image source: http://www.folioclick.com/img/woman_laptop.png
Alright boys and girls. As promised this is the first post of many from our podcasting panel that talks about what blogs we read, why we read them and where to find them. We all agree that you will find valuable information that pertains to your teaching practices. Of course they can be pretty darn entertaining to read too which makes them even compelling to try out. So read on past the break to see my list and of course, if you have some great blogs that you read, leave them in the comments. For the record the girl in the picture is not me.
Free Technology for Teachers – www.freetech4teacehrs.com
If you’re looking for shear volume of web services and programs that are free this is where you need to go. I like to refer to it as the Walmart for this category. Written by Richard Byrne he quickly gives you loads and loads of resources (he has posted over 3000 posts in about 4 years). The one down side to his blog is that his “reviews” are not very detailed and rather than take a stance on whether something is good or not, he leaves that up to the reader. That is small caveat though. I find a lot of great resources on that website and his posts are pretty small which makes it a quick read and not a lot of theory or heavy lifting.
My Island View – www.tomwhitby.wordpress.com
If you need a little more substance and theory to workout that big brain of yours this is a destination you would like to visit. Tom Whitby does’t post as prolifically as Richard does, but his content is definitely much deeper and really gets you thinking. Tom rights about issues (usually related to technology and its role in education) that are relevant in a lot of schools around the world. He is not afraid to take a stance on a difficult subject, call out teachers, administration and policy makers, and back it all up with research and logical thoughts. If you are interested about how technology is influencing technology you need to stop by and pay Tom a visit. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.
Dangerously Irrelevant – www.dangerouslyirrelevant.org
I really enjoy this blog for the discussions that happens in the comment section as much (or more in some cases) as the content Scott McCleod publishes. Just look at his great post We can’t let educators off the hook. There are 145 comments there. That is awesome and in my mind what a blog should be. Scott isn’t afraid to call out other researchers, politicians and entire school district. Don’t get the wrong impression. Scott isn’t just there ranting, his posts and backed by research and a lot of times he asks his readers to add comments and discuss pertinent issues. He is well respected in the educational community and you don’t need to agree with everything he says, but he’ll most definitely get you thinking.
My favorite tech blogs
There are a lot of tech blogs and these are by far the most popular. They are professional blogs, with great insight and while they are not geared to the teacher or people in education, I have found (on many occasions) great services and ideas that the ed-tech blogs miss. There are also pretty funny and keep me abreast of the direction of technology and some bigger issues that not only affect education but general users. It is nice to sometimes broaden your vision to see a larger picture. Here are those blogs.
Again, if you have blogs that you love, share them here. We’re always looking for new and interesting sites to read.
Technology in the Classroom 
You are on my favorite list