Answer the following questions within a blog post please/complete tasks:
1. Link to the blog within your blog post2. Discuss the author of the blog, who are they? What do they tend to write about in their blog postings? Who is the blog audience? Do they have a lot of followers based upon comments left?3. How does the blog help with your learning in this class as well as prepare you for a future in education? Why should you read this blog or why should others read it? Would you add this to your google reader to follow for the future as professional development? Why or Why not?4. What was one of your favorite posts by the blog author that you found interesting? Explain why you were interested in the post in a short paragraph. Link to that post please.
2. Wesley Fryer is the offer of this particular blog. He stands as a digital learning consultant, and considers himself a “catalyst for creative engagement and collaborative learning.” Many of his blogs deal with digital storytelling, e-books, and how they are being used by different educators today. For the most part, his blog audience seems to include both parents and educators. However, based upon comments left, he seems to have very little followers. He may have more in different outlets, such as Facebook or Twitter, but for this particular blog, he has had very few comments left.
Although short, I found this particular post very interesting because of the fact that it brings up a topic that is very appropriate for students today. Figuring out ways to bring students attention to the material being taught is more of a struggle because of technology today. So, if technology seems to be the common denominator for lack of attention spans, then why try to beat it? If you can manage, work technology into your curriuculum, and use it to your advantage. Eric, a 6th grade teacher in California, discovered that if you allow your students to take charge of content within the curriculum, and create student made videos, then the outcome will be very positive. This whole philosophy interests me because it teaches collaboration, not to mention it takes the students through the Blooms Taxonomy spectrum, which in turn gives the educator a great rubric to grade from.
2. Scott Taylor is an Assistant Superintendent and adjunct faculty for the Graduate School of Education at Rutgers University (per his bio). He has had many different positions throughout k-12 as well, which reflects his experiences as an administrator working with policy. Much of his content is aimed toward an administrative audience, and the context for many of his blogs deal with different situations between administrators and educators, as well as everyday tools that can help educators out a bot more. Unfortunately, based upon comments left, Scott does not seem to have a lot of followers.
3. Unlike Wesley's blog, this blog deals more with administration and politics within the educational system. It also deals with citizenship shaping, which encompasses both real and digital. These are all helpful topics for preparation because it allows diversification within your view of the classroom. It illustrates the political arena that you are stepping into, as well as the struggles and tasks that you may encounter. Many of these reasons are why others should read it as well. I am actually adding it to my reader right now.
As new educators, I am sure that some of us are nervous for that first year within our new teaching position. Many schools have a mentoring program, and some programs are better than others, but in the end, having a great support system while you are teaching will positively effect the teacher that you mold yourself into. The goal is to be an effective teacher, while meeting standards both with content, and now technology. After a discussion with a high school teacher in San Antonio, Scott shared his "three-pronged approach" that serves as a great mentoring/ support tool for new educators. The plan includes: 1. Schedule mentor/mentee observations twice during the school year 2. Plan two to three personal gatherings of all the mentors and their charges 3. Facilitate two virtual discussions online. I feel that this is a great support system, and I feel that many new teachers would benefit from some sort of program, almost like a new grad program, during their first year as a teacher.
2. Vicki Davis is a full time teacher who utilizes every means of web 2.0 communication. Her goal is to discuss with parents and teachers the topic of grabbing the attention of the current generation. Her blogs deal with very relevant, everyday feelings and ideas. She also has "Daily Education and Technology News" posts, which are great because it keeps the reader wanting to know what will be presented tomorrow. In contrast to the last two blogs discussed, this particular blog in nice because it brings everything down to an everyday, real world level. It is because of this that you have a lot of parents, and teachers who make up the majority of the audience. There is also a more consistent amount of comments and reactions, which goes to show that she has a good support base.
3. This blog helps within this class, because of the fact that much of the content is not theoretical. It is very real and being put into action. The different posts may not always deal with technology, but the basic fact that she is using technology to illustrate and relay the information is a huge factor in finding this blog useful. These are also the reasons I feel that others should look at this blog as well, and yes, I would like to add this to my google reader.
This was a very interesting blog post, because of the fact that it seems to be so true. There are theoretical thinkers who like to plan things out, and on paper, it looks like the epitome of perfection, but when it comes time to execute that particular plan, it goes horribly wrong, and they cannot understand why or how. The basic fact that I feel they forget is the human element. If we were all robots, then yes, it would have been a mystery as to why the plan went wrong, but we are human. These are why, as Vicki states, her favorite educators are pavement pounders. These are the type of teachers who may have a plan, but understand that the plan can change, and sometimes you need to ride the wave if you want to be an effective educator. The title of the post comes into play when you consider that some of these "theoretical teachers" think that if they have more gadgets and technology, then their plan will work. However, technology is irrelevant if you cannot be an effective, practical teacher to begin with. In the end, there is a divide, there exists gritty teachers who can read the human aspect in their class, and use it to everyone's advantage, and there exist paper teachers who can only draft a good lesson plan, but when it comes to execute it, they lose all confidence, because they lack the ability to read their class.
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