Technology+Blogs

Beth's Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom

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Rating: B

This blog was created by Beth Knittle and focuses on education, technology, and learning. It has a very professional design and makes navigating through the blog a breeze. Also included are tags for quick referencing, mouse-over "snapshots" of different websites that are linked on the page, and various links to relevant websites and blogs. However, while the blog postings have relevant and high-quality material, they are not posted very frequently.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Hoese

CogDogBlog

[|http://www.cogdogblog.com]

Rating: A

Alan Lavine has created a blog which discusses many features in regards to instructional technology. The site is very easy to navigate and updated frequently. He also does a fantastic job of mixing in humorous elements of technology with the more serious side. The blog incorporates photos, tags, and Twitter-friendly links to posts. The continual updates on current technology innovations, updates, and trends makes the blog a very useful tool for educators seeking to stay current with new technologies.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Hoese

The Thinking Stick

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Rating: A

Jeff Utecht has creating the Thinking Stick to make educators and administrators think about technology in new ways. His site is well organized and is user friendly. The site also up to date and include a lot of useful information on questions we may need answered about technology. He has included tags for quick access to different blog topics. Some of the Blogs include ways for administrators to rate technology usage in the classroom, lesson ideas and much more. The Thinking Stick is a great site for all educators.

Reviewed by Max Mills

====The [|Teaching With Blogs] most recent addition to the blog blog is "Ideas for Intergrating Technology into Established Curriculum by Tammy Andrew. It begins by discussion what a blog is, software options in order to create a blog and lessons to incorporate blogs into your current lesson plans. I found this blog very helpful in building my own blog. It gave me ideas on how to start slowly to incorporate blogging into my own lessons. It was well written, so I would rate this blog an "A".==== Reviewed by Jodie Fishbein

====The[| 20 + –Must Read Education Technology Blogs] - This blog is entitled the Ace On-Line School a repository of links. It was set-up with an introduction to each blog and then you had to go to another blog which was set up similarly. I found it to be a lot of clicking before you found useful information. The content was fairly organized and some of the posts were relevant, so I would rate the blog a "C".==== Reviewed by Jodie Fishbein

Inside Office 2007 []

Rating: A

This blog is created on Microsoft website. This blog is designed, written and published by the people who edit, build and publish the US version of Office. It is a very helpful blog in getting you familar with the new features of Office 2007. It features free downloads of templates and other useful documents to help you get acquainted with the updated software. I found this blog to be very usefule.

Reviewed by Kenya Moody

Free Technology for Teachers []

Rating: B

A review of free technology resources and how teachers can use them. Ideas for technology integration in education.

Reviewed by Kenya Moody

Thursday, October 1, 2009
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John's Opinion - Don't forget the basics

Reprinted from "[|TeacherStuff]" 

[|Partnership for 21st Century Skills - http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/]
There is no doubt that American students must be able to expand their horizons and work within a global community. To focus on those tools without an emphasis on math and science, however, would be a mistake. In Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel's words, we need people who "....are outstanding in math and science, critical thinking, innovation and creativity." (Otellini, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uv08Yq-SZWo&NR=1) In order to accomplish the ultimate goal of a competitive America, all agree we need a foundation in the basics and most agree there is no better tool than a good teacher and the knowledge base provided by today's technology. A look at the Partnership WEB page (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/route21/) provides the foundation of that organizations plan.

While the //Partnership's// WEB does provide a start, the drill down into a specific approach remains illusive. The old adage,"nothing succeeds like success" is key. In order for //Partnership// to strengthen their position, they must pick a test community and succeed, using the technology that they endorse. Without a win, it will be difficult to convince money strapped schools that this is the wave of the future. Logic tells us that this makes sense and that a world of knowledge is at our students fingertips, but the school budget says that until their is a windfall, make due with books and the library. Do things the old fashioned way.

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