For over 15 years, veteran educator Matthew Lynch has written about and researched the field of education. On “The Edvocate Podcast,” he discusses education trends, issues, and futures. To join him on this journey, click the subscribe button so you can be alerted when the first episode goes live.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Educational Technology (OET) knows a thing or two about “Future Ready Leaders.” In 2016 they began the Future Ready Leaders Project in response to requests from superintendents across America.
These district leaders recognize the importance of preparing education leaders for the future, and in response, the OET has already compiled fifty videos sharing best future forward practices from around the country.
The Future Ready Education Leader
While that may sound open-ended, some compelling tenets of future ready leadership have already begun to emerge. Overwhelmingly, the skills needed center around four distinct themes.
You can expect that future ready education leaders will need to focus on the following:
And finally, the future ready education leaders will be innovators who can inspire others to reach new heights in digital leadership.
The leaders who build the future in education will use research and best practices to create rigorous learning environments suited to the interests of students. They will need educational technology to provide the rigor and relevance required for college and career readiness. These leaders will use their strategic planning skills to prepare the path.
As schools begin discussing the idea of becoming future ready, they must begin by identifying what a future ready school looks like. After finding what it means to be future ready, then the school can begin to implement change.
According to the Alliance for Excellence Education, “Future Ready Schools helps K-12 public, private, and charter school leaders plan and implement personalized, research-based digital learning strategies so all students can achieve their full potential.”
Ultimately, future ready schools find ways to embrace ever-changing technology in the classroom to help students succeed beyond the classroom walls. While most people assume future ready is strictly focused on technology, this is incorrect. Let’s look at some of the other defining characteristics of future ready schools.
Provide Access to Technology
President Obama encouraged schools to implement future ready strategies by pointing out that students need access to Wi-Fi in their schools. If educators wish to prepare students for the future, they must provide access to the technology students will use. This is why future ready schools aim to give high access internet to 99 percent of schools.
Additionally, future ready schools develop a curriculum that encourages digital learning. By allowing librarians to play a crucial role in curating digital content and technology that will take students into the future, schools are better able to prepare students.
Leadership Encourages Personalized Learning
Future ready schools have future ready leaders. The difference in this type of leadership is an insistence on personalized learning. Future ready leaders understand personalized learning experiences for students equates to lifelong success. Leaders (such as superintendents, principals, and librarians) encourage teachers and students to use technology to make learning more personal. For example, students create content using technology rather than simply completing worksheets.
Creates an Innovative and Adaptable Culture
Future ready schools have an innovative and adaptable culture. These schools look for new ways to implement digital learning strategies and understand that these changes are ongoing. By understanding that education and technology are constantly changing, these schools make preparations for technology that can be modified and used into the future. For instance, future ready schools write policies that are adaptable to changing times.
Wisely Use Time and Resources
Finally, future ready schools use time and resources wisely. Schools have budgets, but future ready schools plan strategically for the future. When making purchases for the classroom, future ready schools consider the long-term goals. In other words, rather than spending time and money on a specific device, these schools consider what educational goals a tool will support. Future ready schools use a digital learning implementation plan to help guide their planning ensuring their time and resources are used to give students opportunities to reach their full potential.
Can you think of any additional characteristics of future ready schools?
The concept of grit, although not new, has recently become a higher education buzzword due, in part, to Angela Duckworth’s research on the subject in her book, Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance. Traditionally defined as “courage” or “resolve” by Miriam-Webster, Duckworth reimagined the term as regarding higher education, colleges and universities want to know how “gritty” or “resilient” their students are and how this trait can affect their progress toward degree completion. This is certainly beneficial knowledge to have, as a student’s level of grit can also affect his or her self-control and ability to engage with professors and class material.
There is a wide variety of methods by which to measure and test a student’s grit level, but what if that level falls short of ideal? A student body lacking in grit could manifest as an increase in years to degree completion due to changing majors, failure to persist to degree completion at all, or high levels of unemployment 6 months after graduation. Outcomes such as these based on students’ inability to commit to a degree path and persist to graduation are detrimental to students themselves and to the colleges attempting to support them.
But, there is good news! Incorporating purpose and vocation exploration into first-year college programming has been shown to increase students’ perseverance toward degree completion as well as increased job satisfaction and quality of life after graduation. In other words, students who go through programs intended to teach them how to shape their personal values into rewarding careers are more likely to persist toward degree completion in four years. Students who understand how to put their values into action through future careers are more likely to push through adversity in pursuit of an end goal that they can relate to.
Their grit, or, ability to passionately pursue a long-term goal, is increased by understanding how to mold their values into actions. Internships and service learning activities are additional ways in which to strengthen this commitment through the entirety of the college experience. When students see a clear path toward a goal that they identify with, they will become better at overcoming setbacks and maneuvering through unexpected obstacles, issues that might have otherwise affected their persistence to degree completion.
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Cause and effect aren’t always clearly and correctly paired in America’s classrooms.
Teachers don’t always have the time, energy, or awareness to properly attribute underperformance.
The gap of understanding in the classroom can be compared to how road rage incidents get escalated.
Suppose you fail to notice a light turning green at an intersection. You might explain your negligence in any number of ways — you were caught up in a song playing on the radio, you were monitoring the progress of a pedestrian nearby, you were investigating the car behind you via rearview mirror — all of which emphasize external factors, rather than individual failings.
Now suppose you were behind a car that wasn’t moving after the light turned green. Same situation, same outcome, but many people would instinctively blame that driver in more intrinsic ways — the driver was being stupid, careless, selfish, etc.
This is the essence of fundamental attribution error: we look outside ourselves to explain behavior, but focus on internal factors to explain the behavior of others.
We see a similarly challenged dynamic in dating and romantic relationships. In the absence of good communication, each member of a couple is prone to developing his or her own narrative to explain behaviors, perceived emotions, and even the successes and failures of a couple. When he comes home at night, is he being dismissive and distant because something is wrong with the relationship, or simply because he hasn’t stopped worrying about a bad day at work? Is she struggling to come up with a diner destination because she doesn’t know what she wants, or is she being purposefully passive-aggressive?
When applied to academic settings, the same fallacy is apparent. Both students and teachers are accused of not caring enough to try harder or perform better. A national preoccupation with educational outcomes — the effect we look for from our schools — has exacerbated a lack of understanding about the inputs, or causes.
It is human nature to look for patterns; in the absence of clear, verifiable patterns, it is also human nature to invent patterns even in spite of evidence. In sports, for example, this can manifest as superstition:
The outcome — surviving playoffs, having a good season, pitching a perfect game — clearly has no measurable or meaningful connection to the behaviors extolled, but the belief in their significance continues undeterred. In social contexts, a similar fallacy prevents us from correctly attributing effects to their causes. In education, it is possible we have focused on desired outcomes that fail to account for the power of confounding variables.
The variables of student life today are too many to count: from home life, social life, and social media, to the quality of instruction, the presence of role models, and even the medium of instruction and assessment, there are a lot of variables getting in the way of assigning cause and effect.
To move beyond fundamental attribution error, or falling into the old habit of superstition, it is important to spend more time and energy looking upstream for the real causes that need our attention. Going upstream is a principle of public health in which caregivers go beyond treating symptoms and instead look for opportunities to prevent sickness and injury. Businesses engaged in corporate social responsibility and other forms of social entrepreneurship take a similar approach: throwing money at a problem or social ill no longer impresses consumers or shareholders. Looking upstream for opportunities to meaningfully impact communities and benefit the world not only makes for a better story, it makes for more lasting forms of giving.
Both of these examples apply in education as well. By going upstream to understand what drives student performance, classroom behavior, and any other outcomes we care to monitor, we can better connect cause and effect and control for other variables. Going upstream in education isn’t just a matter of more spending or more resources, but of aiding teachers, administrators, and the general public to focus on what really drives outcomes.
When we stop focusing on outcomes to the exclusion of understanding inputs, we create a machine for using money and resources without generating improved results. When we go upstream to identify the real cause and effect relationship surrounding school, we can put our resources where they will have the greatest benefit.
The field of education has a plethora of conferences and assemblies where educators and industry leaders gather to learn about emerging developments, instructional trends and market disruptors. If you are interested in attending a highly beneficial education conference to share, learn, and find new solutions to current challenges, consider these four “not to miss” conferences that stand out with effective programming and networking opportunities.
Hosted by MDR, EdNET2017 provides senior executives from PreK-12 education companies the latest information on market trends, business partnering opportunities, funding sources, new technologies, and activities for key market players.
Now in its 29th year, EdNET is a business-to-business leadership forum, with peer-to-peer interaction. The conference attracts senior personnel responsible for marketing, sales, business development and strategic initiatives, as well as top management from all industry sectors selling products and services to U.S. schools, including nonprofits and consumer goods.
Speakers include influential voices in education, such as representatives from innovative corporate players, education-focused investment and analyst groups, education institutions, education administrators and policy makers.
EdNET provides a forum for discussion and an opportunity for senior executives to consider not only the market they are currently working in, but also where the industry is headed. It has brought together top executives of companies whose products and services for schools constitute the most important source of instructional and assessment resources available to schools in America and beyond.
This year’s programming is built from conversations with an Industry Advisory Board, and leaders from various segments of the education industry. These Board members identify critical issues in the market, from both the business and customer perspective, and help to shape the topics, speakers and presentations of highest interest. This is one of the most well-established and well-attended educational industry conferences of the year. For more information, click here to visit the conference site.
The iNACOL Symposium is sponsored by the nonprofit organization iNACOL, and it focuses on the education of children in grades K through 12. This conference is designed for anyone within the education field, whether a teacher, professor or administrator.
In addition to the opportunity to develop your network, the symposium offers a broad range of topics to help you explore new ways of teaching. There are over 200 sessions covering a wide variety of issues that fall one of the following foci:
It is the kind of event that you must attend to get a real understanding of the scope and breadth of knowledge that is on display. You can check out the areas being highlighted at the symposium to see if they are covering a particular field. If you are interested in setting up an exhibition, they are still accepting applications.
While there are still months before the event, there are already several hashtags associated with it. You can post some of your own ideas or look up what others are saying with the hashtags #Policymakers and #Edleaders. You can also follow details about the symposium and other news and events by iNACOL by following @nacol on Twitter.
If you are actively involved in using technology to help students learn, this is a conference you need to add to your calendar. The entire event is dedicated to different learning technologies and how they can best be used to enhance the learning experience. Sponsored by the eLearning Guild, you will have three days devoted to technology in education. You can speak with some of the leaders in the industry or share ideas with others who are enthusiastic about what technology can do to help students perform better both in the classroom and outside it.
You can follow the latest news and information on Twitter @eLearningGuild.
To round out the year, you can go to the National Summit hosted by ExcelinEd for a look at ways to improve and reform the American education system. The focus goes beyond the classroom and examines how state and local policymakers and advocates can keep up with the latest trends to help students get ahead in their education. Some of the conference’s primary focus include the following:
By focusing on these details before the holiday season, you can establish some resolutions to help improve the way you, the local government, and the state approach education. To stay current on the latest news and changes to the event, you can follow the event on Twitter @ExcelinEd.
Final Thoughts
As the field of education continues to evolve at a furious pace, the need to assemble and share our thoughts and best practices is more important than ever. The conferences that were discussed in this piece are just a sample menu of all the valuable and relevant gatherings that will take place this fall. Our hope is that it provides a starting place for educational professionals that are planning to attend a conference in the near future.
In this multi-part series, we are profiling the best of the best education blogs, in alphabetical order. In the previous article, I introduced letters TE and in this one, I will discuss letters TH-Y.
Click here to access all of the articles in this series.
Lisa Nielsen’s daily blog posts focus on ways to make education more relevant for students by embracing technology and channeling their passions. Recent topics include how to teach students to evaluate the accuracy of the news, and how to tell if your students are digital learners.
Score: Activity 20, Originality 19.5, Helpfulness 22.5, Authority 23
Total Score: 85
Twitter: @InnovativeEdu
Nicholas Provenzano shares his ideas about being a connected educator. Recent articles outline how to create a meaningful Makerspace program.
Score: Activity 25, Originality 21, Helpfulness 21.5, Authority 23
Total Score: 91.9
Twitter: @thenerdyteacher
Email: [email protected]
This is another UK site, but it’s worth mentioning as it covers some fresh topics, such as finding out what refugee camp teachers go through, teachers’ work life balance, and what you can learn from a classroom in Singapore.
Score: Activity 17, Originality 17, Helpfulness 17, Authority 17
Total Score: 68
Twitter: @TheEducator_UK
Geared more towards students, this blog focuses on how to adapt and thrive in college. They post regularly, making it a site to bookmark for regular perusal.
Score: Active 25, Original 19, Help 18, Authority 16
Total: 78
Twitter: @Michael_Kirst
This blog by Angela Watson is interesting because it focuses on teachers and managing yourself, as well as your classroom. There are also plenty of resources, courses, etc. available from Angela on the page.
Score: Activity 20, Originality 21, Helpfulness 21, Authority 20
Total Score: 82
Twitter: @Angela_Watson
In this blog, founded by two teachers, you will find lesson plans, activities to do in the classroom, etc. targeted toward busy teachers who want to access information fast. Unlike so many other blogs these days the focus here is old fashioned games and activities. The activities are aimed to meet national state standards.
Score: Activity 17.6, Originality 17, Helpfulness 18, Authority 18
Total Score: 70.6
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @curriculumcornr
Lisa Nielsen got angry because she found education boring so she decided to do something about it. On her blog she shares innovative tips for educators.
Score: Activity 23, Originality 22, Helpfulness 20, Authority 23
Total Score: 88
Twitter: @InnovativeEdu
David Didau likes exploring psychology and learning which he talks about on his blog, setting out with the idea that possibly everything you ever knew about education might be wrong. He is based in the UK, but his thoughts are as relevant for teachers in the US. If you want to find out what techniques you’re using in the classroom that have actually been examined to work and which are just presumed to work, then this blog is for you.
Score: Activity 22, Originality 23, Helpfulness 21, Authority 23
Total Score: 89
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @DavidDidau
A math teacher turned teaching activist promoting social justice in education, Jose Vilson shares his thoughts on the latest happenings in education, offers support to minorities in teaching and talks about teaching students of low income households. The blog has been listed on several “top blog” lists.
Score: Activity 19, Originality 24, Helpfulness 18, Authority 23
Total Score: 84
Twitter: @thejlv
This is the New York Times Learning Network, which is a great network to tap into if you’re looking for lesson plans centered around news stories. There are also news quizzes, a film and picture club and various contests that your students can get involved in.
Score: Activity 24, Originality 20, Helpfulness 17, Authority 19
Total Score: 80
Twitter: @nytimes
This blog by Charity Preston mixes hands on classroom DIY with technology tips, classroom management tips, etc. There are plenty of video workshops too.
Score: Activity 17, Originality 17, Helpfulness 18, Authority 18.3
Total Score: 70.3
Twitter: @theOCblog
It sounds somewhat contradictory to introduce edtech to PE, but it’s not. And here you’ll learn why. From time to time there are also other topics related to edtech and teaching covered, so even if you don’t teach PE, you might want to stop by.
Score: Activity 22, Originality 23, Helpfulness 19.5, Authority 20
Total Score: 84.5
Twitter: @mrrobbo
The Power of Educational Innovation
School administrator Liz Davis chronicles her adventures in leading technology innovation in her school and her region. Her recent posts tell a story of inspiring students to lead through an Edcamp program.
Score: Activity 18, Originality 22, Helpfulness 21, Authority 21.5
Total Score: 82
They may not post often, but their posts related to teaching art are incredibly helpful if you are indeed teaching art!
Score: Activity 19, Originality 18, Helpfulness 18, Authority 20
Total Score: 75
Twitter: @TchingPalette
This blog looks at some of the most entrenched ideas in higher education and questions them. It is thought provoking, even if you do not always agree, making it well worth a monthly check for updates.
Score: Active 15, Original 25, Help 18.5, Authority 19
Total: 77.5
Twitter: @BonStewart
This blog is for anyone teaching in an inclusive classroom. Here you will find tips from other educators that you can implement.
Score: Activity 17, Originality 20.5, Helpfulness 20, Authority 22
Total Score: 79.5
Twitter: @think_inclusive
A higher education blog staple, Times Higher Education takes in the news and events about and on campus on a daily basis. It is a great way to start the day catching up on events that you may have missed or to prepare for tomorrow.
Score: Active 25, Original 18.5, Helpfulness 23, Authority 20.9
Total: 86.9
Twitter: @TimesHigherEd
Top Hat strives to keep students and professors working together. They cover a good bit of news and assessments about higher education edtech too.
Score: Active 23, Original 21, Helpfulness 20, Authority 22
Total: 86
Twitter: @TopHat
If you are interested in the policies and practices of countries that have the best educational systems, this is a blog that will give you insight. It will make you question what’s good and what’s bad in the American system and possibly leave you with ideas for how to make your personal teaching better.
Score: Activity 21, Originality 21, Helpfulness 15, Authority 23
Total Score: 80
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @educationweek
The tagline for the site says it all – “…education, technology and random stuff.” The site is a great source of information about higher education, and a bit of random news and trending topics to keep you entertained as well as informed.
Score: Active 12, Original 22, Help 18, Authority 16
Total: 68
Twitter: @Chri5Rowell
The primary focus is on data and technology, but there is also a heavy emphasis in how they change higher education. It is an interesting blog to track for those who are interested in technology or who want to see where edtech could take higher education in a few years.
Score: Active 19, Original 21, Help 18.3, Authority 20
Total: 78.3
Twitter: @Udacity
This is a blog aimed at a very specific niche in higher education – student taking a year off of going to school. Since the point is to take a break, the blog gives you ideas and advice about how to make that year both productive and enjoyable so that you are ready to go back and finish your degree with enthusiasm.
Score: Active 20, Original 25, Help 15, Authority 18.6
Total: 78.6
Twitter: @UnCollege
If you are in administration, this is a must follow blog to keep you informed and help you plan for the future. With multiple blogs posted daily, there is always something new for your to learn or consider.
Score: Active 25, Original 17, Help 20, Authority 18.5
Total: 80.5
Twitter: @UniversityBusiness
If you are looking for extraordinary activities for elementary school kids, then this blog by Jackie Gerstein Ed.D is for you! Here you will find activities that far surpass the normal range and help both teachers and kids think outside the box.
Score: Activity 19, Originality 24, Helpfulness 22, Authority 20
Total Score: 85
Twitter: @jackiegerstein
Renowned for his insightful tweets and retweets, Steve Anderson blogs about powerful ways to use technology in the classroom. Most recently, he posted about the power of TED talks and how to teach kids to evaluate news sources.
Score: Activity 25, Originality 24, Helpfulness 24.5, Authority 25
Total Score: 97.5
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @web20classroom
If you want a thought provoking blog that takes on random subjects, this one does not disappoint. While other blogs tend to repeat each other, this one is utterly unique and enjoyable when you want to cogitate about something different.
Score: Active 22, Original 25, Help 17, Authority 15.5
Total: 79.5
Twitter: @WillRich45
A technology instructional coach, Pam Shoemaker, blogs about the ways in which technology is changing the face of education. She will inspire you to take on challenges such as learning to code or becoming a Google trainer.
Score: Activity 21, Originality 19.5, Helpfulness 17, Authority 14.5
Total Score: 72
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @shoemap
Conclusion
As you can see, there is no shortage of great education blogs to choose from! Subscribe to those that meet your needs best, and watch your knowledge of education expand in no time.
In this multi-part series, we are profiling the best of the best blogs in education, in alphabetical order. In the previous article, I introduced letters S-TC and in this one, I will discuss the letter TE.
Click here to access all of the articles in this series.
From online teaching tips, to the latest research on the effectiveness of homework assignments, this blog is an incredible resource for any teacher. The topics are varied and relevant. Teach is actually a blog owned and operated by 2U Inc, which enables leading colleges and universities to deliver their high-quality degree programs online. However, the blogs are often geared towards teachers teaching K-12.
Score: Activity 20, Originality 18, Helpfulness 18, Authority 21
Total Score: 77
Twitter: NA
Email: [email protected]
According to themselves Teach Like a Champion provides educators with a set of techniques, a shared vocabulary, and a framework for practice that equip teachers to achieve dramatic results with their students. The blog, on the other hand, contain blogs that are both personal and revealing, showing how the educators come to the conclusions they do. A worthwhile blog to read if you want to be part of revolutionizing education.
Score: Activity 21, Originality 21, Helpfulness 21, Authority 21
Total Score: 84
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @Doug_Lemov
Here you will find tutorials, news and tips related to teaching. Recent topics include learning to create auto grading quizzes using Google Forms and the top 10 classroom management tips for teachers. It’s nice to see it’s not just about the tech space.
Score: Activity 22, Originality 20.5, Helpfulness 21, Authority 22
Total Score: 85.5
Twitter: @TeacherCast
A certified Google trainer, Alice Keeler will help you keep up with Google’s constant expansions. She’s exceptionally skilled in the use of Google Classroom.
Score: Activity 24, Originality 23, Helpfulness 23.5, Authority 24
Total Score: 94.5
Twitter: @alicekeeler
It’s been called the most influential blog on education in the UK and given it manages to top some of the lists in the US too, that might just be true. It is written by Ross Morrison McGill who has been teaching since he was 18 and the topics covered vary from talking about teachers’ fear of looking foolish to using comedy to improve literacy. Whilst topics concerning educational policy in the UK might not be of interest to you, the majority of posts are as relevant in the US as they are in the UK.
Score: Activity 24, Originality 21, Helpfulness 21, Authority 24
Total Score: 90
Twitter: @TeacherToolkit
This is a blog sharing instructional videos covering just about any and every subject. A great resource for any teacher looking to incorporate videos in the classroom. Some videos offer higher quality than others, so it’s a matter of finding the ones that work for you.
Score: Activity 21, Originality 24, Helpfulness 24, Authority 21.5
Total Score: 90.5
Twitter: @teachertube
If you like getting freebies (every Friday); lesson plans, printouts and the likes, then Teaching Blog Addict can help. What’s more, it links up an astounding amount of bloggers that blog about teaching, so whether you’re looking for kindergarten or first grade inspiration for teaching you will find it here. However, the blog is somewhat confusing with links going off in all directions.
Score: Activity 17.9, Originality 17, Helpfulness 18, Authority 18
Total Score: 70.9
This is a relatively new blog on Education Week by Ariel Sacks who is a is a middle school language arts teacher and instructional-support coach. She blogs about various elements of teaching, mainly related to reading in the classroom. Covering interesting and useful topics, it’s a blog well worth reading.
Score: 19, Originality 17, Helpfulness 18, Authority 19
Total Score: 73
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @arielsacks
Teaching NOW is crafted by Education Week Teacher Assistant Editor Madeline Will. The apt description on the blog reads: “Coverage runs the gamut from the inspirational to the infuriating, from practical classroom tips to raging policy debates.” The blog does cover various very interesting topics.
Score: Activity 20, Originality 19, Helpfulness 21, Authority 20.5
Total Score: 80.5
Twitter: @EdWeekTeacher
Bethany Petty shares tips and ideas that she learned from the trenches of her own “flipped, blended and gamified classroom.” Posts range from the philosophical (global collaboration) to the practical (creating “view only” folders in Google Drive).
Score: Activity 21, Originality 19, Helpfulness 17, Authority 14.5
Total Score: 71.5
Twitter: @BethanyPetty
This blog focuses on using innovative teaching methods to change the face of education. Blog posts have topics such as teaching empathy in the classroom, how to use inquiry based learning, four things project based learning teachers should do, etc. They also cover a range of edtech topics; one of their contributors is Victoria Olson an Apple Distinguished Educator, Google Certified Innovator, and Google Education Trainer.
Score: Activity 25, Originality 22, Helpfulness 23.5, Authority 25
Total Score: 95.5
Twitter: @TeachThoughtPD
As the name suggests this blog focuses on EdTech. It covers news related to edtech as well as more practical guides for implementation. The site is a bit overwhelming given all the content. However, they do offer a K-12 Blueprint which will give you tools for implementing technology and innovative learning techniques in the classroom. These tools and techniques come with research to back them up, which is very helpful.
Score: Activity 25, Originality 21.5, Helpfulness 21.5, Authority 24
Total Score: 91.5
Twitter: @techlearning/@k12blueprint
Well, that’s it for letters TE. Did we miss any?
In this multi-part series, we are profiling the best of the best blogs in education, in alphabetical order. In the previous article, I introduced letters M-Q and in this one, I will discuss letters S-TC.
Click here to access all of the articles in this series.
This blog scores top points for originality – it’s a blog by cheerleaders who work in science. The blog features interviews with different cheerleaders, which serves to inspire more girls to join the field of science. It’s not exactly the kind of blog you’d use to implement new classroom strategies, but you might want to share it with students to show that women who work in science have diverse interests. Most people don’t think Harvard grads and women working on the forefront of science do cheerleading.
Score: Activity 16, Originality 17, Helpfulness 18, Authority 18.6
Total Score: 69.6
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @TheSciCheers
This blog is a lot about creating a Google classroom, which the author, Kasey Bell, has written an entire book about. This isn’t so surprising given she’s a certified Google educator, innovator and trainer. The posts are regular and contain useful information for anyone who wants to run a digital classroom.
Score: Activity 22.5, Originality 20, Helpfulness 20, Authority 24
Total Score: 86.5
Twitter: @ShakeUpLearning
They claim to connect education professionals with industry news, insights, resources and trends, which they do. It’s all curated.
Score: Activity 22, Originality 20, Helpfulness 23.5, Authority 21
Total Score: 86.5
Twitter: @smartbrief
Smart Classroom Management is Michael Linsin’s take on classroom management and offers weekly blogs on the topic. The blog has over 100,000 subscribers which says something about the usefulness of the topics covered and Michael has taught every grade level from K-12. It’s, of course, his biased take on classroom management, but it’s a take well worth considering.
Score: Activity 16, Originality 17, Helpfulness 18, Authority 18.3
Total Score: 69.3
Email: [email protected]
Wesley Fryer documents his work with students and educators around the globe in the creative use of multimedia. Recently he offered a digital literacy challenge to create an information filter bot.
Score: Activity 24, Originality 20.5, Helpfulness 20.5, Authority 22
Total Score: 87
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @wfryer
Digital learning specialist Kerry Gallagher shares tips for safe and ethical use of technology in the classroom. Recent provocative topics include the spread of fake news and the prevalence of “sexting” among teens.
Score: Activity 16, Originality 20, Helpfulness 21, Authority 21
Total Score: 78
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @kerryhawk02
A pioneer in the field of educational technology, Steve Hargadon offers timely suggestions for things like turning PCs into Chromebooks and even has the occasional fun giveaway. Articles focus on edtech as a vehicle to drive meaningful learning.
Score: Activity 25, Originality 17.5, Helpfulness 21, Authority 20.5
Total Score: 84
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stevehargadon
Student Affairs & Technology Leadership
Take a look at higher education through the eyes of Joe Sabado. His blogs cover many of the challenges he has faced and experiences that have enriched him on his road to becoming the CIO of Student Affairs in Santa Barbara, CA. It is well worth the read if you aspire to become a higher education administrator, or simply want to improve in areas like public speaking and communicating across different departments.
Score: Active 15, Original 21, Help 19, Authority 17
Total: 72
Twitter: @JoeSabado
Tammy’s Technology Tips for Teachers
Tammy Worcester works independently as an instructional technology specialist and curates hundreds of tools, tips, and ideas on her website. She is especially savvy at tricks for using Google apps in unique ways in the classroom.
Score: Activity 25, Originality 18, Helpfulness 18, Authority 17.9
Total Score: 78.9
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @tammyworcester
Officially the blog for the Texas Computer Education Association, this website is crammed with great ideas and resources for educators everywhere. Most recently, it offers tips on photo editing and a roundup of leadership courses.
Score: Activity 24, Originality 17, Helpfulness 21.9, Authority 21
Total Score: 83.9
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @TCEA
The slogan for this blog, posted on the Teaching Channel, reads: “Our blog is filled with great ideas from passionate educators just like you. Let’s get better together!” and that pretty much sums it up. Here a squad of teachers share techniques to implement in the classroom as well as thoughts worth pondering around education.
Score: Activity 25, Originality 24, Helpfulness 23, Authority 23
Total Score: 95
Twitter: @TeachingChannel
Well, that’s it for letters S-TC. Did we miss any?
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