Three Specifics About the Blogs

Although iLearning Technology is written by a K-5 technology teacher, it has a lot to offer by way of adaption to my high school classes. I appreciate how most of the posts explain the following three items for each technology being recommended: what the technology is, how to integrate it into the classroom, and tips for using the technology. The blog highlights a variety of materials from search engines (Search Me, still in Beta), to a PDF template for a pinhole camera to Disc Inventory X (a disc image utility to help you organize your files and free up wasted disc space. Other pages are noted in the sidebar to link to classroom websites, teacher resources, and tutorials.

As the title says, Web 2.0 Technology & the Classroom does just that - brings Web 2.0 into the classroom. Adam Clark's blog entries give insight into how to use the applications in the classroom. I especially like how he makes available through discussion or video how other teachers are using the applications. One downfall of the blog is that the entries are not posting in their entirety on the main page. Instead, the topic is introduced and if you are interested in reading more you have to click on "read more." While for most this might not be a big deal, but for those with dial up, this is an extra step which requires more download time. He has done a nice job using his sidebar for additional articles, directions and resources that will be helpful in the field of educational technology.

Finally, the person blog I chose, GenLady.com, has great voice. She write in a very personal tone, not stiff or formal. There is historical trivia mixed in with the search tips and she doesn't rely just on her own knowledge, but makes connections to other blogs, websites, and Youtube videos. She does seem to have too many placed in the sidebar to get to her archives posts, which seems like a waste of space that could be better used. Instead of having "archives," "categories," and "recent posts," it would work better to have "recent posts" and a search box to look for specific topics in the archives.