Here I Am!

Well, here I am! This is my first blog post for EDES 501.

My name is Ashley Fitt and I am in the middle of completing an MLIS degree at the University of Alberta.

I chose to set up my blog in Blogger because I have used it before in another course that I took while I was completing my Bachelor of Education degree. I found this tool to be quite easy to use and I thought that since I would be looking at a variety of new web tools, it might be a good idea for me to use something I am quite comfortable with for the duration of this course. It will allow me to instead take the time to concentrate on the selected web technologies rather than fight with a blogging tool I am not familiar with. (I also like the fact that I do not have to pay for the space or the domain name for the blog. As a student, it is not exactly feasible to pay for these things.)

I also found a blog called Problogger that has a lot of information about blogs for those who are just starting out in the blogging environment. There are tips, pros, and cons listed regarding various blogging tools, as well as examples of hosted blog sites for those who have absolutely no idea where to start. At the bottom of the blog post, there are numerous other resources provided where "newbies" can go to find out more about blogs.

I think that with a plethora of information on blogging available online, there is no reason for someone to NOT be able to start a blog. I think that the major reasons for people not having a blog is because they either don't want to or they don't have access to the Internet.

I have never had my own personal blog because I don't think I have ever considered my life exciting enough. I don't think I even know of enough people who would read the posts to be honest. I have friends who have been teaching over in Japan and it makes sense to me that they have blogs. They have immersed themselves in a new world and it's great that they want to share that with their family and friends.

Who knows? Maybe after this course I'll think that I have more to blog about...