I thought long and hard about what to call my new professional blog. ??I brainstormed a huge list of possible titles, everything from ???Digital Dispatch??? to ???Techknowledgy??? to ???The Change Up???--a reference to my days as a baseball pitcher. ??I wanted something that would be catchy, but that would also represent the main ideas I would be writing about. ??Initially, I decided on ???Learning Matters???. ??However, when I did a Google search for the term, I discovered that it was used by both bloggers and coporations alike. ??I also wanted something that I could easily create a Twitter account for and, potentially, a domain name as well. ?????Learning Matters??? had to be scratched, having already been used in both respects. ??So I went back to the drawing board and continued brainstorming. ??
Another factor that went into play was the way that RSS readers catalog/organize feeds. ??When I read blog posts using Google Reader on my blackberry, the feeds are organized alphabetically. Often, I only read the ones that are at the top of the list. So, I wanted my title to contain a first letter that was somewhere near the top of the alphabet. ??
Another concern ??was how the title would represent my ideas. ??I am starting a new job this fall as a technology specialist, but I didn???t want my blog to be just about technology. ??So I scratched any titles that contained references to technology (I will definitely have a tech blog that the teachers I work with can subscribe to for ???how to??? explanations. ??In fact, I???ve set one up and have called it ???Mr. T???s Tech Tips???-http://www.mrttips.posterous.com.)
I finally decided on ???Change Course??? for a couple of reasons. ??For one, it starts with ???C??? and will get my blog to the top of alphabetized lists. ??Second, it communicates the idea of change. ????I will be writing about how education can happen differently and I want to gain a readership of those around the world who also want to change the system. Then there???s that word ???course???, which has a double meaning. ??It can be a synonym for ???class???, as in a place where learning happens, but it can also stand for a direction or a path to follow. ??And when you put both words together you get the idea of a ship???s captain charting a course (notice I also use a compass rose logo as well) and realizing that it may be necessary to ???Change Course.??? ??I do believe that we can???t just keep doing things in the classroom the way we???ve been doing it. ??So, I hope that my blog can be a place where we ponder how teaching and learning can ???change course??? for the 21st century.