Hi All!
This is not our typical type of post on Night Light Stories, but it's an important one just the same. This post outlines my nominations for the 2013 Edublog Awards. As many of you know, Mr. Chris hosts his own podcast called the A.T.TIPSCAST. Just like other podcasters and educators, I watch his passion flow through the microphone when he is sharing educational tips and strategies. Through our podcasting, we've been lucky enough to meet other admirable educators sharing their own passions for their craft.
The Edublog Awards provide a way to recognize these enormous efforts. Here are my nominations for the 2013 Edublog Awards:
Best educational use of audio / video / visual / podcast-
The A.T.TIPSCAST by Chris Bugaj- (www.attipscast.com)Winner of the 2012 Best Podcast Series, Chris continues to share practical technology tips while entertaining his audience. Each of his well produced episodes include current strategies that are being used in the educational field. Chris focuses on finding strategies and resources that are free or commonly found.
Best Individual Blog -
Teaching All Students by Patrick Black – (www.teachingall.blogspot.com) Fresh ideas, multiple resources, and practical solutions for making instruction accessible to EVERY student. Recent blog posts include apps people should be checking out and how/why to use them. When it comes to implementing technology for every student, this blog is a MUST read.
Best Teacher Blog -
Speech Techie by Sean Sweeney - (www.speechtechie.com) - The winner of the 2010 Best New Blog Edublog award has maintained its status as the premiere blog focusing on the topic of using technology in the practice of speech-language pathology. The beauty of the blog is that the strategies shared are for every educator, not just for those working as speech-language pathologists.
Best Group Blog -
Microsoft Partners-in-Learning Network Hot Topic Accessibility Blog by Dr. Cindy Feist and Dr. Tara Jeffs (http://www.pil-network.com/HotTopics/accessibility) - It’s sort of a simple concept. If you make your product accessible to everyone, anyone can use it. Likewise, if you make your lessons accessible to everyone, in benefits every learner. Weekly blog posts every Sunday from respected guest bloggers in the field of education present useful and practical perspectives on how to become more inclusive and to propagate learner variability.
Best New Blog -
Heck Awesome by Carrie Baughcum (http://carriebaughcum.com) – Although Heck Awesome wasn’t Carrie Baughcum’s first foray in to the world of blogging, it may be her best. Recently, Carrie, a middle school special education teacher, combined all of her various projects into on central hub called “Heck Awesome” where she blogs about the tools she is using, her “tech ninjas”, how she is growing professionally, and much, much more. It’s technology implementation with a “this is good for everyone” flavor, which of course, is awesome!
Best Ed Tech / Resource Sharing Blog -
Design Make Teach by Josh Ajima (http://designmaketeach.com) - Inspiring students to use their innate creativity to generate useful solutions is the future of education. The Design Make Teach blog provides a philosophy, process, strategies and examples to spark the creator in any student. Josh shares practical, easy-to-replicate, activities spanning creations using low-tech, household items to fabricating materials using 3D printers. Make something!
Best Open PD, Unconference, or Webinar Series -
VSTELive! Webinar Series (http://www.vste.org/index/learn/webinar) – VSTELive! webinars (Virginia Society for Technology in Education) are always engaging, informative, and cutting edge which gather insights from experts on contemporary topics in the world of educational technology. When you participate in a live VSTE webinar you are certain to have an enjoyable experience while learning new ways of thinking, learning, and doing. Keep ‘em coming VSTE!
Best Free Web Tool -
Read&Write for Google by Texthelp (http://www.texthelp.com/north-america/readwriteforgoogle) – Entering into the high school world of teaching this year, I cannot think of a better tool. My students have come to use R&W on a daily basis. Access to text-to-speech is crucial for students growing up using digital tools. Although the toolbar has lots of great features if you purchase it, the text-to-speech feature remains functional even after the 30 free trial runs out. If your students are using Google Docs, there’s no reason (or excuse) not to have it. If you’re not convinced yet, Chris did an entire A.T.TIPSCAST episode on how to use the tool that you can listen to for more information.
I hope you check out these fantastic resources and, if you agree with my choices, consider voting for these creations, projects, and initiatives to recognize the dedication of these individuals.
My nomination alone does not guarantee that these inspiring educators will be officially nominated. If you agree with my nominations, consider writing a blog post of your own featuring these terrific educational resources. They deserve your time! Find out more information about how to participate over at The Edublog Awards.
