The Year of Blogs

Both Mr. D, lit teacher, and Mr. Muskat, European history teacher, have reported peer pressure to start a blog for their students.  I knew lit classes had blogs last year, but I didn't know they were useful enough to catch on.
Wow, just had a moment when I realized those teachers I just mentioned could be reading this.  Because it's public.  And my teachers have access to the internet.  Haha, you two!  I finished my homework, okay?
Also when I went to the NHS meeting after school today there was a URL to a Google sites page on the whiteboard, for yet another class.  It's cool but odd.  I like the idea of putting educational material in a format that students spend a lot of time using, but requiring computer access for homework has always made me uneasy.

When I visited Kenya this summer I met a lot of students who learn and spend much more time studying than we do in the U.S., and they have not nearly as many resources.  So, when I start complaining in my head about budget cuts, which are still unfortunate,  I just need to suck it up.  I mean,  I have a textbook that has been written in the past five years, teachers with master's degrees, and computer access.
I also had fun today with College Board's College Search.   I put in search parameters for a school with around 5000 students, higher selectivity, that has a communications major.  I then eliminated those in NYC, because that place gives me culture shock, and found that at least one college I'm going to visit anyway, Stanford, is already on the list.  University of Richmond was also on there, but I didn't like it much.  I think it's because they didn't have a slideshow.   The school's I have liked so far, William and Mary and Whitworth University,  have both had slideshows.   I must be a visual learner. 

The internet allows educators to communicate with their students, and prospective students to examine their educators.  This transparancy facilitates an open learning community.  And that's a good thing.

P.S.  I added Mr. Muskat's full name, because his blog is public.  If he makes it private,  I'll remove his name.   But for now, there's no point in protecting his privacy.