Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Educational Blogging

To my absolute surprise, yesterday's poll question came out pretty well -- at least layout-wise. Also to my surprise, people still ask me if they can comment or answer the poll question anonymously. YES, YOU CAN! Honestly. There's no way I (or anyone else) can figure out who's looking at or commenting on this site. So join in the fun!

On a related note, I've added a "site counter" at the bottom of the home page that let's me see how many people have looked at the blog (last time I checked, about 70, which may include those who look more than once). It also tells me how long the average visit is (about 3 1/2 minutes), and how many pages the average visitor looks at (about 3). Interestingly, it also tells me -- in broad, geographic terms only! -- where people are sitting when they look at the JIS Topics blog. Today someone in New South Wales, Australia, spent some time putsing around the site -- yikes, must be very bored!

So anyway, hopefully you feel that you can participate in this discussion without being outed. Blogs really work best when discussion happens, ideas are challenged, and thoughts are pushed farther. Socrates based his whole existence on this idea: you've got to ask questions if you want to discover the answers.....

Lastly, if you have a chance, have a look at some of the other educational blogs in cyberspace. A few good ones (all admittedly with a US focus -- so please send others from outside the States that we can add to this list):
  • Eduwonk.com
  • The EdWahoo
  • The Education Gadfly (written by the Fordham Foundation's Chester Finn, a controversial-but-incredibly-smart education reformer)
  • Blog of Proximal Development (run by a Canadian Ph.D. candidate who's studying ways educators can use blogs -- very well written!)
  • Blog Board (Education Week's "look at what's new and noteworthy in educator blogs")
  • Kitchen Table Math (run by two moms/mathematicians, this site is great for parents and educators trying to make sense of math, math curriculum, and other mind-boggling topics)
Still not convinced that this whole blogging thing isn't just another new-fangled fad, like pet rocks or mood rings? Read this article in today's Washington Post. Apparently it's not just for geeks anymore.

2 Comments:

At 7:20 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is Cheryl...I'm responding anonymously to explain how you do it, because it's not perfectly logical.

First, type your comment in the "Leave your comment" box. Then, under "Choose an identity," click Anonymous. Lastly, click "Login and Publish."

You won't have to log in, but Blogspot.com, the company I use to host this blog, wants people to sign up for their service, so it tries to encourage you to create an account. YOU DON'T HAVE TO CREATE A USER NAME OR PASSWORD! JUST CLICK "LOGIN AND PUBLISH.")

That's it. Your post will publish without your name or the need to log in or create a password.

Hope this helps! Happy commenting!

Cheryl vT

 
At 8:22 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi! This is Pat...It is very easy to respond. If I can do anyone can!

Pat Vint

 

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