2.+Educational+Blogs

Submit your examples of EDUCATIONAL blogs (not random blogs) here. Check page 216 in your text if you have questions related to educational blogs. Please be sure that your submission contains your name, website title and address (hyperlinked), and at least a 100 word review of EDUCATIONAL blogs (see **submission example** with questions).

· Chris Mahar- Whiteboard blog · www.whiteboardblog.co.uk · This educational blog I think would be very useful in schools for any grade level. The bad thing about this website is that I think it can be very confusing to use. There are a lot of different things going on at the same time and there is a lot of different links and suggested link to use. It would be a good tool to use because teachers have control of who has access to the board and who can make changes to it. It’s a good way to connect with the students outside the classroom. There is also a place where you can add photos and documents also.

Alex Roberts Teaching with Blogs http://grandtextauto.org/2004/08/06/teaching-with-blogs/?year=2004&monthnum=08&day=06&name=teaching-with-blogs&page This is also a good informational website it tells you information about how teaching through blogs works, and information about how to do this. I think this would benefit teaching because technology is becoming more and more of a priority in teaching, so this website would show you how to introduce this into your classroom. I think I would use this in my classroom as well, like I said blogging is becoming a normal part of every class, especially in college. For example this class was not supposed to be an online class however we have to do blogs for this class, and it is slowly becoming more common to do so in more and more classes, so this website would help people who don’t know how to blog.

Eric Greiner – Blogs in Education http://courses.uhcl.edu/blog/ This website that I found is a great resource for teachers and students. It has lots of different options to choose from and can spark good talks for some classes. The website has resources on how teachers can utilize blogs and how to start them. It also gives options for students on what writing a blog can be about. It has links to articles about blogging and then a section of example blogs about education. It also has many different tools to start up your own blog which teachers could find very useful in class. This website has all the tools to start a blog and this resource could spark discussions and keep the teachers and students connected.

Jagdeep Kang- Dynamite lesson plan www.dynamitelessonplan.com This website is entirely an educational blog for teachers so that that they can see what methods other teachers are using in their classrooms. This website ranges from what teachers post, some teachers talk about what methods they use in order for students to interact in class, whilst other teachers explain how they reward students for good performance in class.

Marissa Green –Top 100 Educational Blog http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs Top 100 educational blogs is a great blog for current and aspiring teachers. It has several categories of blogs that have current teachers input on certain subject and from their personal experiences and beliefs. I read and interesting blog that was in the category called teaching generation. The title of this blog was called “Teachers are Lucky”. This male teacher started by claiming that he wasn’t one of those teachers that complain about their pay, etc. He talked about what he likes about being a teacher and how it benefited him. He said that being a teacher helps him to be a better husband and father because he gets the same days off as his son and his wife because she is a teacher as well. Reading this blog inspired me because reading about somebody that absolutely loves their job and not because of the pay is truly honorable. This website is a great way for other teachers to communicate and to share their personal experiences. I would like to use this when I become a teacher.

Jordan Shifflett - Clear View Education


 * http://www.clearvieweducation.com/blog/2009/100-best-blogs-for-teachers-of-the-future/
 * Clear View Education is a site with 100 of the "best" educational blog topics for teachers of the future. There are many subjects of topics that they have posted on this website. There are nine different topics and inside each topic there is a range from five to ten sub topics, all relating to teachers of the future and how they can communicate with their students. Blogs are a way for teachers to have students speak their mind on many different subjects and enable the teachers to see each student's opinions on different matters. This website gives a variety of teachers many different options when it comes to educational blogs.

Daniel Schwartz-Dangerously Irrelevant Dangerously Irrelevant is a teacher blog site primarily focused on the technology being implemented in modern schools. This is not to say that technology is the only content on the blog site. I happened to stumble across one blog by an administrator who went into a great level of detail about what he is looking for in teachers to hire. This along with many other articles by administrators, teachers, and student teachers alike make this a great place to stop for peer advice. It seems to be a very active community as well, which is always good for those who are constantly looking for opinions.
 * http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/

Jeffrey Bennett- Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Blog http://classblogmeister.com/blog.php?blogger_id=1337 The blog that I thought was interesting was made by a Canadian first grade teacher Mrs Cassidy. What makes this site so helpful is how organized it is as well as all the different applications made accessible. Also it makes readers seem like they are in the classroom with her and the students because Cassidy lets us witness her students learning firsthand by posting lots of videos and photographs. You get to view many different blogs from the teacher entries to the students. It even gives you a class roster of her entire class and what assignments they are doing that day.

Shannon Grover- 21 Classes http://www.21classes.com/shop/product The educational blog site I found is called 21 Classes. It is a great resource for teachers and students. It allows for teachers to make their students blogs private or public. It also allows for students to work independently or to observe others’ blogs. Teachers can manage their students’ accounts as well and have control over the content of their writings. I feel like this tool would be very valuable for the student as well as the teacher in the classroom. The only drawback to this kind of technology being used in the classroom would be that it is less personal but with the right balance of on-screen learning and classroom learning this would be a great tool.

Kellie Yanek- Teacher Magazine Blog Board http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/blogboard/ This website is very helpful tool for teachers because if a teacher needs help with a certain subject or problem he or she can look on this site to see what other teachers have done. It has problems such as students not being able to do math without a calculator to students with low test scores. The best part of this site is the problems are recent and are problems that many teachers face today. The site even offers education problems like kids not eating healthy in schools that were on new stations such as NBC so that teachers can discuss the issue with other teachers.

Carlyn Seeman- TeacherLingo http://teacherlingo.com/

This website allows teachers to communicate with other teachers around the world to share ideas, lesson plans, experiences, and much more. Through this blogging website, teachers can post anything, even some topics not related to education but everyday life. Teachers share websites and links on the newest topics or controversies regarding their job or their students. They can learn about things that are going on or being taught in other countries as well. Using this tool can help broaden teachers’ lesson plans and give them the chance to bounce fantastic ideas off of other educators. However, you do have to sign up for this free blogging experience so you will have to check with your administration or school before you do so.

Kristyn McCarty-Resources for Teachers http://www.resources-teachers.info/ Resources for Teachers are a blog made by an Elementary teacher named Dominic P. Tremblay. He has posted many blogs that have to deal with educational websites. In each of these blogs he defines what each website consists of. Mainly each website that is posted can be used in the daily classroom. They are beneficial to teachers and students because not only is the information interesting they are also learning something when they access this website. For example, I decided to log onto the site called Science Bob. It consists of science. It has science fair ideas, and information on the scientific method. Not only is it a hands on site you will also be using your thinking skills due to the science questions and answers that it offers. Students are even able to ask Science Bob questions that they have. Basically the whole webpage consists of videos that show different science experiments.

Sarah Fairburn- Top 100 Education Blogs http://oedb.org/library/features/top-100-education-blogs

This website contains a ton of different types of blogs by a lot of different authors. Each provide someone’s perspective upon a certain topic, which some are controversial in a way. Others are just very interesting and good to read. This site would be very helpful for educators because they would be able to compare and contrast their own views on a certain topic, and possibly even communicate with these other teachers by commenting on blogs. Also the topics that are written about and related to the class could be discussed by students in the classroom to either initiate a debate or to spark their interest on the topics.

Brandon Campbell-100 Best Blogs for Teachers of the Furture

http://www.clearvieweducation.com/blog/2009/100-best-blogs-for-teachers-of-the-future/

This list contains alot of different blogs that can be used by current teachers, or teachers coming up through college and such. These sites aren't just blogs; the list contains some sites, listing the top sites that can be used for teachers. Some sites contain lesson plans and so on. This list is also divided into categories, such as Secial Education emphasis, Technology, Students as Teachers, Blogging Teachers, and so forth. This site contains good links for upcoming teachers, such as the ones in this very class, and contain valuable information. Really worth checking out.

Brad Mandarino – 50 Best Blogs for Education Leaders

This website provides 50 of the best blogs for all kinds of education news. It would mostly be useful for college students and teachers at universities. Blogs like these help teachers and students communicate without having to be in person. These blogs also allow students to voice their opinion when they might not be comfortable doing so in front of a teacher. It provides teachers with many different opportunities to teach their students because it gets them actively engaged in learning. Blogs can also be a fun way to learn while still understanding a concept of what the teacher might be trying to teach.

Emily Davis-20+ Must-read Education Technology Blogs| Ace Online Schools
 * http://aceonlineschools.com/20-must-read-education-technology-blogs/
 * This website has a variety of different articles with blogs to choose from. The articles and blogs are teacher focused. The articles and blogs can range from topics like current issues for teachers, different teaching experiences, news updates for the teaching community, plus many more different topics. The articles are written by teachers, and the articles are about anything the teacher feels needs to be written about, and then there is a response blog after the article. Readers response to the articles the teacher have written. The response can be helpful for teacher, because responders can give advice on what the teacher should do or should not do. Also, the responder can put their opinion out about a certain topic and then teachers can see things from all different points of view.

Molly O’Shea – K is for kindergarten Educational blog http://www.blogged.com/blogs/k-is-for-kindergarten.html This blog is something that was started by a kindergarten teacher and is her way of reflecting on her experiences. The teacher documents what happens in her class and invites other teachers to follow. The teachers can give suggestions and also compare notes. I think that this blog can be beneficial for teachers because it gives a little perspective. If a teacher is thinking that they are doing a bad job or that they’re not affective teachers this blog can give them a little comfort in knowing that they are not the only ones going through this. It’s also a great way for teachers to reflect, get suggestions from other teachers and also give suggestions and ideas.

Tori Fraher- Marcia’s Science Teaching Blogs http://scienceteachingideas.blogspot.com/ This blog spot is number one of the fifteen for ideas on how to teach in a science classroom. She gives examples of different activities that would come from a science classroom, mostly older student’s usage. The page includes some videos and pictures, for these activities. The supplies they use are simple items that a student would most likely find around their home or supplies that the school would also have. This is great for teachers who want simple but fun ways to get students interested but cannot seem to come up with any ideas of their own. There is a note to visitors that they are welcome to use the ideas in their schools, but teachers should not claim these lessons are theirs.

Chance Fink – Mrs. Aubertin’s Classroom Blog http://mrsaubertin.21classes.com/ Mrs. Aubertin’s has set up an educational blog for her seventh grade classroom. The reason for the online blog is to give students and parents an opportunity to communicate back and forth on issues that are viewed as important aspects of the learning Experience. On this site will be posted several different things ranging from the classroom schedule, summary of lesson for absent students, as well as, give parents the opportunity to comment and ask questions. This is very important to keep teachers and parents connected. This relationship has a direct effect to with how well the education is at a school; the more involved parents are the better the education. Also it will help students stay on track with the class if they are ill and have to miss a day, why will be able to get online and see what is due.

Rachel Senior- Successful Teaching

http://successfulteaching.blogspot.com/

This is an excellent blog for students and teachers alike because the blogger has created an innovative and informative site that is full of useful information. Pat Hensley was teacher of the year in 2006 for her school district and a top 10 finalist nationally. Pat shares a wide range of strategies and tips to help teachers be successful. She believes it is important for teachers to support each other and to share creative ideas that work, and provides an interactive platform for teacher to communicate. She provides links to many other useful sites, and offers daily information. For example, today’s posting provides an idea about how to teach a naturalist class utilizing eleven mystery guests to engage the students’ curiosity.

CJ Stewart Mister Teacher http://misterteacher.blogspot.com/ The site mister Teacher was originally created by Jamie Tubbs to display his students work online. After moving his student’s content to blogs and wikis he revised the site to cater to visiting teachers. He provides a blog of the activities he covers in class and how he has made use of white board technology. His site includes more than just his blog containing downloadable content that can be used with smart board technology. If I have access to this kind of technology in my class room I would likely follow his blog to keep up on novel ways of using it as well as making use of the downloadable content.


 * Camille Dobbins
 * http://kathyschrock.net/edtechblogs.htm
 * I love the idea of this blog because it is not just a blog! It is a technology blog where teachers can talk about different forms of technology that they are using to help their students learn! These blogs also allow teachers to give tips on how to affectively use technology in the classroom. It will really help all of the teachers who are spending a half an hour to get a video to run. Parents can also learn what forms of technology would be beneficial to maybe have at home to help learning take place outside of school. Students can visit these blogs to understand the technology if they have questions on homework.