I think I've stumbled upon a particularly active Edublogger for this week's blog assignment. Jennifer Barnett is the teacher and writer behind Reflect to Redirect and has been blogging since 2007. She's been a teacher in some form or capacity since 1991 but has now transitioned to being the Technical Integration Specialist at a high school down in Alabama. Before even delving into her website, I knew she would have a lot of resources and knowledge and if her position was replicated in our schools we'll be working in, she would be someone we'd want to know ASAP.
There was so much to look through on her website that I only chose a few things to discuss. One was her My Web Wardrobe: a wiki page describing how she views her web 2.0 tools, as a wardrobe with all the bells and whistles such as the closet, the basics, the accessories, and the formal. Underneath these labels are a long, detailed list of web tools we as teachers can use in our classrooms with a basic subject heading of what they all do. There's links to websites for polling, group chatting, reflections, adding voice and animation, timelines and infographics and places to create tests and quizzes. Honestly it's a lot to look at:
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| Just a small amount of the links from My Web Wardrobe |
I'm really thankful that people like Jennifer exist to create resources like this for other teachers to use. She's even included more specific lists for content areas near the bottom of the same page. This must have taken so much time and energy to research and discover these awesome resources! Is this the Holy Grail of teacher resources? I'm not sure I would go that far to attest to that statement, but it's really nice to know this exists when I start thinking about my own lessons and how I want to implement technology.
Secondly she has a page dedicated to 1:1 Technology Resources. We've discussed the idea of equality in terms of access to technology and she provides various links that detail more information on a variety of related topics: ways students can collaborate with iPads, resources for Smartboards, and other interesting websites she's discovered on the web. I think this is a developing page on her website, so I'd be interested in following her to see if she adds more to it in the future.
Edubloggers can construct a whole online identity through these blogs, with publications, and trademarks. Teaching is a business and we're all in the business of helping kids learn new things each day and to be excited about their futures so why not create a blog that helps ourselves and others with business? I'm definitely interested in learning more about different Edubloggers this week and maybe one day collaborating and working alongside them!
Kelsey,
ReplyDeleteI like that you pointed out how amazing it is that these teachers find the time to blog. I find it beneficial to read their work, but it is also important to appreciate the time and effort they are putting in. This makes me think about how much time I will have for things like this as a beginning teacher. I think it is important to help others along the way, but this may be something to prioritize later in my career. I didn't have a chance to look at Reflect and Redirect so I'm happy I could read your blog to learn more about it! I like the idea of organizing web tools as a wardrobe. I may find this analogy helpful when I start to plan my own lessons and use online tools.
I very much appreciate what you've said about Jennifer Bartlett in particular, and more generally about the generosity of teachers like her who put in the kind of effort required to maintain a blog (especially one as good as this one). While I'm confident that teachers, as a group, are at least as generous and even altruistic as most another professional group, I also wonder about whether doing such work is a source of professional/personal sustenance? What do you think? I would add that your comments, in the big picture, point to one of the key "affordances" that technology can offer to teachers, which is an easy and available means to maintain a PLN, or professional/personal learning network.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great comment Jeff! I think that this work would be a mix of professional and personal sustenance. I know that I personally need a creative outlet in my life and can see how a blog might fill that necessity! I like to think of these blogs as a place to continue a personal and professional journey within education and teaching itself. It's been really interesting to read everyone else's blogs on this topic!
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