As teachers know, education is an ongoing experience. As both practitioners and partakers of education, teachers have the responsibility and the privilege to be lifelong learners, availing themselves of the best in education advances, ideas and programs. Such continual acquisition of knowledge hones teachers’ skills and sharpens their techniques. While this type of professional development is available in workshops and conferences, the Internet makes it all readily accessible any place and any time. Blogs, such as the five listed here, are among the easiest and most relevant Internet options for teachers who seek to elevate their pedagogy.
4 The Love of Teaching
Chronicling the ideas and methods of a fifth-grade teacher, this site details hands-on activities such as “Vocabulary Basketball,” an engaging method for reviewing student-generated vocabulary, and “Book Talks,” class discussions centered on a specific book that the students or teacher seeks to entice others to read. Designed as classroom management tools, these learning activities are among a wide range of materials and methodologies offered at this blog to engage students’ minds, thereby curtailing tendencies for off-task behaviors. The bonus is that students are actively involved in leading their own learning, enjoying the process as well.
The Elementary Educator
Interspersed with blog posts offering commentary on education policy are posts that serve as resources for elementary teachers. Encompassing disparate topics from math to language arts, the site spotlights other digital resources intended to facilitate learning and ease teaching. Among the resources put forth here are MathFact.com, a site that offers timed tests that are differentiated and automatically scored; FracTrack Plus, a device that students manipulate to demonstrate the concept of fractions on a timeline; and Flocabulary, subscription-based music videos that incorporate concepts for a variety of subjects.
Mrs. Cassidy’s Classroom Blog
Highlighting the extremely active learning within her own classroom, as depicted in photojournalism that accompanies her blog, Mrs. Cassidy is a first-grade teacher whose blog recounts the details of this learning. Spanning the entirety of the school year, the blog describes the means by which this class teams with a British counterpart to read and discuss books, their 100-item learning activities in celebration of the one hundredth day of school, and the students’ coding of robots, to name a few projects, all of them underscoring the value in learning by trial and error.
Rockin Teacher Materials
A virtual cornucopia of elementary teaching ideas, this blog is filled with education concepts brought to life. Whole-brain teaching, for instance, is carefully laid out, explaining the overall advantages and extolling its value within the context of her own classroom and students. Likewise, the “Crazy Professor Reading Game” makes learning a fun and interactive practice. Incentivizing the students, “Swag Tags” are awarded for academic achievement and are worn only in class, where their value is understood by all. The surpassing goal of these materials is to engage students and make learning an exhilarating experience.
Kleinspiration
More than merely a blog, this site is a repository of elementary teaching resources. An award-winning elementary educator, consultant, blogger and author, Erin Klein’s extensive experience serves as the basis for much of the excellent information proffered. Whether it is an app that advances group work, tips on implementing a “genius hour” in a classroom or ways to personalize learning spaces, these examples are only a small sampling of the wealth of helpful information imparted here. Beyond the blog, the site live streams monthly education discussions as well.
Augmenting a teacher’s training and skills, online professional development in the form of these five great blogs is convenient and enjoyable. Moreover, the expansion of a teacher’s knowledge base often proves to be motivational as well.
