Top Rated "views" of others

As the "newbie" feeling of being a blog writer is beginning to wear off, I continually contemplate why would anyone want to follow my blog.  My daily reflections and thoughts have helped me to dive deeper into why I do what I do and what being a leader is all about but what does my blog offer to there.  I look at the top 10 blogs I follow and I think-the things these people discuss are so thought provoking and helpful.  They share resources freely with the only intent to be helping students be successful.  Since I do not have any thought provoking topics to currently discuss I will share some of my favorite resources with you.
Here are the top ten blogs I follow-hopefully these can be new resources for you if you are not already following them.

1. dangerously irrelevant
2. Connected principals
3. Lisa Nielsen:Innovative Educator
4. Free technology for teachers
5. edrethink
6. Edutopia
7. Innovations in Education
8. The edublogger
9. Edudemic
10. Kathy Schrock

Do you have any recommendations for the list?  What "views" are you keeping up with?

the "view" from a child with down syndrome

As I begin this trek into writing my own blog it is amazing to me how far blogging has come in my life and the life of those around me.  The first time I was really introduced to blogging was quite a few years back when my brother was stationed overseas with the Army.  His blog was like a daily diary of what was going on with him and the events that he was allowed to share about his work. Blogging has become so much more mainstream now that even young people are doing it.  They are not just using it as a diary either-they are using it to pass on knowledge they are learning in hopes of helping others learn new things and see their point of view.
An example of this kind of blog is http://caitlynrichardson.weebly.com.  Caitlyn is the daughter of one of my close friends, Tina.  Caitlyn is going into the 6th grade and just started her own blog this past week.  One of Caitlyn's teachers suggested that she write a blog, over the summer, as a way to improve her writing and critical thinking skills.  Caitlyn came up with the idea of writing a blog about what she thought the world looks like through the eyes of her sister Bella who has Down Syndrome.  Being the sister to someone who has down syndrome can be a challenge at times, but as Caitlyn writes, it is also very rewarding.  Bella also has apraxia which means that her speech and communication skills are very delayed.  Caitlyn wants to tell her story to help others see Bella's point of view and what makes her so special.  We can learn a great deal from Caitlyn about learning and appreciating others differences.  Technology is enabling her to have a "voice" and a "view" that others can see and learn from.

Seeing others "views"
This morning as I was reading through some my regular ed tech blogs I follow and I saw a name mentioned that was very familiar.  The name was mentioned in what I would consider a very main stream blog by Scott McLeod titled "dangerously irrelevant".  The name was of an old teacher friend of mine from my early days at Beechwood High School-Chris Crouch.  The write up was about his experience with 1 to 1 implementation at his school and its lack of effectiveness in implementation.  Chris put up on facebook a few months back that he was starting a blog about his educational endeavors but I had not gotten a chance to check it out yet-now his "views" and thoughts are being noticed by others, even those that are leaders in the field of technology education.
Though I wonder at times whether my blog will serve a purpose besides just recording my thoughts and "views", seeing Chris's name out there shows me that everyone has a voice if they are just willing to share and let their voice be heard.

Seeing a new view.......
The past two days I have been part of training sessions to become an MIE (Microsoft Innovative Educator).  I will go into more detail in future posts about the training,but my thoughts today deal with my new "VIEW" of Microsoft products.  Being an artist and designer, my first choice has always been Mac products.  Mac just seems to "get it" when it come to ease of use and flow of workspace.  I have always felt like Microsoft had the bigger market on technology but they never had the cult following that Mac has.  This MIE training has helped me to see that Microsoft is really trying to get buy-in from the education sector.  They are not just talking the talk but they are beginning to walk the walk.  From the school tech leaders that I know, many have said that Apple does not have back end tech support needed to run 1 to 1 technology effectively in school without having to jump through multiple hoops.  So why do so many schools paying for tablets like that Ipad that can run almost double the cost of windows tablet? What makes the iPad worth it?  Is Apple putting as much funding into its educational resources as Microsoft is?  What will it take for educators to "view" Microsoft in a new light?

If you are wondering what in the world does technology have to do with kaleidoscopes...here are my thoughts.  As you look through the eye hole of a kaleidoscope there is so much to look at and take in. In a moment it can all change with the turn of pieces at the end-the view is totally different but just as spectacular, with the potential to be even better than the view before.  Technology is the same way.  So many things to catch your eye and in just a moment of time it continues to change and evolve.  Even though it is different it is still spectacular to take in. 

I come from an Art background and I have always had a love for kaleidoscopes.  The picture is just a few of the kaleidoscopes in my collection.  I also have a passion and love for technology.  This passion allowed me to transform my Art education background into teaching Art though the use of technology and computers.  I now teach digital graphic design and multimedia applications at the high school level.

My love for technology has also given me an avenue to help other teachers through the technology leadership roles I have at my school.  I hope this blog will show the many "views" of technology, technology integration in schools, Art education, and maybe even a little information about kaleidoscopes in the process.