Happy Cake Day, Milestomes.com

December 14, 2011 Milestomes.com was born with the blogpost "How Grades Change Conversations About Assessment & Achievement"

I wanted to start blogging partly in fulfillment of my employer's requirement to submit an annual statement of professional growth, but mostly because I started Tweeting and reading other blogs. I wanted to be part of the conversation and the professional dialogue. I had ideas and things to share, questions, opinions, and epiphanies.

Finding time to write would require some effort at first - Made a conscious effort to set aside some time each week In the early days. At this point, it is part of my daily experience. I spend a little time thinking, writing, outlining. When a post nears completion, I'll devote a bit more time to polish and publish. It is much more enjoyable than I initially thought it might be. It is fun to see the hit counter roll over another visitor, a treat when someone feels the post is Tweet-worthy, and a real joy to get an actual comment.

Over the year I feel like I've found a focus and am developing my voice. Daily experiences have begun to feel like potential blog posts - living in that frame of mind I think, "How would I tag this experience?" "What is the 'take-away' from what just happened?" "How would the lead sentence for this event sound?"

As a means of professional engagement, blogging has been very fulfilling. I appreciate the  comments, the twitter dialogue, and the space to articulate my thoughts, and I look forward to another year ahead that epitomizes the phrase, "sharing is caring." Many thanks to you, colleagues, for sharing in your own Tweets,  blogs, and comments.