ASCD Inservice

The Carrot Revolution

We stumbled on the intriguingly titled blog the Carrot Revolution while digging through Dangerously Irrelevant’s new subject-specific education blog wiki. What a find. Here art educator David Gran pulls together resources for teachers, students, and artists with an eye toward bucking the status quo. 

The blog is filled with eye-catching pictures and video and includes posts on everything from animation to art history. Recent entries describe various projects Gran has concocted, like the photography assignment called "Jump!" that uses the work of Phillip Halsman as inspiration to catch students' expressions in midair. 

If you're looking for new ideas in your art classroom or just want an engaging read, head over to the Carrot Revolution at http://carrotrevolution.blogspot.com.

Dangerously Irrelevant's Push

Part of the fun of writing "Blog Watch" is tracking down new and exciting blogs to profile. It's also part of the challenge. With so many voices out there and no centralized list of high-quality, education-related blogs, we usually rely on word of mouth or search through blogrolls to discover something new. 

That's why we're so excited about Dangerously Irrelevant's new initiative called "The Push." In an effort to "create a single location where P–12 educators can go to see excellent subject-oriented educational blogging," author Scott McLeod has created a wiki and is soliciting the help of his readers to compile the cream of the crop.

Categories include math, gifted education, and art education, among others. Whether you know of subject-specific blogs that are worth sharing or are just looking for some direction, head over to Dangerously Irrelevant and read the wiki to find out more.

EdBlog Watch: Tween Insights

Engaging, tech-savvy, and relatable, Heather Wolpert-Gawron's blog, Tween Teacher, quickly earned a spot on my RSS reader after I discovered it. A middle school English department head, Wolpert-Gawron has a knack for sharing valuable tips and insights through anecdotes that draw you into her school and life.

For example, a recent post demonstrated how the popular phenomenon of Facebook quizzes could be translated into a unique lesson plan—complete with links to online tools that can help make this happen and instructions for low-tech alternatives. She describes how this can foster student ownership of work and create differentiated assessments, but not before sharing the results of several personality quizzes she took during the commercial break of So You Think You Can Dance.

Other posts comment on iPhone apps useful to classroom teachers, the genre-mixing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and the concern over how "sexting" could affect ed tech advancement. Read her blog at http://tweenteacher.com/.

"So You Want To Teach?" Prevents Listlessness

The author of the blog So You Want To Teach finds most education blogs either too dry and academic or filled with too many rants and complaints. Thus, Joel Wagner's blog aims to be accessible, useful, and upbeat.

The recent post "25 Free Apps and Web Sites for Tech-Loving Teachers" will likely introduce you to a few new and interesting tools, including sites that help create flash cards and multimedia presentations. The list format is a theme—a few posts later, you’ll find "45 Tasks for Parent Volunteers in the Classroom" and "27 Classroom Management Secret Weapons."

The site is also heavily geared toward keeping teachers motivated, with guest posts from veteran teachers on combating burnout and strategies for finding mentors and developing circles of support in your school. 

EdBlog Watch: The Edge of Tomorrow

Who is Ben Grey, author of the blog The Edge of Tomorrow? "No one of any real consequence," he says. "I’m but another voice amongst the din clamoring for more change in the way we experience education throughout the world." An instructional technology coordinator, Grey may not be a big name, but he has some keen insight into the potential and the pitfalls of ed tech.

For instance, Grey disagrees with the practice of teaching students about new technologies, such as digital video editing, outside of the regular classroom, preferring rather that such training be embedded in the curriculum to ensure that students have common experiences and exposure.

Grey also takes aim at the popular term "Web 2.0," which he feels "does much more to deter understanding than provide any functional enlightenment." Having seen many teachers feel alienated and confused by the term, he suggests using specific terms such as wikis and social networks instead, reasoning that such clarity would help teachers more easily see the value of the tools and understand how to integrate them into their teaching.

Edblog Watch: Hey, Jude!

Given the wealth of information available to students through the Internet and other digital databases, what role does the school library play in the 21st century? School librarian Judy O'Connell tackles this complex question and other related issues in her blog, Heyjude.

Located in Australia, O'Connell writes on a variety of topics, such as emerging technologies, Web 2.0, and the need for educators to keep pace with their students. Recent posts include a meditation on school libraries and the role of memory in the information age and some thoughts on using iPhones as tools for education planning.

EdBlog Watch: Ryan Bretag's Metanoia

In his lively blog Metanoia, Ryan Bretag, a high school instructional technology coordinator, brings a curious and open mind to teaching, technology, society, pop culture, and all the intersections between them. 

Bretag shares highlights from a discussion he had with students on tech issues, including concerns from students about how to use technology effectively in the classroom. 

"I really can't explain how powerful it is to sit back and listen to students explain how they don't want technology to be fancy new tools," Bretag writes. "They want it to transform teaching, learning, and leading." 

These posts are interesting both for the insight into students’ thoughts and the model of community dialogue Bretag demonstrates. The blog covers many difficult and exciting technology challenges facing schools, including some that might be off your radar: the cost of Web 2.0 in schools, imploring schools to consider the TCO (total cost of ownership) when weighing social software, and how students should sign their intellectual property posted online.

EdBlog Watch: The Future of Education Is Here

Looking for an education blog that pokes fun at traditions and urges educators forward to new ways of thinking about teaching and learning? You may want to visit The Future of Education Is Here, from the folks at the KnowledgeWorks Foundation.

The blog doggedly challenges assumptions: posts examine such topics as the relevance of report cards and the need for physical schools. One post about the slow shift away from traditional textbooks describes them as "one of those technologies that has lived out its usefulness but, like the landline phone and the oil-combustion engine, is so deeply entrenched in our system that the switching costs seem more expensive than the potential benefits of something new."

Research's Inside Scoop

With over 1,400 stories—many of them on educational research—under her belt, veteran Education Week reporter Debra Viadero knows a thing or two about studies. In her new blog, Inside School Research, she serves as an impressive guide through the often tricky terrain of education research, providing summaries of recent findings and insights into their implications. Recent posts include a comparison of two studies on privately managed schools, a look at the effectiveness of Teach for America, and an update on the state of the What Works Clearinghouse.

Mrs. Cassidy's Classroom Blog

It's hard to miss all the buzz around blogs in the classroom—and hard not to be skeptical that a classroom blog is more gimmick than useful tool. For all the skeptics out there, Mrs. Cassidy’s Classroom Blog makes a pretty compelling (and fun) case for the medium.

Blogging out of Moose Jaw, Canada, Cassidy’s 1st graders are excited to share their learning with an online audience through video postings to the blog on anything from learning to count to describing how to ice-skate. For a truly classroom 2.0 experience, watch Mrs. Cassidy's class's Skype call to an Alabama classroom. The class read Dr. Seuss’s Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? in honor of the author’s birthday. Each student also has an individual blog to share stories and opinions as the students learn to write. And in a moment of reflective learning, they contribute to a video explaining why classrooms should use video.

Tips for Using the Internet in the Classroom

We first caught wind of Peter Pappas's blog, Copy / Paste, when we read his account of using Twitter to network at ASCD's 2009 Annual Conference. With an eye toward technology and the Internet, Pappas brings together lessons and material from his recent presentations, along with practical tips and tools for classroom teachers. 

As a longtime educator and consultant, his posts are imbued with authority and aim to inform and share. Recent topics include using Google’s LIFE photo archive as a teaching tool, the transition from text literacy to screen literacy, and the link between algebra and reading.

EdBlog Watch: Digital Education

Education Week is blog-happy; it keeps adding to its stable of entertaining and edifying blogs. One of the latest and most useful additions is Digital Education, by Katie Ash and Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, which covers the intersection of technology and education from all angles.

What will you find at Digital Education? One post describes a high school's use of Google Earth, a free online service, to explore ancient Rome. Another post takes a broader view, asking, "How Effective Is Ed. Software, Really?" After discussing recent research, Ash states, "As I hear over and over from people in all areas of ed-tech: it's not the technology, but what you do with the technology that counts." This breadth of content makes Digital Education a must-read.

EdBlog Watch: Learn More with TeachMoore

As a part of the Teacher Leaders Network blog group, Renee Moore’s insightful blog TeachMoore brings readers a relatively unique perspective: the longtime high school English teacher and former Mississippi Teacher of the Year is now an instructor at a community college. She has published extensively on culturally engaged instruction. Her breadth of experience leads to thoughtful posts on a wide variety of topics.

Moore recently posted her "Advice for the Next President" as part of a collection of similar writings collected by John Merrow at Learning Matters. Her advice emphasizes the need to recognize, reward, and listen to highly skilled teachers working under difficult circumstances. Another TeachMoore post praises the idea of an ancestry-based curriculum proposed by Henry Louis Gates Jr. as an effective way to engage African American students in history and science.

Thoughts from a School Board Trustee

Mike Falick, a trustee on the Spring Branch Independent School District School Board in Texas, shares some of the ups and downs of his position on his blog. One recent bright spot was a picture of two huge flip-chart pages containing a message of thanks personally written by prekindergarten students following a vote by the board to fully fund the district's prekindergarten centers.

But perhaps what makes the blog so popular is that Falick expands the blog's reach well beyond the day-to-day of his job. He frequently shares links to useful online tools and resources, such as sites that let you create printable calendars and sources of online college lectures. And his regular tracking of education-related legislation making its way through the Texas legislature is a great tool for citizens of the state who care about education.

Blog of Proximal Development

Inspired by a relatively obscure educational theory developed in the 20th century by social constructivist Lev Vygotsky, Blog of Proximal Development might sound a tad stiff and academic. 

Don't let the name fool you. Written by Canadian teacher Konrad Glogowski, this blog is accessible, insightful, and conversational. Concentrating on adolescent literacy and technology, Glogowski explores a wide range of topics including how Web 2.0 tools can aid classroom instruction and professional development. Recent posts include a discussion of his travels with Teachers Without Borders and a virtual exhibit created using Second Life software.

Flying Through the Hottest Education Topics

If you follow education policy, you've probably run across the Fordham Institute's provocative, witty publication Education Gadfly. Featuring the analysis of Chester Finn, Mike Petrilli, and other insightful policy wonks, the Gadfly tackles subjects ranging from President Obama's education stimulus package to the death of cursive. 

In their accompanying blog Flypaper, the authors give a behind-the-scenes look at the debates and discussions that go on in the Fordham office. Recent posts include thoughts on the fate of NCLB and a critique of the 21st Century Skills movement.

 

Teachers Teaching Teachers

Led by a group of tech-savvy classroom educators, Teachers Teaching Teachers hosts weekly webcasts focusing on technology and community building. The panel discussions, archived on the site as podcasts, concentrate on online reading and writing, effective classroom strategies, and various new media. 

Recent conversations tackle subjects like writing in the digital age and classroom blogging. The self-described motto here is "Keep it real!" and the relaxed and collaborative tone makes this down-to-earth blog stand out.

The Elementary Educator

For all you elementary educators out there looking for new ways to improve your teaching skills, head over to Mark Pullen's The Elementary Educator. Filled with practical tips and considered observations on primary education, this blog covers everything from reframing student perceptions about learning to the importance of recess. Pullen's experience as a 3rd grade teacher and cofounder of an online math league comes across in posts like "Math Algorithms" and imbues his writing with authority and a sense of expertise. The comments section is lively and well-trafficked and provides a great place for sharing ideas and airing complaints.

Great Britain: School Gate

Part of the Times Online, a London newspaper, the School Gate blog grapples with issues facing educators the world over, from single-sex schools to sex education. Particularly fascinating in light of the United States' efforts to reform secondary education, is a report on the progress of new vocational diplomas offered as an alternative to traditional academic credentials.

On a less serious note, a post on the top television shows set in schools is a fun primer on UK school-themed TV, and a post on the raging controversy over Strictly Come Dancing (the British take on America's So You Think You Can Dance?) and its implications for children may well draw in reality TV lovers around the globe.

Change Agency

If you are interested in technology and Web 2.0, stop by Stephanie Sandifer's Change Agency. Her blog and accompanying wikis explore the collaborative potential of the Web and how to use emerging technologies in the classroom. 

As a high school literacy specialist, a presenter on technology integration and school reform, and a contributor over at Leader Talk, Sandifer brings an impressive range of expertise to her analysis. Recent posts cover topics such as literacy in the 21st century, her favorite Web 2.0 tools, and the economic downturn. Sandifer also developed the Web2ThatWorks wiki, which encourages colleagues to combine the elements of Classroom Instruction That Works with Web 2.0 technology.

Check out Change Agency at www.ed421.com.