Langwitch Blog is a year old!

Well, it's amazing, I've been blogging for a year! Unbelievable. Obviously, it's not this blog that a year old...my Langwitch Blog for my classes at work is a year old this week. I thought I'd spend some time reflected on my year of blogging.
Firstly and most importantly I've really enjoyed it! Learning new skills, "meeting" new people, have more contact with some of my pupils. I really have found a new enthusiasm for my teaching. A year ago I was a part time teacher with (let's face it) a rubbish timetable of only low ability, low motivated GCSE classes, wondering why I got up and left my children for 2 days a week only to return home on an evening with no confidence in my teaching ability and no enthusiasm for my work at all. I even toyed with the idea of starting my own business, teaching French nursery children.
Now, I work full time (albeit on a temporary basis at the moment), still have the same rubbish timetable (former Head of Area didn't like me much!) BUT I'm trying (from time to time) to improve the motivation of the pupils I teach, through the use of ICT. I have some great resources produced by pupils that I couldn't have started to think about that kind of stuff a year ago.
In addition, I have worked with Sylvie to set up a very success eTwinning project that I couldn't have done without blogging (since the project is a blog) and that has lead me to meet some very lovely pupils, who love languages and are extremely enthusiastic about everything we do and love to learn new ICT skills too.
On top of that I've lead podcasting workshops at Ian Ramsey and at Red House School where my husband works...again, I couldn't have done that without blogging.
I now have a Second Life in a virtual world as Langwitch Shostakovich (although am getting a bit bored due to lack of friends!)
Finally, I'm leading a workshop on our LEA CPD Day on eTwinning and all that entails.
All of this through starting a blog last year and not have the foggiest idea about what I was going to do with it or how to do anything with it.
How did I learn to do it all? Well, various things. Fisrtsly and mainly through following the advice that Joe Dale gives in his wonderful blog Integrating ICT into the MFL Classroom. Aside from that, lots of trial and error and Google searches. Added to that I've visited lots of other blogs and seeing nice things on those blogs and adding them to mine.
Fantastic. I am much more enthusiastic about my work now and enjoy teaching my pupils (and colleagues) not oly new language skills but also new ICT skills at the same time.
Long live Web 2.0 and 3.0!