It’s the last day of the year, so I’m feeling reflective.  I also love statistics, so I’ve had a look at the 2008 stats for my blog.  Among many other things, Google Analytics tells me that my blog has been visited nearly 30,000 times this year, and that those visits have come from 142 countries.  Amazing!  I think that qualifies as a significant “global audience”.

Sharing resources that are of value to learners has been the purpose of this blog from the outset.  It has never been my purpose to try and build as wide a following as possible.  Still, it is both gratifying and motivating to know that people actually take a look at what I share.  It’s even more gratifying and motivating to receive feedback that lets me know that what I’ve shared has been appreciated and put to use.

I have complete ownership of my blog.  It’s all mine, and I write my blog posts because I want to, not because someone else tells me I have to write them.  I’m motivated because I’m doing something that matters to me; but I also value anything that boosts my motivation, especially when I’m feeling tired or pressed for time.  My global audience and the positive feedback I receive make a huge difference then.

I suspect that I’m no different than the majority of learners in our classrooms.  Whenever  learners are given  opportunities to work on learning activities that they choose and genuinely want to do, the odds are that they’ll be motivated and that they’ll take ownership of the learning.  When the learners in our classrooms are  also encouraged to share what they learn with a global audience via the internet, and when those learners can receive meaningful feedback from that global audience, motivation can only be enhanced.

A motivated learner, sharing his or her work with a global audience, stands in stark contrast to the traditional student whose learning is owned by the teacher who chooses the learning activity,  where the teacher dictates precisely how the assigned work is to be completed, and where the work is undertaken for an audience of only one.

[Photo Credits: MarkyBon; Vern Hart; funkandJazz]