Educator Blogs

Blog 1 Review
Title: Connect, Create, Inspire

https://tkslibrarian.wordpress.com/ — middle school science teacher. The purpose of this blog is to “inspire wonder,” to encourage teachers to find creative ways to relate to their students, and to remind teachers of their passion and responsibility in how they shape their learners’ educational direction. This author fulfills his purpose by posting on topics that will remind teachers of the passion they had for kids at the beginning of their career before they got hit by negativity.

The Making of a Metaphor blog post gives the example of a stem cells and how they are nurtured in the lab to ready to become anything when it grows up. The author reminds teachers that our job is to prepare the learners so that they will be able to become what they want to be when they grow up. https://tkslibrarian.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/the-making-of-a-metaphor/

The Teacher Engagement blog post is about how testing pressure affects administrators who then pressure teachers who then “invest less of themselves in their jobs.” The author reports that only 30% of full-time American teachers are “engaged” and explores why we aren’t working to improve that and the implication of it on student achievement. https://tkslibrarian.wordpress.com/2015/01/10/teacher-engagement/

Blog 2 Review
Title: Edutech for Teachers

http://edutech4teachers.edublogs.org/ — education resources from an instructional technology specialist and teacher. This blog’s purpose is to present a holistic view of innovative teaching and learning through the use of technology and digital media. The organization and creativity of the blog don’t allow your eyes to wander; rather it has a well-thought out passageway that leads to specific information and guides your mind to seek out the information it is presenting. The author fulfilled the purpose as much by the organization and creativity in the blog itself as from the resources included in the posts.

Tech It Up Tuesday: Synthesize Learning with the Cube Creator blog post gives an explanation of a pre-writing/post-reading activity found online. The author provides links for several webpages associated with the activity and explains each of the options available to the students and teacher. She also includes links to lesson ideas for integrating the interactive activity into the classroom at all K-12 grade levels. http://edutech4teachers.edublogs.org/2015/03/17/tech-it-up-tuesday-cube-creator/

Diigo Weekly Bookmarks blog post shows some links to some of the latest web tools and engaging resources. This week the author posted about an online virtual school of quizzes in the form of games and freeware with 6 apps for creating interactive question-and-answer sheets. She also provided a link to the rest of her Diigo bookmarks. http://edutech4teachers.edublogs.org/2015/03/15/diigo-bookmarks-weekly-7/

Blog 3 Review
Title: @TeacherToolkit

http://teachertoolkit.me/ — “The Most Followed Teacher on Twitter in the UK”. This blog gives one the feeling of knowing the latest and upcoming events that are going on. Its style makes it look like a very progressive blog. The author deals with the dynamics of current issues and recent “breaking stories”, making it read like a newscast for teachers. The blog fulfills its purpose through its visual construction and through its followers. Because the blog deals with the latest information that concerns the learning of the students, its followers are in a constant mode of desiring to find the latest information, which creates a very strong following. Its large following confirms that the blog achieves its purpose of informing teachers what is going on right now concerning education, providing them with just-in-time ideas.

What Not to Mark? blog post reflects on the concept that less grading allows effective and targeted grading to have a deeper impact. The author focuses on reducing the workload of teachers who grade too much and showing how to target the important assessments to make better learning. He provides a chart that his team drafted with guidelines for best practices in grading and what to avoid doing. http://teachertoolkit.me/2015/03/26/what-not-to-mark-by-teachertoolkit/#more-15567

#5minplanseries blog post includes a schematic for The 5 Minute Lesson Plan format. This was designed to help first-year teachers reduce the time they spend in lesson planning and to put the focus on learning rather than the activity being planned. There has been feedback from many teachers across the world in a variety of sectors who confirm that the format can be used in any context. The author suggests that it be used to help formalize the process needed to improve practice in the classroom. http://teachertoolkit.me/the-5-minute-lesson-plan/5minplan-series/

Compared to the first blog which gave us the need for a learner support service center, this second one gives the atmosphere that the learner support services need to have for the students. The third blog enhances the foundation of the learning support services by giving current information that helps education to evolve into an institution that truly supports every learner equitably.

If I were to write a blog from a teacher’s point of view rather than the student’s perspective or the classroom’s mindset, there are several possible audiences — for example, my students, other teachers, administrators, or institutions.This would greatly impact how I incorporate my blog into my professional experience. I would like my blog to not just give information, but to be able to relate to other librarians and teachers, to students, to administrators. I want my blog to have not only a virtual connection between the learner, educator, and administration, but also a real-life connectivity between those people.