Blogs to Explore

Below are the 4 blogs I explored over the weekend! I plan on following 2cents worth this semester.

1)  

http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/

About 2cents worth: David Warlick has designed a blog about education technology which has become known as one of the best educational blogs to follow. I was drawn to his blog because it was easy to navigate and I appreciate his interest in literacy. I also appreciate his straightforward approach on addressing issues which impact us in the 21st century. I was surprised about how much of his "voice" came through in each article, this blog was not boring and I look forward to following it throughout the course of the semester. One post I found interesting and would recommend for teachers and college students to read is his one entitled: Six reasons why textbooks should stop being textbooks (posted on 5/19/11). Textbooks may become obselete in the future years and I need to be prepared to use other available technology, such as iPads and Nooks. These types of posts will give me "food for thought" and be helpful as I become and elementary school teacher.


2) http://edte.ch/blog/

About edte.ch: Tom Barrett has created an educational technology blog filled with videos, surveys, interviews, and up-to-date articles on pressing issues which impact teachers. I liked the different approaches he took with his posts. I was surprised that a simple message on a blog can be displayed in so many different formats (I am a newbie to blogs afterall).  Some were infographics with the information summed up in a bright, bold image while others were video recordings or traditional articles. I really liked his 5/25/11 post on The State of Wikipedia. It gives educators a glimpse of the facts about the site and it helped me gain a better understanding of what the site is all about. I thought there was a lot of "garbage" on Wikipedia and I didn't know where their resources were coming from. On the contrary, 69% of the users have a college education and the subject that is most prevalent on the site is culture and the arts. I also didn't know that it was completely run by volunteers. As a future teacher, I will look at Wikipedia in a new light now and explore it more often.


3) http://adifference.blogspot.com/

About A Difference: Darren Kuropatwa is a math teacher who uses this blog to record his personal experiences with technology and how he can apply his knowledge to teaching. It seems like he hasn't been very "busy" on the site this year, but he did post on 5/21/11. However, there are many posts in the archives to explore and a "top posts" link which makes them easy to navigate through. His post on 7/15/10 entitled That's Really Hard Work encourages teachers to make it their top priority to develop a community in the classroom. The post goes on to show how to shift students' thought from being a student to being a collaborator. He really go me thinking when he said, "I've got to think more about how to weave together such a set of diverse sensitivities into my teaching. How do you build a culture of caring in your class?" As a future teacher, this is something I need to consider.
4) http://www.techfridge.com/

About Technology Fridge: This blog is organized essentially like the front of my refridgerator, I would call it "organized chaos". Each item on my fridge is put there for a reason, but if a newcomer looked at it initially it may not appear that way. This blog is packed full of educational technology ideas to explore at your own leisure. One can simply click on one of the many links that are in each of the weekly bookmarks to learn something new. I was surprised about the layout of the blog, it was almost intimidating at first! But there is such a variety of resources available on this blog, including the 2011 Summer Rejuvenation Guide (5/29/11 bookmark). I think all teachers are looking for ways to get the most out of their summer, this pdf offers 10 tips to help. I'm always looking to try something new.