Google Reader

Establishing a Google Reader account to subscribe to blogs was one of the best experiences of this class. It was one of those things that I had no idea existed! This is one of those assignments that has now become a habit of checking out what is new so I plan to continue. I now have found a few other blogs for teaching and personal that I would like to subscribe to when this class is completed.

One negative to this experience has been the lack of time to truly investigate links, apps, materials, etc. that are recommended. With all the other assignments, just reading through the blogs took time. I would love to be able to truly learn more about what I was introduced to by the bloggers that have so much knowledge of technology.

Here is a list of the required blogs I followed....

Cool Cat Teacher Blog
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/

Will Richardson
http://willrichardson.com/

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/

Free Technology for Teachers
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet
http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/

These are the additional blogs I subscribed to...

Dr. Jean and Friends
http://drjeanandfriends.blogspot.com/

The Faces of Autism
http://www.autism-blog.net/

Reality 101:  CEC's Blog for New Teachers
http://www.cecreality101.org/

Teaching All Students
http://teachingall.blogspot.com/

The Special Educator's Friend
http://www.specialeducationteacher.me/

The Pioneer Woman:  Ree Drummond
http://thepioneerwoman.com/

My favorite....

would have to be Cool Cat Teacher's blog. Until I read  one of her posts during Thanksgiving, I would not have been sure which blog was my favorite. But after reading the particular one I will share below, my decision was made. As I have read through her posts, she seems real...like the teacher down the hall who happens to really love her family and tries to keep work and home in perspective. The things she shares have been applicable to my classroom. 

However, it was really hard not to choose Dr. Jean and Friends! I went to her workshop this past summer and was inspired to have fun while teaching. Her blog gives really simple things I can do through art and music with my students that they need.

Of all the blogs, the ones I "starred" the most are those I really need to go back and apply to my classroom...especially my three new iPads! They are Larry Ferlazzo, Teaching All Students, and Free Technology.

My favorite blog post...

http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2011/11/ripped-game-pants-and-school.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CoolCatTeacherBlog+%28Cool+Cat+Teacher+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

This post is titled "Ripped Game Pants and School Improvement Dance." She begins with describing her dilemma with her son's ripped football pants that he doesn't want her to fix before the state championship game.  As a mom, she is thinking from the stands as she sees his ripped pants, "What is everyone going to say about his mama, not fixing his pants like that?" That reminded me of my own son's high school football days and just how I think as a mother sometimes...how is it going to make me look? She then related this story of what she sees happening in the education world with us trying to fix things that don't really need fixing. I love one of her quotes: "The classroom isn't abut making copies, it is about making originals."