When I thought about this blog post, I was reminded of what metacognitive means. It is thinking about thinking, and this blog post is blogging about blogging. Anyway, the edublogger that I am looking at is Vicki Davis who writes the Cool Cat Teacher Blog. As far as I can tell, the blog takes a look at technology and teaching and the relationship between the two. I chose this one because I am a fan of technology, and since this is a teaching with technology class, I figured it made sense to do a blog that deals with technology.
The first thing I noticed when looking at the blog was that there were up to date posts. The first blog I went to was last edited in January, and the last post before that was in October of last year. This blog, however, has several posts for the current month, so it was nice to see that. If I'm going to invest time into reading a blog, I want to be able to have current, relevant, and frequent posts to enjoy.
Looking at the most recent post, Reading Tips to Program Your Mind for success, what I like about this post is that Davis first writes about how she loves a certain device, the second generation Kindle in this case, and then writes more about how it could be used. She also includes tips for reading, so the blog doesn't just focus on the technology. Even if you didn't like the device she was talking about, you could still find useful information in her blog. Another thing I like about her blog is that she s writing to teachers. In her last section, she talks directly to teachers about inspiring students to read and how that can lead to leadership and success.
Honestly, I'm not really one to read through blogs, but if I were, I would probably be able to find some use with this blog. I feel like I am up to date on technology, so I wouldn't really need it for that, but I could definitely see how the blog could be useful if you didn't know much about technology but wanted to integrate it into your classroom.
Hey Mike,
ReplyDeleteI also used the Cool Cat Teacher blog as the one I wrote about. I'm glad to see that you also think technology is an important subject in education! I agree with you that I already know a lot about technology, so I might not learn new things every time she blogs, but it might be a good blog for our high school students to read? They might not all be as up to date as we are, so it could be helpful for them. I know it is geared towards teachers, though, so maybe we could select certain posts from her blog for our students to read.
Morgan
I like that you paid attention to the practical parts of the blog, like how recent the posts are and how often they post. I for some reason did't think much about those aspects when looking at other blogs. Obviously a blog that is no longer updated would not be of very much use to you in your future practices. I'm glad that even though you don't think you'll make time for it you found a blog that could be of use in your practice.
ReplyDeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteI am someone who is behind the times when it comes to technology, so I am probably the type of person who could really benefit from following a blog like this, so thanks for the tip! It is important to remember that using certain technologies could really help inspire students to engage in certain tasks that might not otherwise be drawn to. It is something that slipped off my radar as we’ve been working through this course, but its an important thing to keep in mind! Functionality, efficiency, and how technology relates to specific objectives, are all things to keep in mind, but thinking about how they relate to student motivation can be really helpful too. Once when I was substitute teaching, the teacher had left plans for the students to read any book of their choosing for the hour. One student didn’t bring a book, but had her cell phone and wanted to read a book she had on her phone rather than choose one off the teacher’s bookshelf. If it means it will make students more excited about engaging in a lesson, why not incorporate different technology. Of course, I also had no idea if she was also checking her facebook page! But I guess these are the things we will have weigh when we bring new technologies into the classroom.