Professional+Blogs

= = = General Resources =

[|21st Century Learning]
 * Author:** Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach
 * Educational Role:** Educational technology consultant, professional development


 * Purpose:** She says, "this blog will be used to explore, and create ideas around 21st century collaborative learning and virtual learning communities and how these communities can be used to help teachers and families become lifelong learners."


 * Types of resources found here:** Sheryl is a gifted writer, and she has a clear vision of what schools can become if we embrace the tools and mindset of the 21st century. She facilitates and attends a lot of PD, and she shares what she learns from these experiences. Her enthusiasm for learning is contagious, and reading her blog inspires me to try to be a better teacher.


 * Posted by:** Jeanne
 * Rating:** 4.4

[|The Cool Cat Teacher Blog]
 * Author:** Vicki Davis
 * Educational Role:** Technology teacher


 * Purpose:** She shares her experiences with new tools and her thoughts on educational technology.


 * Types of resources found here:** This is another reflective blog about educational technology. There is so much information available here, that I cannot absorb it all. Vicki is fully immersed in Web 2.0,and this blog tells her story. She posts interesting links, presentations she has given, passionate articles about technology, excellent conversations starters, thoughts on other peoples' writing, etc. Just exploring all of her sidebar links would take days and would introduce someone to many new Web 2.0 tools.


 * Posted by:** Jeanne
 * Rating:** 4.6


 * __[|crazy concepts of a pre-service teacher]__ **
 * Author: ** Northern Michigan University Student
 * Educational Role: ** [|Educational ethics], [|teacher intrigue] , [|technology].
 * Purpose: ** She reflects on some of the newer technology that some educators are starting to use, such as [|blogging], [|twitter] and wikis.
 * Types of resources found here: ** A student teacher’s point of view on the newer technology. She focuses most of her blog on her professors, who seem to be proponents of technology, but do not embrace it in defacto. The student appears to be exploring or in the process of exploring other related topics, such as educational change, people interactions and twenty-first century college life. For teachers who have been in the field of education for more than five years, this student gives one the opportunity to view the extent new teachers are learning about and focusing on using technology for their future practices. This insight gives veteran teachers another window into how pervasive technology is becoming in all facets of life- especially education.
 * Posted by: ** Theo
 * Rating**: 3.0

[|Digital Education]
 * Author:** Katie Ash and Kathleen Kennedy Manzo
 * Educational Role**: Katie Ash is a writer and Web producer for Digital Directions and a co-author of Education Week’s "Motivation Matters" blog. Kathleen Kennedy Manzo has been covering curriculum and standards for //Education Week// since 1996, including federal, state, and local policies, instructional materials, and teaching practices.


 * Purpose:** To share technology trends and topics in K-12 education.
 * Types of resources found here:** The authors post daily and share their thoughts on recent technology, government policies related to technology, and innovative ways that some school districts are integrating and advancing technology skills. The authors share some classroom implementation ideas.The blog would be useful reading for administrators and those responsible for technology integration in a district.


 * Posted by:** Tracy
 * Rating:** 3.5

[|Digital Learning Environment Blogs]
 * Author:** Group blog (10 authors)
 * Educational Role:** The authors are all in the field of educational technology and range from IT directors, college professors, educational technology consultants, and a non-profit organization president.


 * Purpose:** To share tools and technologies to enhance classroom learning


 * Types of resources found here:** The posts are all related to education and technology and focus on 21st skills in the classroom. The variety of authors and backgrounds provides a variety of topics. The authors seem to post every other week on a rotating schedule. The The blogs are archived by author and not date or topic although a search can be completed on the Digital Learning homepage. The posts are well-written and there is not an overwhelming amount of information to keep up with. One can subscribe to the entire blog or the RSS feed of chosen authors.


 * Posted by:** Tracy
 * Rating:** 3.8

[|Ed Tech Top Blog Picks]
 * Author:** Kathy Schrock
 * Educational Role:** All teachers interested in technology blogs.


 * Purpose:** Kathy says, "Because educational technology blogs are spread out all over the Web, I have attempted to create a listing of some of the most popular, controversial, or informative blogs."


 * Types of resources found here:** This is a resource blog that the author has created to compile numerous blogs together. She evaluates blogs that she has found and others have submitted and lists them based on validity and relevance to education, technology or a controversial topic.


 * Posted by:** Heather
 * Rating**: 3.8

[|Educational Technology]
 * Author:** Ray Schroeder
 * Educational Role:** Educational technology professor emeritus


 * Purpose:** He says, "The intent is **not** to replace the reading of  news  sources, but rather to **encourage** blog  readers to visit the cited sources and engage in scholarly reflection and local discourse on the topics. "


 * Types of resources found here:** Ray posts MANY different technologies on his site. He typically updates the blog seven or eight times a day, which can make it difficult to keep up and discuss these technologies, but the information is well laid out and understandable for the average person.


 * Posted by:** Stephen
 * Rating:** 3.5

[|Free Technology for Teachers]
 * Author:** Mr. Byrne
 * Educational Role:** unknown


 * Purpose:** To review free technology resources and share ideas for technology integration in education


 * Types of resources found here:** What can be better than free? The author reviews free technology resources and shares possible applications for educations. The reviews are descriptive and brief; the brevity is essential because new posts are added daily. The blog is well-organized and easy to search for specific subject related resources.


 * Posted by:** Tracy
 * Rating**: 4.7

[|iLearn Technology]
 * Author:** Kelly Tenkely
 * Educational Role:** K-5 Technology Teacher


 * Purpose:** iLearn technology is an edublog dedicated to giving teachers practical tips for integrating technology into the classroom. All of the resources are free to use and simple to implement.


 * Types of resources found here:** Kelly posts about once each day, citing new methods for classroom integration. Most of the applications presented are free, and are game related for drill and skill reinforcement.


 * Posted by:** Stephen
 * Rating:** 4.8

__[|Lehmann’s Philly: the same, but different]__ **
 * Author: ****[|Chris Lehmann], ** Principal of the ** [|Science Leadership Academy] **
 * Educational Role: ** Ideas on school philosophies and practices, technology and education, twenty-first century learning
 * Purpose: ** The principal reviews how he believes learning must be in schools in order for them to be effective in the twenty-first century.


 * Types of resources found here:** From a principal who works in a science-academy, one discovers ways for schools to be meta-cognitive, technology-infused and how to choose the proper tool for the proper learning experience. He gives suggestions for the most appropriate and user friendly internet sites for research, collaboration, creation, presentation and networking. Mr. Lehmann also divulges five structures he believes should be considered when planning learning experiences: desired results, learning objectives, understandings, essential questions and skills and content. He concludes his blog post with putting tests and project based learning into perspective. Even if one does not agree with everything Principal Lehmann writes in his post, it still can serve as an excellent quick reference guide for technology novices in the education field.
 * Posted by: ** Theo
 * Rating:** 3.8

[|SM@RT Education 1-to-1]
 * Author:** Michael Summers
 * Educational Role:** General counsel and education technology advocate for Smart Technology Services


 * Purpose:** He says, "my mission, and the mission of our company, is to equip schools and school districts, wherever located, with the tools and technology they need in order to prepare this and future generations of children to contribute, compete and succeed in the global economy of the 21st century."


 * Types of resources found here:** Michael posts every day, usually several times. The information is varied - sometimes he posts personal reflections of classroom visits or his life. Other times, there are more technology-related posts, including use of new technologies and new uses for pre-existing ones.


 * Posted by:** Stephen
 * Rating**: 4.5

[] **Author:** Eric Langhorst ** Purpose: ** "...this blog has been created to share my experiences representing the amazing educators throughout Missouri as the 2007/2008 Missouri Teacher of the Year. "
 * Educational Role: ** Ideas for integrating technology in the classroom.
 * Types of resources found here:** This blog is absolutely full of podcasts and videos. Most are directly tied to using technology in the classroom.
 * Posted by:** Lisa
 * Rating**: 3.1

[] **Author:** Will Richardson ** Purpose: **
 * Educational Role: ** Will Richardson wrote our textbook, //Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.// The website is an excellent resource for educators who are looking to integrate Web 2.0 into classroom use.
 * Types of resources found here:** Links to several professional development conferences regarding using technology to enhance learning, check out Richardsons "pagecast" on his blog. Of all the blogs I've read, this one seems to be the definitive resource for educators - this is how a blog should work. I think the more pressing question is what resources are //not// found here.

**Rating:** 5.0
 * Posted by:** Lisa

[] **Author:** Tricia Buck **Purpose: "**This blog is intended to be my reflection and record of life on my path as learner, teacher, traveler, wife, mother, and friend."
 * Educational Role: ** In her March 8, 2009 post, Buck outlines how she went to a paperless classroom second semester this year.
 * Types of resources found here:** Some of the nitty-gritty how-to's of integrating Web 2.0. Refreshingly simple to follow.


 * Posted by:** Lisa
 * Rating:** 4.0