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.