Lab1_Jacobson


 * Blogs **

http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/about/

I chose this blog because it is easy to navigate and has a lot of good useful information. I would definitely incorporate this as part of my PLN. This blog was developed by Konrad Glogowski who is the voice behind the //blog of proximal development//. He holds a PhD degree in Curriculum Studies and Teacher Development. This blog discusses issues surrounding literacy, the use of technology in education, and the impact of Web 2.0 tools on literacy development. January 16, 2009 is the most recent post. You can subscribe to the post via live bookmarks. This website is powered by Wordpress. Anyone can comment on the blog and collaborate with the blog creator.

http://schoolsmatter.blogspot.com/

I chose this blog because it adheres to its message which states, // “This space explores issues in public education policy, and it advocates for a commitment to and a re-examination of the democratic purposes of schools. If there is some urgency in the message, it is due to the current reform efforts that are based on a radical re-invention of education, now spearheaded by a psychometric blitzkrieg of "metastasizing testing" aimed at dismantling a public education system that took almost 200 years to build.” //The creator is Jim Horn, who holds a doctorate in education, and is from Massachusetts. The last post was today, but it may be sooner by the time you are done reading this page. There is an RSS feed, the site is easy to navigate, and can be used by anybody in education. It is important for staff to look at educational issues from a variety of viewpoints, and I think this blog really makes people reflect on their own way of thinking.

http://www.eduwonk.com/

I chose this blog because it discusses a plethora of educational issues. “Eduwonk is a blog written by Andrew Rotherham, co-founder and co-director of Education Sector. Occasional guest bloggers will also contribute, and the author(s) of these posts are identified at the end.” This website also has an RSS feed. The last post was yesterday, therefore it is apparent that it is updated continuously. I would tell my staff that they should visit this site often to ponder things that impact education, so that they can improve their teaching.


 * Ning Based Social Networks **

http://www.classroom20.com/

I chose this social network because it has so many useful resources. Members are continuously collaborating on a variety of educational topics. It is a great way to share ideas and ask questions. The creator of this site is Steve Hargadon from California. Steve Hargadon is the director of the K12 Open Technologies Initiative at the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the founder of Classroom 2.0, and the Social Learning Consultant at Ellluminate. If I were to present this to my faculty I would urge them to join a social network such as this or the next site I’m going to mention.

[|http://bitbybitseedlings.ning.com]

I joined this social network because it too, has an abundance of good information and its members are educators from around the world. It is easy to navigate, collaborate, and utilize information effectively. The last post is very recent, and has probably changed since you have been reading my description. I would show this to my teaching staff and explain how simple it is to use and how it can be very beneficial to any education professional. This site also provides ideas for lessons using a variety of multimedia formats- creating level of “Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy.”

[|www.xtranormal.com]

I chose this additional website, because it is free and easy to use. I've posted an example of what you can do below. media type="custom" key="3178500"