Evaluating Educator Blogs

I compared Will Richardson's 'weblogg-ed' (http://weblogg-ed.com/) with Jeff Utecht's 'the thinking stick' (http://www.thethinkingstick.com/)

Following Kathy Schrock's evaluation of blogs, I found that both blogs include bios on the authors, other works, information about their professional affiliations, etc. As for the purpose of the site, Weblogg-ed is a little more specific about its intentions, but both are pretty clear. The credentials of the authors are mostly stated by the authors themselves, but both can easily be corroborated with a little more research. The nature of the discussions with other bloggers lends credibility to the authors.

There is a feeling of expertise, especially in Richardson's blog, but it’s clear that the intentions of the blog are to be more of a forum of opinions. Both authors are challenged, which makes for a better discussion.

Overall, I enjoyed Richardson's blog more. I found so many useful items in there that I have saved for future use. His blogs are more detailed and I really enjoyed the conversations he had with other bloggers. One of my favorites is "The Future of My Kids' Work" (http://weblogg-ed.com/2009/the-future-of-my-kids-work/). This reminded me a lot of the "Cognitive Backpack" article we read in Information Literacy and I noted it as a possible use for looking at the Iowa Core Curriculum and the teacher librarian's role.