Lat day of the 2019 NCWIT Summmit. Got up crazy early, got back from my run and saw this when I checked Twitter:

A1: CSTA, Twitter chats like this one, @guzdial and @alfredtwo's blogs among others. In all cases because those places start from assuming I'm a CS teacher, rather than starting from assuming I'm a teacher who is better at teaching something else. #csk8 https://t.co/6DO77fzq0j

— Sarah Judd (@SarahEJudd) May 16, 2019

I don't usually participate in Twitter chats. The format doesn't really work for me. I do frequently lurk though and while I didn't see this tweet until the morning after, another one by my Todd Lash caught my eye and I'll probably comment on that at some point in the near future.

On Sarah's tweet I'll say that CS teachers should certainly frequent Alfred and Mark's blogs. I subscribe to and enjoy both. I'll add something that I've said before and that is if you're a CS teacher you should also blog.

I get it - it takes time, it's hard to put yourself out there and if you're a relatively young teacher you might feel like you don't have much to say but I say so what.

I've been blogging on and off for nine years now. I have no reason to believe I have anything more than a small readership but I do periodically get surprised at a conference with a "hey, I love your blog." Comments are few and far between and from "the usual suspects" but as I sad above, so what.

Pick a lesson you just did and describe it. That's all it takes. Try something different a week later? Write it up. Rinse and repeat.

Why have I found writing a blog to be good self-PD?

• Writing the experience or the lesson makes me think through it again. What worked, what didn't.
• When I do a similar lesson in the future, I can look back on what I did. It helps in iterating towards becoming a better teacher.
• I get to see how I've evolved as a teacher over time. You don't get this immediately but blog for a few years and then reread some early posts.
• You could get some comments. I don't get a lot but the ones people have left have proven useful to me. Some of the ones from people who disagree have been the most useful.

On top of this, some other new teacher might discover something you wrote up and find inspiration from it.

So, jump in and try it. Blogging for self-PD.