I’m sure I’m not the first to write about this, but Scott McLeod delivered his latest list of the (potentially) top 50 P-12 education blogs and he got me thinking. The list is what it is…a ranking based on one metric: how many other blogs (and blogs only) have linked to a given blog. As long as Scott’s clear about that, which he very well is, then readers can make what they want of the list.

I commented, noting first that the list overwhelmingly consists of ed. tech. focused blogs. There are many reasons for this, most notably that blogging requires some technological awareness and a little bit of tech. savvy that ed. tech. folks are most likely to have. I also noted my surprise not to see certain educational policy bloggers on the list, such as Sherman Dorn, Matthew Tabor, Alexander Russo and Gary Stager (who I see as more of a bridge blogger). Dorn’s been blogging practically since I was born, and I learn more from him than just about any of the other bloggers I read.

I’m still searching for the right metaphor, because I don’t know that “echo chambers” is quite right; maybe it is, though. According to Wikipedia, “[m]etaphorically, the term echo chamber can refer to any situation in which information, ideas or beliefs are amplified or reinforced by transmission inside an ‘enclosed’ space.” I’ve gotten myself in trouble in the past for suggesting that the edtechblogosphere is a closed space, so I have to be careful here. But, I’ve noticed that the ed. tech. folks on Scott’s list all tend to comment on each other’s blogs and they all tend to communicate with each other via Twitter and other communication media. There are LOTS of REALLY valuable reasons for that, mostly that there is lots of co-learning going on that way. [NOTE: I've noticed that the same sort of "echo chamber" exists for the ed. policy bloggers, although the echoes there are less frequent and more muted (IMHO), and I don't know that there's much electronic communication going on between them beyond the blogs].

So, maybe rather than a closed space, then, a problem as I see it is that there are very few nodes connecting the unfortunately and unnecessarily distinct networks (i.e. the ed. tech. networks and the ed. policy networks). When Gary Stager called out the ed. tech. bloggers for failing to write about the Reading First study, he (purposefully or not) served as a node/bridge but also pointed out just how little overlap there is between the tech. and policy networks. A few commenters thanked Gary for pointing out the “story”.

I’m problematizing this disconnect because, for me, it is symptomatic or an extension of the sort of compartmentalization that plagues the education sector generally. I believe that one of the reasons our public schools have not experienced rapid technological change is because the ed. tech. folks are treated as separate. Leaders and decision makers don’t really understand the issues, so they delegate it to the geeks and wireheads (I use those terms lovingly). It’s the same way with, for example, special education. Leaders and decision makers don’t really understand all of the laws, regulations, etc., so they delegate authority to THAT department and THOSE educators. We have the same problems in schools and colleges of education. For example, I work in a department of educational leadership. Separately, we have a Department of Special Education and Disability Policies. So, let’s say an educator wants to pursue a doctorate with the idea of serving as a special education policymaker or an assistant superintendent for special education. To which program does that educator apply?

We need more integration in education and less compartmentalization; fewer echo chambers. After all, everything is miscellaneous, right?

Tags: blogs, echo chamber, education, networks, nodes, policy, technology

The link below is to a video of a segment from a Bob Costas show that aired last night. If you’ve come to my blog and know what I tend to write about, even if you’re not a sports fan, you’ll be riveted by this video. It’s worth spending the full 18 minutes watching it (although you could probably skip Braylon Edwards’ comments; poor guy got caught between Lincoln and Douglas). The video speaks to SO many issues, that it’s hard to know where to start with my reflections. First, the link:

[NOTE: Before you click on the link, please know that there is language in the segment that may not be suitable for your workplace (depends on where you work, I suppose) and is probably not suitable for the ears of children]

VIDEO

Now my thoughts:

• I really enjoyed reading Friday Night Lights. It’s the only Buzz Bissinger book I’ve ever read. And, his credibility as a sportswriter/journalist is fairly impeccable. But, OMG…what a crumudgeon! He doesn’t get it; not one bit. He could be every old school administrator, every old academic, every old [insert education professional here].
• I think Will Leitch was caught off guard. Had he known what Bissinger’s take was going to be, I’m sure he’d have been better prepared to eloquently argue the place of and relevance of the blogosphere.
• It’s hilarious that Costas was the moderator. He’s an admitted traditionalist. He railed against the wildcard system for baseball playoffs and was dead wrong (IMHO). This was like having E.D. Hirsch moderate a debate between John Dewey and Edward Thorndike.

I was going to write more; lots more. But, I think I’ll let the video speak for itself…

Tags: blogs, media

John Hendron points us to an article about work that his former Superintendent, Dr. Frank Morgan, is doing in Kershaw County, SC. Speaking about the use of podcasting, Dr. Morgan is quoted as saying, “I’ve just found it powerful…We live in a different world now, so we have to use multiple means to communicate with people.”

I have two things to say in reply. First, we need more superintendents like Dr. Morgan. Second, if you read to the end of the article, Hendron mentions that in his county (which happens to be one exit West of where I live) teachers are contractually obligated to blog. I think I’m starting to like living in a union-free Commonwealth.

Tags: blogs, education, leadership, podcasting, technology

I’m not holding my breath. 

 Jay Mathews’ Washington Post article (free registration required) about the best education blogs somehow managed to exclude me.  I think I know why.  One of the very first things I did as a doctoral student was to try to statistically ”disprove” (I was a kid; I thought you could actually “prove” or “disprove” things in education) his argument that high school quality could be judged/measured by his AP courses offered per capita statistic.  I can’t believe he’s still holding a grudge against me for a course project I did like 10 years ago.  Sheesh.

Tags: blogs, education

There’s an interesting story (free registration required) in the New York Times about professors who blog and engage in other forms of Web 2.0-ness.  I think the MtvU exec. makes the best point when he says that it’s about transparency.  I’ve also espoused transparency as an orientation to my own work, and I think blogging is a natural extention of that for me. 

What I think the NYT article misses though is any discussion about teaching or learning.  Specifically, the edublogosphere has become my personal learning space and those who feed me (in RSS terms) and who I follow on Twitter are my personal learning network.  I blog because I believe (maybe mistakenly?) that I have something to offer this learning space and because I believe I am somewhat obligated to give and not just take.  Also, by making my thoughts and ideas “public,” I’m inviting others to join my PLN. 

If I can get past the tenure hurdle, I’d love to embark on an empirical journey around this notion of collaborative/digital learning.  I’d like to know how PLN’s jive with theories of learning, community, etc.  I’d like to know how we can foster PLNs in doctoral education.  I’d like to know how we can use PLNs to advance school leadership.  So, I guess that’s why I blog, tweet, comment, etc.  I’m learning about learning.

Tags: blogs, leadership, learning, PLN, transparency