Blog Post 1: Initia van Tonder

Blackboard: "K-12 Online Learning in the 21st Century: Report and Podcast"
One of the blogs that I checked out was based from a website called
"Blackboard". It is a blogging site that ranges from k-12, and invites the participation of teachers, parents, and students alike. There are a variety of specific blogs that you can look at, and I choose to look at "K-12 Online Learning in the 21st Century: Report and Podcast." I thought it was pretty appropriate since we have been discussing and exploring ideas and products based on e-learning.
A link from the Blackboard forum lead me to the actual blogging site. The blog is aimed at getting teachers to give their feedback about experiences that they have had with not only their students, but also their admistration, as they work towards incorporating educational technology into the classroom through this Online Learning in the 21st Century program. Teachers are invited to share their views and experiences on topics and issues such as the tracking of students who suffer from ADD in the e-learning environment, data or information about success of programs like the 21st Century program in smaller schools, the types of equipment that teachers are incorporating into the classroom for e-learning, and many many more issues. The blog provides helpful links to podcasts, as well as any other websites that contributors discuss or address. This site is active and very current. Teachers seem to be very eager to contribute their thoughts and plans about e-learning, particulary because it is such a new phenomenon. I feel that this blogging tool is a great way to promote communication between teachers from not only all over the United States, but also all over the world.
This particular tool has great potential for teachers in and out of the classroom. It promotes an environment of perpetual communication and sharing that is aimed specifically at helping the teaching community. Teachers could and do easily use this tool to discuss educational issues in and outside of the classroom.

The second blogging website that I looked at was called "weblog-edu." It was a blogging site set up specifically for the first k12 online convention about incorporating educational tools into the classroom. Teachers where able to use this site to post their ideas about prompts for the convention, or issues that they believed where important and necessary for discussion at the confrence. This site dates back to 2006, so it was very helpful and innovative for teachers who where just beginning to get introduced to technology in the classroom. The blog framework was based on a weekly evualtion of the progressions of the confrence, starting with week 1: "A Week in the Classroom" Week one was based on issues that teachers where facing as they began training with the new technological tools, and how this might serve to be problematic in the classroom. Week two: "Personal Proffesional Development" was aimed at discussing ideas about how to develop and expand your own (the teacher's) proffesional use of the technological tools, as well as considering how individual knowledge could be used to enhance the greater school community. There was a variety of teachers from all over the country who where giving their comments and proposals in accordance with the conventional prompts. This site, however, seems to be inactive at this point. It was clearly very useful at the time of the confrence, and though it is no longer in active use, it is still a helpful tool because the teacher blogs are still present and available. Perhaps struggling teachers could draw inspiration from those who pioneered the incorporation of technology in the classroom. I feel that this blog is a very helpful tool, for in, or out of the classroom use. Again, like with the previous website, it promotes an attitude of co-operation and progression amongst educators.