Functions of a blog: #3) Strengthening a Community of Practice

Image credit: Touch, a Creative Commons licensed photo by chrisevans on Flickr.

I searched and searched for an image to  illustrate the concept of  community of practice. I could not have found a more appropriate representation than this sculpture of people interacting -- communicating, connecting and caring.

Functions of a blog: #2) Encouraging reflection & critical thinking

Image credit: The Journal , a Creative Commons licensed photo posted by Hobo pd on Flickr.

Writing a blog post encourages reflection much like recording thoughts in a journal. Some questions I ask myself  are: Is the resource credible -- can I trust it? Is the resource important -- does it make a difference? Can I apply the resource to my practice -- is it useful?

 Then, if all the answers are "yes", I need to determine what to do with this resource. Is it potentially valuable to my colleagues -- should I blog about it or save it on Connotea? Or  should I just bookmark it privately?

My commitment to make blogging a regular habit forces me to answer these questions in the moment rather than putting off the decision-making until later (ie., never). 

Functions of a blog: #1) Building and maintaining a personal library

Photo credit: Another Day at the Library by svenwerk.

A blog can help you collect, organize, archive and retrieve web resources.