Edutopia - September 2007 - (Page 41) Edublogs We Love 2¢ Worth www.davidwarlick.com/2cents What makes Warlick’s 2¢ priceless is a mix of intense curiosity, refreshing enthusiasm, and photos that speak of a wry and observant personality. Around the Corner v2 www.edsupport.cc/mguhlin Miguel Guhlin’s blog features the quote “Courage can’t see around corners, but goes around them anyway.” Look past its uninspiring interface, and you’ll find just this kind of pithy talk. Dangerously Irrelevant www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org In ongoing debates about education, the borderline-irrelevant topics often prove enlightening. The only danger is in not paying attention to them. Joanne Jacobs www.joannejacobs.com Jacobs practices a kind of free linking and free thinking that takes you from country to country and from religion to technology to health, all in the orbit of education. Kathy Schrock’s Kaffeeklatsch www.kathyschrock.net/blog The keyword in the name of this blog refers to an informal gathering to drink coffee and chat. As a Web barista, Schrock serves a compelling educational brew. Virtually Real Online teachers bring new energy and expertise to the traditional classroom. By Tamar Snyder all them “trans-classroom” teachers. A growing number of educators are migrating between the traditional classroom and the virtual one. And they bring to online learning a heightened professionalism. Virtual educators return to classroom teaching with renewed vigor and enhanced teaching methods, says Susan Lowes, director of research and evaluation at the Institute for Learning Technologies, at Columbia University’s Teachers College. They also view student participation as key, and encourage wallflowers and even slackers in the back row to speak out. “Teachers are no longer satisfied with asking a question and only getting two to three responses,” Lowes says. Just as every virtual student is expected to contribute to discussions, teachers who have taught online expect to hear from every student in the 3-D world. In the virtual classroom, teachers aren’t able to judge how well students understand the material by scanning confused expressions. So many have learned to clarify directions and provide more detailed instruction—skills that stick with them when they return to classroom teaching. In the traditional classroom, according to Lowes, trans-classroom teachers ask probing follow-up questions. Instead of meaningless assignments and busywork, they assign journals, and they end sessions with a reflective question. They also lecture less, preferring to act as facilitators of knowledge. “They realize now that there’s a lot of wasted time in face-to-face classrooms,” Lowes says of online teachers. “Online classrooms have taught them to be more efficient.” Leader Talk www.leadertalk.org Written by school leaders for school leaders, proof that those at the top are fighting for change, too. C Moving at the Speed of Creativity www.speedofcreativity.org/2007 Uses plain language to highlight exciting technology and innovation in education. NYC Educator nyceducator.com It may be the Daily Show of education blogs, combining parody, retro images, and a skeptical sensibility in service of a true concern for our educational future. PBS Teachers: Learning.Now www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now Checking out the well-crafted entries on this site is like a one-on-one with a patient mentor: lots of wisdom, few wasted words. Weblogg-ed www.weblogg-ed.com As its snowy mountain logo implies, Will Richardson’s weblogg-ed is a breath of fresh air. Without clutter, his entries can be meditated on in singular simplicity. (Full disclosure: He’s on our advisory board. This blog reminds us why.) SEPTEMBER 2007 EDUTOPIA 41 http://www.davidwarlick.com/2cents http://www.edsupport.cc/mguhlin http://www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org http://www.joannejacobs.com http://www.kathyschrock.net/blog http://www.leadertalk.org http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2007 http://nyceducator.com http://www.pbs.org/teachers/learning.now http://www.weblogg-ed.com
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