Happy Birthday to The Innovative Educator! You are 5 today, March 19th.

It was exactly five years ago today that The Innovative Educator took its first step in an effort to publicly become a part of the conversation on learning innovatively. As I shared in my post Why I started a blog and why maybe you should too, this blog was born in great part due to the prodding of blogevangelist Will Richardson who I have since named my Blogfather. It was Will who I would run into at events and conferences who would ask, “Have you started sharing your ideas on a blog yet?” and who would write, “if you want your ideas to resonate with me and to be taken seriously, don’t just talk. Engage. Publish. Converse.” I took Will’s advice and like any proud parent, I can say I’ve learned so much from the experience of giving birth to this new creation that has developed a purposeful and professional digital footprint consisting of more than 1400  entries.

Now, when I'm Googled, it is me and my blog that comes up on the front page. And, there are all sorts of other important footprints that The Innovative Educator has made. Its print is left on the front page of Google searches like: Cell phones, Homeschooling, Facebook, Passion-Driven Learning, Twitter in Education, College myth, Personal Learning Networks, Social media, ADD, Digital footprints, BYOD, and more.

Here are some of my favorite posts of the year:

• Think twice before limiting screentime
• 8 ways to use social media to connect with parents
• 7 ways to support your child in being digitally responsible
• Don’t hide yourself online when applying for college or career
• Dear overbearing mom: No thanks!
• Start the new year with a new way to look at students
• I hate school, but I love learning.

I’ve watched my baby blog grow from no readers to an average of 400 unique visitors a day it’s first year to an average of more than 6000 pageloads  per day today.

As a result of The Innovative Educator I have had the opportunity to contribute to other media outlets.  This year I have also added SmartBrief’s SmartBlogs to that list.  Additionally, in addition to my other books and guides, I wrote a book chapter for Classroom 2.0 and another for ISTE. Finally, I am now part of the BAM Radio Network where I serve as a host to discuss education topics. The success of The Innovative Educator has provided me with the opportunity to present to audiences around the world (This year Canada, Spain, Mexico, and Prague!) to discuss how to connect school life to real life, think outside the ban, and help inspire educators to support young people in learning innovatively.  

You also now have Authority! Growing from being just one of millions of blogs to gaining a credible 463 authority rating on Technorati. But, even before anybody was reading The Innovative Educator, you enriched my life with opportunities to practice my writing skills and articulate and develop my thoughts.

The Innovative Educator has helped me understand the power of influence and has given me an outlet to share with my readers more about what I love to do most - helping young people learn in  innovative and meaningful ways! 

So, happy fifth birthday… and many more!