Top 10 Education Tech Blogs
1. The Innovative Educator
If you have ever felt that school was boring or irrelevant, the
Innovative Educator, Lisa Nielson, understands how you feel. Motivated
by her own disillusionment with the way public schools today approach
teaching, Nielson focuses on showing other educators ways that they can
use freely available resources and technologies already within students’
grasps to make classes more engaging and relevant. Not only does
Nielson deal with broad ideas about technology in the classroom, but
also the nitty gritty details of implementation, so that teachers will
be able to use her ideas without having to struggle against a budget
process or other restrictions.
2. The Daring Librarian
Gwyneth Jones, the Daring Librarian herself, knows that librarians can have lots of fun. Approaching ed-tech with a sense of humor and plenty of Vines and cartoons to illustrate her stories, Jones writes a blog that entertains as it informs. Not only does she provide plenty of excellent content on new apps and ideas on how to use everyday websites as learning opportunities, but also a good measure of fun stories that will have you laughing out loud.3. EdTech RoundUp
With weekly posts on the state of technology in education, EdTech
RoundUp is the best place to go to find out the latest news related to
education tech. The comprehensive coverage of news and recently released
apps and devices allows you to find out the latest happenings in just
one place every week. While this blog may not have as many original
ideas as some other blogs in the field, the RoundUp provides you with
the best place to keep informed on progress in the field.
4. Edudemic
Easily the largest hub for education content out there, Edudemic
provides teachers with advice, ideas, and lesson plans to better
integrate technology in the classroom. While a visit to this site may be
a bit overwhelming at first due to the sheer amount of
attention-grabbing content, you will always be able to find new ideas
that make your visit worth your time.
5. MindShift
When you are tired of reading the same ideas over and over again
written in different words on different blogs, head over to MindShift
for something unique. Focusing on slightly edgier, more fringe topics
within the educational technology field, MindShift opens your eyes to
totally new ideas. With its wide scope and its dedication to sharing all
unique opinions on education, MindShift will give you plenty to talk
about with your colleagues.
6. Free Technology 4 Teachers
While ideas are great, implementation remains the biggest challenge
for many teachers. A lack of resources and tools plagues many schools,
making it more difficult to use technology in the classroom. Richard
Byrne addresses this in his blog, Free Technology 4 Teachers. His
well-organized site is a treasure trove of free apps, software, videos,
and graphics that teachers can use in the classroom right away.
Practical and clear, Byrne gives suggestions that even the least
tech-savvy teacher can use.
7. Cycles of Learning
Who doesn’t like a good life hack? Ramsay Musallam recognized how
useful hacks could be in classrooms, so he set up Cycles of Learning to
share practical education tech hacks to make teachers’ lives just a bit
easier. Once you see his TED Talk
on sparking learning, you won’t be able to get enough of his content.
By focusing on simple ways to inspire real learning in students using
technology in the classroom, Musallam shows us that even learning can be
hacked.
8. Edutopia
Hosted by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, Edutopia has
plenty of well-indexed information on how technology can be used in
classrooms. Since information is filed by age group and topic, teachers
can easily get practical ideas that are relevant to their current
curriculum without wading through lots of ideas that won’t quite work
for their individual situations. With plenty of videos and fun quizzes,
Edutopia can be a fun place to browse even if you aren’t looking for
anything specific. Make sure to click on their “Trending Topics” section
to find out what the hottest topics are currently in education
technology.
9. Steve Hargadon
Don’t let the simple design and lack of flash fool you; Steve
Hargadon’s blog provides plenty of worthwhile current information on
educational technologies. A true ed-tech leader, Hargadon is the
director of the Web 2.0 Labs, host of the Future of Education interview
series, chair of the Social Learning Summit and the Learning 2.0
Conference, and co-chair of the annual Global Education and Library 2.0
worldwide conferences. As Hargadon is one of the top experts on
educational technology, you can be assured that reading his blog will
give you plenty of innovative ideas.
10. My Paperless Classroom
Sam Patterson, K-5 tech integration specialist, talks about his own
experiences trying to implement tech ideas in classes in My Paperless
Classroom. Not only does Patterson have some excellent ideas on how to
effectively use technologies less commonly allowed in classes, including
MineCraft worlds, toys, and video games, but he also candidly reveals
some of the challenges and pitfalls of these technologies. Be prepared
to learn what tech integration really means in the classroom.
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