be an overlap!

1. Twitter – I’ve ‘met’ so many members of the education technology world through this, and they have shared so much in terms of resources and ideas. I can’t imagine trying to find out so much on my own. Definitely best CPD this year.

2. YouTube – Couldn’t believe it when I read that YouTube was founded AFTER the Indonesian tsunami. That is an event that I remember clearly because my husband and I were on an amazing Italian winter holiday. Surely YouTube must have existed before that holiday?! But it didn’t.

3. Google – The homepage on many computers I’ve worked on! Also the standard search button at school. I use Google at school and at home to find quick images and basic facts.

4. Wikipedia – First source of information. Normally the first item that pops up on Google as well!

5. Flickr – I love Flickr. Almost all my photos are up there. One of the few Web 2.0 apps that I pay for – I’ve had a Pro account for a couple of years. Still remember the first time I heard of Flickr – from a stranger who was taking pictures of the same smouldering warehouse as me – and now I’m shocked when other people haven’t heard of it. My favourite site to search for Creative Commons Flickr photos is www.compfight.com.

6. Facebook – I think I was one of the first of my friends and colleagues to be on Facebook (after much prompting from @victoriaellis!). The novelty has worn off – I don’t send people flowers any more! – but it’s still great for keeping in touch.

7. Blogs – To think I’d never heard of them three years ago. I enjoy writing them (when I have the time) and have learnt loads from reading them.

8. Online banking – I was probably one of the first to use phone banking, as I worked for Direct Banking when I was at uni, but it took until about 4 years ago to finally sign up for Online banking. And it’s so useful. I love being able to see my transactions, and being able to transfer my money when I want to without having to discuss it with anyone.

9. WiFi – I’m so glad the days of plugging in to dial up are long gone! And I can talk to someone on the phone and be online at the same time! Bliss.

10. BlackBerry – I’ve only had it a week, so I suppose it’s too early to say what sort of impact it will have on my life. But it’s already got me blogging again – this post has been typed on my BlackBerry – and I can send emails and texts on the tube and it sends them when it has a signal! Fantastic.

So, that’s my top ten. Now, what’s yours?

Note: You can also read @janeinjava’s post here.

It’s the end of the year, the time when people reflect on their past year and set resolutions for the new year. So here are the reflections. Resolutions may – or may not! – follow.

January – Made a snowman! Will that feat be repeated this Christmas? Saw Doris Lessing at the Southbank Centre.

February – Loved Sweeney Todd the Barber with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter. Earthquake. Had an excellent FairTrade Fortnight Sixth Form RE Conference, which involved baking, football, FairTrade prizes and taste tests, as well educational input from different departments.

March – Enjoyed a lovely Holy Week and Easter Triduum. Discovered the National Gallery. Led some blogging inset at the Marist School – hope everyone is getting on with their blogging! Summarised some of the many excellent teacher and student blogs out there.

April – Collected my marked dissertation. Heard the sad news that Steve Sinnott had died. It snowed in London. Fiona, a friend from home, visited, and had fun being tourists in London, visiting the British Museum, Tower Bridge, Tate Modern and others. Samson and I watched the London Marathon. My friend Bridget got married. Appeared, with my Year 7 class, on Teachers’ TV.

May – The weather improved dramatically. Saw Chris Rock at the O2. Found the Awesome Highlighter website (which I haven’t really used, so I’m posting this here to remind me!). Spent ages surfing the net and writing about the applications I found there. Enjoyed meeting up with the TTP second cohort to talk about my experiences of Web 2.0. Started some classes on Web 2.0 for teachers at school. Took my Year 9s to the National Gallery as part of a Learning Outside the Classroom project.

June – Discovered Wordle! Presented a session on blogging at the Sixth Form Conference. Visited the Thames Barrier. Went to the Anthony Clark’s ordination as a deacon.

July – Samson’s book, The Jive Talker, was published! Read the reviews here, and buy a copy from Amazon here! The second cohort of the Transformation Teachers’ Programme had a lovely meal. I graduated with my Masters (MA in Education: Teaching and Learning) from Middlesex University. Weather was still very hot and humid. Enjoyed the Doctor Who Prom. Started making videos of clouds, taken using my camera and a tripod. Enjoyed lots of balmy evening walks during the summer holidays. Went paddling at the V&A pool. Bliss. Visited Westminster Cathedral to take photos for the department. Finished the month with the launch of the Jive Talker at Rivington Place.

August – The Jive Talker was published in North America (and can be bought on Amazon here). Discovered the Thames Cruiser. Went to a wedding reception. Enjoyed the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony, and then fulltime coverage, all day, every day! Went to Brighton for the day. Went back home to Scotland for a holiday. Met my little Canadian cousin for the first time. One particularly good day was when we travelled through Fife, visiting the Deer Centre, and my old university town of St Andrews.

September – Celebrated my birthday. Back to school! Very busy, but in a good way. We attended the launch of the New Art Exchange, where Samson was taking part in the opening exhibition, Next We Change Earth.

October – The term did not get any quieter! I became Acting Head of Department, so even more work! Visited East Dulwich for the first time, with a family friend. Visited the Saatchi Gallery. Enjoyed teaching my Year 7 Integrated (Humanities) Curriculum about China. Saw Toni Morrison at the Southbank Centre.

November – Went to the Diocesan Heads of RE Conference. Found PhotoBox and Fotonauts. Went to Martin Creed’s flat/exhibition in Brick Lane. Enjoyed Quantum of Solace. Collected together a lot of different Advent resources. Very excited about the election of Barack Obama, as were all the pupils at school.

December – Have enjoyed meeting up with friends, and look forward to meeting up with more friends and family over the next few weeks. We had a lovely carol service today at school, and I am delighted to finally be on holiday! My camera has pretty much given up over the past few months, so I’m hoping to get a new one to record many of the exciting and interesting events that I expect to experience throughout 2009 – starting with the birth of my first niece or nephew!

Thank you for visiting my blog, whether for the first time today, or regularly over the past year, and I hope to be able to share some of my further adventures in teaching and learning, particularly involving Web 2.0, over the next 12 months. I wish you all a very peaceful and joyful Christmas and a happy New Year!

See my Tabblo>

1) What’s the difference between blogging and writing? (33 pageviews) (6:59 mins average on page)
2) About Me (25) (2:07)
3) The Jive Talker or How to Get a British Passport (14) (1:55)
4) A List of the Software I’ve Used (14) (0:45)
5) Trying to use ICT in the Classroom (11) (3:48)

As for referring sites, I’m delighted to announce that the top source for referrals to my blog goes to … (drum roll) … Ben Annett, so thanks for that, Ben! Twitter is also up there, and I got 5 visits via Terry Freedman’s comments site, which is also why the post on blogging and writing is so high up. I presume.

So, what should I do with all those statistics? Well, I think I’ll need to spend some time later on following ProBlogger’s advice on How to Keep First Time Readers to Your Blog! However, I think many of his tips are aimed more at people who are professional bloggers and therefore in some way “need” to have more visitors, whereas I am probably more interested in “quality” rather than “quantity”! (Anyone reading this obviously counts as quality!) Although these statistics are interesting, I am more interested in the social aspect of blogging, and the sharing aspect, rather than the numbers. Which brings me round in a circle to the starting point, which is by far the most interesting: commenting.

The blog which lead me to ProBlogger was the Bamboo Project, more specifically the post, Six Reasons People aren’t Commenting on Your Blog. In turn, Michele Martin was inspired by Chris Brogan’s commenting challenge, where instead of writing a post, he encouraged his readers to read and comment on the comments in the comments box. I have to say, it is inspiring reading the comments on other people’s blogs … it would be lovely to have just a few of them (thanks Ben and Zak for your comments today on my animation!), but I understand it is a perennial blogger’s problem. (On the other hand, occasionally on a popular blog there seem to be too many, and I don’t read them all!) (Oh dear, I’ve just started browsing Chris’ site a bit more and found a post featuring 50 Online Applications – just my sort of post!) Right. Sorry for that interruption. (As you can see, this is more stream of consciousness blogging rather than planned and edited writing, Terry, if you’re reading!!) Back to Michele Martin. I found her blog through Diigo, and bookmarked it for future reference. These are her reasons why people don’t comment on blogs, as well as my reflections on my own blog:

1) You sound like a press release. Well, of all the things I sound like, I hope it’s not a press release! Except, perhaps, when I add to Samson’s book reviews.

2) You sound like an infomercial. Hmmm. Perhaps at times I post short posts with links to interesting sites … but I don’t think I sound as if I am trying to get any money out of them, for example!

3) You sound like a know-it-all. Well, I certainly don’t know it all, which is why I post here – I like finding new things then sharing them probably mainly so that I can come back and find them later! However, perhaps I don’t ask enough questions do engage the reader and show that I need your advice, feedback and comments – what do you think?

4) You haven’t shown them how. This one might be true. After all, I started blogging on a course which most of the other participants also had to blog on, and many only put up a few posts and haven’t written anything since. So perhaps my other readers have enough knowledge and understanding of the web to find my site, but the comments button (well, it’s hardly a button) is too small to be obvious. So I’ll need to think about making the commenting easier. Perhaps I could start by posting a link to Tessa’s excellent and clear instructions on how to post a comment? This might also be an appropriate place to point out that I do moderate comments, so please don’t be put off if your comment does not appear immediately. Also, I think – I must check this out! – that you have to enter an email address. Don’t worry, this won’t appear on the blog, although I may send you an email depending on the nature of the enquiry!

5) You haven’t created the right atmosphere. I’d like to apologise if anyone has felt put off commenting because you thought you shouldn’t! I would love to hear from anyone who drops by – whether or not you are involved in education, in ICT, enjoy reading books, have an interest in Malawi, like reflecting on life … Whoever you are, please let me know that you dropped in, perhaps tell me how you found the blog or the post, and add any questions you might have, comments or reflections on what I have written, share examples of how you might have used the applications I talk about, agree or disagree with my views … You are welcome! (Oh dear, I hope I haven’t gone over the top now and sounded all needy!)

6) You just don’t seem that into it. Apparently the blogger needs to sound passionate about their subject. That’s a tough one … do I get that passion and enthusiasm for ICT in eduction, for RE and for life in general across in my posts? I hope so, but I need you, my faithful readers, to let me know if I am succeeding or not!

Michele’s readers have left many comments on her post in relation to these suggestions. I think I may go and leave one of my own now … and hope that some of you might do the same here! I look forward to being overwhelmed with comments!

(Finally … I have also signed up to CoComment which should track my own comments in order to see the conversations I am involved in. You could probably find me there or follow me on Twitter, if you are interested. I quite like Twitter! More on that later, though!)

NOTE: I’ve just realised that I started this post by saying “Just a short one” … I think it may be my longest so far!! Really must go to bed now …

Intellectual Bohemian – another Catholic RE teacher based in London.

Catholic Teachers Online – I’ve just added myself to this. Hope other Catholic RE teachers add themselves here. In fact, the site is for all Catholic teachers.

Simon O’Carroll – The first teacher I found on Twitter.

I feel I ought to add a short reflection on this. Some people might wonder why Catholic teachers, whether RE or not, might want to particularly identify themselves as such. I mean, I don’t think I often go on about being a Catholic RE teacher on my blog, although I am sure it comes up from time to time, and is probably obvious on my school blogs. I have taught in both a state school and a Catholic school. The thing is, as an RE teacher, the content is – for me, anyway! – quite different in a Catholic school from a non-Catholic school; I also find that my delivery is a bit different too. So it would be interesting to be able to share ideas with other teachers in a similar context!

Anyway, it’s an interesting question. I enjoy blogging, but some of the topics I blog about aren’t exactly what I would choose to write about if I were writing fiction, for example. Last November I took part in NaNoWriMo, and the resulting writing was quite different from my posts here. A lot of stream-of-consciousness, for example, which, although I do a little of it from time to time here, might not always get across the main point or link that I want to share.

Also, Samson’s book is completely different from his blogging style. I’m sure there are many other people who would be able to give such examples. After all, the purposes of a book, essay, short story or blog can be very different.

I suppose for me, the big question in relation to Terry’s article is, what is a writer? What makes a writer different from a blogger? Is a writer a novelist, an author, a journalist, a blogger? Are they interchangeable? Am I blogger on here, but a writer when I’m taking part in NaNoWriMo? If my blog were more literary, would I be a writer who blogs, or still a blogger who writes?

Well, it’s getting late now and I wouldn’t want to reflect too much this late at night! But I would look forward to any responses … (That could be another difference … a blogger should be able to get quicker feedback, presumably? If we have any readers? Whereas a writer might have to wait for longer and look for letters in the feedback pages of newspapers or hold their breath for reviews?)

An ice cream analogy to explain social media. With thanks to Ant Jessop, who left a comment at Ben Annett’s blog … it’s those digital breadcrumbs again!

Which it wasn’t. Only a blank space, with no link, to mark the place where my post would have been! All because I forgot to add a title! How foolish. I’ll try not to do it again! At least it gives me an excuse to point readers in the direction of the International Edubloggers Directory – check out some of the other bloggers, and, while you are there, why not sign up yourself?