I've always felt that education - particularly higher education, which is my field - has been slow to grasp technology. Surprising, isn't it, that academia - the means of exploration through academic growth - is afraid of change? Yet so often at every turn, when the suggestion of utilizing technology in a classroom or to further advance university processes or marketing initiatives is brought forward there are a dozen reasons why it "can't" happen.
These reasons often include fear of technology by those high on the academic food chain, or frankly, those who are so rooted into their positions but do not understand the first thing about technology that they immediately poo-poo it as a fad. Either is unacceptable, in my opinion, and only serves to create a stagnated learning environment.
During the course of my master of science in computer education program, I've been pleasantly surprised by many of the articles that I've read, especially those that approach technology with such vibrance as the three sites I'll be discussing momentarily.
First off, let me examine The Teaching Professor. This is a fantastic, well-written, and most important to me - AUTHENTIC - blog about education and technology that definitely does *not* suck. (Perhaps not the most educated turn of phrase, but so true! What's worse than reading blog posts by self-important educators who are just writing for bragging rights? Why not write about something practical!)
Case in point to my parenthesied rant - the post about Self-Assessment. I'm currently teaching an evening class for working adults - they LOVE self-assessment. And in most instances, are far more honest about their own work than I would tend to be in grading them. While this article suggested that students are "dismal" when it comes to looking at their work objectively, my experience has been quite the opposite. Or perhaps I'm too optimistic and tend to see my classroom through rose-colored glasses. Either could be the case, and I'm quite good enough at self-assessment myself to admit this. (*wink*)
This blog, in all honesty, is a teacher's best friend. It's the "off the record" and behind the scenes stuff that all teachers want to know and talk about, but don't. I found this blog in its entirety to be a breath of fresh air.
Next, my favorite named educational blog, mainly because it references Heinlein, who is one of my favorite authors of all time. Meet Teacher in a Strange Land, a blog by the fantastic and amazing Nancy Flanagan, who I could choose to call an education goddess. I *could.*
When I need to feel professionally inspired ... Nancy is my go-to girl! Using extensive personal experience - she's got 30-plus years in education so in my book, that makes her an expert - Nancy is not afraid to tell it like it is. As a new teacher, this is not only refreshing, but really inspiring. If you only ever read one post from Nancy, check out 20th Century Learning.
Using tales of her own grandmother, Nancy illustrates how learning has changed, will continue to change, yet still stayed very true to it's intent in different time periods. Comparing and contrasting her grandmother's educational experience with some moments from today was a really interesting read, not only because I love personal stories, but because again, it was authentic. Nancy really expressed how even in education and technology today, life is a full cycle and things always come back around.
Finally, we have Edumacation. Had I not seen the Heinlein-esque Teacher in a Strange Land, this would have been my favorite blog in name alone.
I've actually added this blog to my daily RSS feed, and constantly find myself as a new teacher laughing, smiling, and wincing at the experiences thoughts of "the hurt," a fellow new teacher.
I'm absolutely loving the tie-ins with pop culture and current events (see: Thoughts About Obama's Inaguration Speech). The real gem I found on this blog, however, was Debunking the Digital Divide, which is a must read. This is authentic, genuine, and very honest. THIS is the kind of stuff that students learning to be teachers should be reading; this is what is going on in the trenches. Kevin, the author of this blog, is not afraid of change - this earns him a big blue ribbon from this eduKitor.
More later - look for fun stuff about social bookmarking coming up. (And yes, that means del.icio.us even though iKeepBookmarks is better!) *wink*
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