Blog Profiles: Education Blogs

Welcome to Blog Profiles! Each week, PR Newswire media relations manager Christine Cube selects an industry or subject and a handful of sites that do a good job with promoting and blogging about the space. Do you have a blog that deserves recognition? Tell Christine why on PR Newswire for Bloggers.

It’s back to school time.

I was scrolling through Facebook when it occurred to me that all of my parent friends, teachers, and school administrators are preparing to return to their classrooms.

So in this spirit, I dug into the massive world of education blogs and found some great sites. I also stumbled upon an immense universe known as Edublogs, an education blogging service powering more than 2.4 million Edublogs since 2005.

Say what?

“We believe in the power that blogging can have to transform the educational experience of students and have seen firsthand how Edublogs have increased ownership of learning, engaged students, and become a source of pride in the classroom,” the Australian-based site says.

Just take a look at its community. So while it could take a great while to carve out a handful of cool blogs from just Edublogs alone, I quickly stumbled upon one of its participants with a neat site.

Upside Down Education is the blog of Birmingham, AL-based sixth grade science and tech ed/STEM teacher Amanda Dykes. Dykes writes about her “upside down view of happenings” in her classroom and in education.

I liked what Dykes had to say in Summer is for Reflection and Relaxing. In it, she says, “Relaxing is not laziness.” (Thank goodness for that. In that case, I’ll relax a little more.)

Another post I really appreciated was Think Like an Innovator.

“In education innovation is a word I have been hearing a lot when discussing STEM and makers,” Dykes said. “I love it. I love the idea of students looking at our world and want to improve what they see. That’s exactly what school should be, preparing kids for now, teaching them how world changing these critical thinking skills for a changing world are.”

Follow @amandacdykes on Twitter.

Indiana Jen is the blog of teacher Jennifer Carey, who writes about education, technology, and some history.

“I am a student and educator of the human condition,” Carey says. “I have long studied history, trained in archaeology, and found a passion in the field of education. As a long-time lover of technology (my father bought our family our first Apple IIe when I was three), I appreciate what it can bring to the classroom.”

Carey currently serves as the director of educational technology at the Ransom Everglades School (a secular independent school) in Miami.

Her blog features a number of interesting posts. Narrowing them down honestly was difficult, but I really liked these gems: 5 Time-Saving Ways Teachers Can Use Google Forms, 5 Tips for Classroom Management with Mobile Devices, and 10 Things Every Teacher Should be Able to do on Google Docs.

Follow @TeacherJenCarey on Twitter.

Top Teaching belongs to Scholastic and brings “exciting lesson ideas, classroom strategies, book lists, videos, and reproducibles in a daily blog by teachers.”

This site has an incredible amount of information.

Just click on the Best of Blogs: Classroom Management, and you’ll find posts that cover tips and tools, dealing with challenging behavior, classroom management on a budget, class reward and behavior management systems, attention signals, as well as a lesson on how to serve a nutritious morning meeting.

Some of my favorite posts include Pinterest-Inspired Project and Hallway Display and How to Set Up Digital Workstations.

Follow @ScholasticTeach on Twitter.

Edutopia is the blog of the George Lucas Educational Foundation.

“Education is the foundation of our democracy — the stepping-stones for our youth to reach their full potential,” Lucas says, in A Word from George Lucas: Edutopia’s Role in Education. “My own experience in public school was quite frustrating. I was often bored. Occasionally, I had a teacher who engaged my curiosity and motivated me to learn. Those were the teachers I really loved. I wondered, ‘Why can’t school be engaging all of the time?’”

A couple of interesting posts include Why Storytelling in the Classroom Matters and 5 Research-Based Tips for Providing Students with Meaningful Feedback.

In the former, international school teacher, literacy manager and professional storyteller Matthew James Friday says, “Teachers are storytellers, and storytellers have been teachers for millennia. In reality, teachers don’t see themselves as storytellers. Or rather, they see the occasional storyteller and think it’s a theatrical, exaggerated show more akin to acting. But hang on a minute — being a teacher definitely involves acting and theatrics.”

Follow @edutopia on Twitter.

A Year of Reading is the blog of “two teachers who read. A lot.”

Franki Sibberson and Mary Lee Hahn have been teachers for more than 20 years.

Sibberson is a third grade teacher and is the author of Beyond Leveled Books, Still Learning to Read, and Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop. Hahn is a fifth grade teacher and is the author of Reconsidering Read-Aloud. She also has poems in the Poetry Friday Anthology.

I chose this blog because it appeals to my favorite part of education: Reading.

A Year of Reading features posts about poetry and books – asking you questions like, “What are you reading?” and informing you of books you should read.

Some of my favorite posts include It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? and Poetry Friday Roundup is Here.

Follow @frankisibberson and @MaryLeeHahn on Twitter.

P.S. Ever wonder how we come up with ideas for the blog profile topics? Our handy list of industries and subjects on PR Newswire for Journalists stays top of mind. If you’re a blogger or journalist looking for education or higher education news, let us know. We’re happy to customize that news feed for you on PR Newswire for Journalists.

Christine Cube is a media relations manager with PR Newswire and freelance writer. She wishes all of her teachers and friends a great return to the new school year. Rock on, you guys. Follow her @cpcube.