Well, here I am. I have decided to start a personal blog, which will include among many things, a reflection on my own teaching practices, collaboration with other educators, and my involvement with ds106.
My top two motives for starting this blog:
1. I am taking the first ‘big’ step to building my Personal Cyberinfrastructure. Last month Ben Rimes encouraged me to sign up for ds106. This is my first post related to the class, but I plan on getting more involved. I recently watched Gardner Campbell’s speech on Personal Cyberinfrastructure, along with reading a short essay he wrote on the topic. Gardner says that a Personal Cyberinfrastructure would allow for:
“Fascinating and important innovations would emerge as students are able to shape their own cognition, learning, expression, and reflection in a digital age, in a digital medium. Students would frame, curate, share, and direct their own “engagement streams” throughout the learning environment.”
I have a Twitter and Vimeo account, but felt that this blog was necessary to really develop my Personal Cyberinfrastructure.
2. I hope this blog allows for my own professional development through reflection and collaboration with others. Referring to his own blog, Dan Meyer recently said that ” I think I developed two years as a teacher for every one year I was in the classroom on account of all this criticism sanding off my rough edges and pivoting me away from some dead ends.” Obviously, maintaining a blog requires a lot of time and effort. However, if I can get a return on my investments anywhere near that amount, this would be a very worthwhile venture.
This blog will include reflections on my own teaching practices. I hope that others will join in on these reflections, in offering their own thoughts and practices. I have always enjoyed collaborating with others, and this blog will offer a great opportunity to do so. This will be a great chance to test ideas and develop practices. I hope that I, along with others, will grow with this tool.
sdardis 
Even the smallest bit of reflection or criticism can have a disproportionally large effect on sanding off the rough edges. I’m constantly amazed at how often just a quick inquisitive comment I leave on someone’s blog can lead to a powerful discussion of what really matters in life, let alone education.
That’s not to say you have to wax philosophic all day long, but encouraging others around you to be critical thinkers, and reflect on their own experiences is easier to do if you’re reflecting on your own work on a regular basis.
The time it takes to “maintain” social media accounts, blogs, and other web 2.0 accounts and efforts is surprisingly little when compared to the benefits it pays back by building a strong cyberinfrasturcture. You’ve got a good start here, and I would encourage you to make time each day dedicated to shifting through the ds106 stream, and commenting on things you like, letting people know their personal cyberinfrastructure is having an effect. You never know when something serendipitous might happen.