Inspiring Blogs

Blog #1
Makelearn.org (http://makelearn.org/) is a blog created by one of my colleagues, Jim Cash. He is a phenomenal educational technology resource teacher in our board. I collaborated with him when I was an instructional resource teacher, and more recently he has supported our school by presenting a very useful technology workshop during one of our PD days.  I often wondered how he became so knowledgeable about using technology in schools. 

While I explored his blog I learned that in 2012 he graduated from the Master of Educational Technology (MET) program from the University of British Columbia.  I didn’t know such a Master’s Degree existed until discovering it on his blog. The MET program  is a graduate-level program offered by The University of British Columbia, a world-renowned university, located in Vancouver BC, Canada.  The MET curriculum is designed for educators at all levels and in diverse contexts: K-12 teachers, college and university educators, adult/industry educators, course designers.  If I was presently thinking about completing a Master’s Degree, I would give this program serious consideration. It can all be completed online, but a trip or two to British Columbia would make it even better! 

Jim’s blog is very well laid out. Its simplicity and organization really appeals to me.  This blog is also very useful because he often reflects and describes initiatives and topics related to our school board. In addition to Recent Posts and Archives side bars, he included a section called Categories which include topics such as blogging, byod, and critical thinking.  In a post about byod, App Suggestions for Learning Activities in BYOD Classrooms, Jim offers a comparison chart showing various app/tool suggestions for students using iOS, or Android devices, web-based tools, or Ontario Ministry of Education licensed applications. It was originally created by @tina_zita.Click on PDF (with links) to view the comparison chart.

Blog #2

  

The Canadian Education Association (CEA) also has a blog within their larger website.  The CEA describes itself as a network of passionate educators advancing ideas for greater student and teacher engagement in public education. CEA does this by conducting research and spreading useful ideas through its publications, website, workshops, symposia, and social media channels; supporting education systems to be more adaptive to the rapidly changing needs of all learners in an effort to reverse the trends of students ‘tuning out’ of their learning opportunities.

This blog is very engaging and offers sidebars with tags, a blog roll, and education news.  With one of the tags for effective teaching, I stumbled across a blog entitled; Let’s Ban the Binder, October 17, 2013 by thecleversheep. I want every middle school teacher to read it! 

Yes, the thecleversheep really is clever as noted by his depiction of 20^th century assessment: Nothing says 20th century learning like the 3-ring binder. For decades, this tool has been the cornerstone of learning. Even dressed up as a cross-curricular ‘Trapper-Keeper’, the purpose of a notebook has been to collect and organize the static knowledge and information deemed most important by the teacher. Whether used to maintain notes, to organize photocopied handouts, or to collect assignments, the state of one’s binder has commonly mirrored a learner’s eventual academic achievement.

I wonder, is this really what has been keeping us back? Is there a better way? Yes! I’m not a classroom teacher at the moment, but after reading this blog, I am going to find an alternative to the binder/duo tang dilemma. We know during the first week of school which binders are going to make it and which just don’t have a chance. So then we get the support teacher to help the student organize his/her binder.  Most of the crumpled papers end up in the garbage anyway. Just throw it out - a really great message to send the kid who is struggling with keeping his papers in order, or possibly trying to hide something.

I have been inspired to ban the binder! I no longer want it to be the prime artifact of learning in my classroom. Bring on the new learning spaces.

Blog #3

Ironically, the next blog I chose is laid out like a notebook! I vowed to ban the binder, but this retro notebook is neat, organized, and colorful, and makes you want to read and write. It is a 10 out 10 with a happy face in every teacher’s mark book. It is Edutech for Teachers by Jamie Forshey , winner of the Best Education Blogs 2012 awards.

I aspire to create such a creative online space. The sidebars look like pieces of paper attached to the notebook with a paper clip. The background is a teal color with a designer flower pattern overtop. The subheadings look like they have been written by hand. There’s even a cute cartoon that is perhaps Jamie. The beginner in me wonders, ‘How do I learn to do this?... Do I need another course?... Where’s the template?...'  If I stay true to any constructivist theory, I simply will have to do it to learn it.

After reading Jamie’s “About” section, I learned that she is an instructional technology specialist and teacher in Central Pennsylvania. She is dedicated to innovative teaching and learning through the use of technology and digital media that engages students in learning while providing them with a 21st Century educational experience. Congratulations, Jamie!