In Challenge 1 you will create a new page or edit the sample page that has been placed on your blog by default that expresses professional and/or personal information about you to your readers. (Note: If you already have a blog, consider updating your “About Me” page based on what is shared here.) The “About Me” page serves an important function and your visitors will expect to find read this page on your blog to:
- find out more about you as the author of the your blog (e.g., Who are you? A teacher in the classroom, an administrator, a coach, a librarian, a parent, a book author? What are your passions? What are your professional or personal goals?)
- know what general topics or areas of interest will write about (e.g., educational issues, primary or high school learning, university level, your PhD dissertation journey, STEAM, administrative leadership, world languages)
- establish your credibility (e.g., Why should your readers believe that you have enough experience to provide know-how, wisdom, and thought-provoking points from your perspective? What is your background knowledge?)
- put you and your blog posts in some kind of context (e.g., What are your personal and/or professional connections to the topics or areas of interest you will write about? Why are you passionate about this particular topic or area of interest?)
- reference you using your name, title, and/or social media profile/usernames
- contact you directly or through commenting conversation
First, it is important to understand the difference between the functions of a page versus a post on a blog. WordPress describes the difference between the two on their support site:
Posts are entries listed in reverse chronological order on the blog home page or on the posts page if you have set one in Settings > Reading. Posts can be found in the Archives, Categories, Recent Posts, and other widgets. Posts are also displayed in the RSS feed of the blog.
Pages are static and are not listed by date. Pages do not use tags or categories. An About page is the classic example.
As you can see, it makes sense to say you will create an “About Me” page, not an “About Me” post. Your “About Me” page will not changed too frequently, it will be a static page that is readily accessible from anywhere on your site.
Note: If you are sharing one blog (e.g., school blog) with other colleagues where there will be multiple contributors on the blog, you can create various “About Me” pages, one for each contributor.
Here are five tips to help you get started with your “About Me” page.
- What is your site about? Who is it for?
Be clear from the start. Let your reader know right away what they can expect when reading your blog posts. Tell them who is your intended audience. Should Hebrew and Jewish Studies teachers pay special attention, elementary teachers in 1:1 classrooms interested in instructional strategies, administrators wanting leadership tips for building trust, or are you sharing classroom experiences that would make a high school physics teacher’s heart beat faster? - Talk directly to your readers.
Although this page is about you, your audience is someone who wants to learn more about you and how reading your blog will help him or her grow professionally or personally. Make sure you tell your readers what you are passionate about learning and sharing. - Tell the story of your professional journey.
Explain how you got to where you are today, and where you you want to go as you continue your professional journey. Your backstory will make you approachable as an author because it allows your readers to relate to you in a personal. Enable your readers to understand how you know what you know, and how and why reading your blog will connect to their own journeys. - Use your personal writing voice.
Writing blog posts, and your “About Me” page, is not intended to be viewed as academic papers. This page is … well… simply about YOU and what makes you tick. Don’t be too formal. Write the way you would speak to someone who is sitting next to you. If you are funny, write it in a funny style. If you are multilingual, write it in the languages you most often speak, and so on. - Be sure to include media.
Consider including an image, short video, or quote card on your “About Me” page to add a dimension of learning about you that enhances your textual information.
Here are a few examples of “About Me” pages:
- Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano
- Janet Hale
- Barbara Kilburn
You might be wondering: Where do I create a new page or edit the default sample page on my blog for my “About Me” page? Follow this these step-by-step instructions for a WordPress platform. If you have a blog on another platform, such as Blogger, you should be able to easily adapt these instructions to locate the area and process to follow to create a new page.
To complete this challenge, follow these directions:
1. Start out by logging into your WordPress account and going to the Dashboard. On the left sidebar locate Pages.
2. Once you have clicked on Pages, you will be able to choose from two options:
- Pages > Add New
- Sample Page > Edit (a sample page comes with a new WordPress blog by default)
3a. If you choose to edit the Sample Page:
- Change the title from Sample Page to About Me.
- Change the Permalink extension from sample-page to about.
- Add your “About Me” content to the re-named page.
- Click the Update button to save your content.
3b. If you choose to add a new page:
- Enter the title: About Me.
- Add your “About Me” content to the created page.
- Click the Update button to publish the new page.
4. View your “About Me” page as a reader would when visiting your blog. If you want or need to make any revisions, simply return to your About Me page via your Dashboard and make the desired changes. Click on the Update button and view your page again to make certain it is now how you want it to be seen by your blog readers.
After you have completed your challenge to create an “About Me” Page for your blog, please include your page’s URL link* in the Leave a Reply comment section below to share with us and your documenting community. Check back regularly to see what others have posted!
We look forward to learning all about YOU!
*Note: the link can be found in your blog’s About Me page when in Edit mode or in the URL window when in View mode.
Added Amplification: Tweet or share on Instagram the link to your “About Me” page and explain that you are participating in our Documenting & Blogging Challenge. Be sure to include the hashtags #documenting4learning and #DLBloggingChallenge1.