Customer comments on this selection.
 Well Worth The Read
Dave Warlick's not an international ed tech guru for nothing, so let's take it for granted he a) understands educational blogging and b) provides solid advice/rationale for learning to utilize blogs as part of the classroom. If you're like me, you're wondering whether to spend your hard earned cash on Warlick's blogging book or Will Richardson's Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. I've read and used both; they're excellent, but serve different, if complementary, purposes.
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br /Both books describe in detail the use of blogs and RSS feeds and podcasts. Richardson also spends considerable time explaning wikis, while Warlick provides a quick overview. In addition, Warlick writes a quick introduction to Content Management Systems (such as Joomla or Moodle), but it's not really enough to get you up and running, just explains their use. He adds a section on Message Boards (or list-servs), which Richardson doesn't. While Warlick gives some examples of ways to use these tools in the classroom, they are rather general. Richardson, on the other hand, provides a plethora not only of uses, but of best-practice examples, with URLs for up-and-running educational blogs, wikis, etc. He goes into considerable more detail in using blogs as both a classroom management tool and as a tool for students, then goes into the same amount of detail for RSS feeds, and wikis, simultaneously other online tools to work with the technologies. So if you're looking for a book to help you make technology a part of your daily classroom life, and only want to buy one, Richardson's is your best bet, with a lively, motivational writing style to make it all the more engaging. (It helps being a journalism teacher!)
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br /Warlick, for me, fills a different niche. I've started writing my own edublog, and I actually find his book more helpful on a personal, theoretical level. He definitely takes a more scholarly approach to the topic, compared to Richardson's "How To Manual," and I wish I'd read his "Anatomy of a Blog" before I started writing mine (for one thing, I would have spent more time coming up with a better name!). It's an excellent break down and explanation of the parts of a professional blog, and even afting blogging for three months, I learned something new. I had never understood what the calendar was for. (It tells you the dates on which new posts were published). I also thought he explained the ins and outs of podcasting more clearly, with helpful graphics, including both Audacity and Garage Band.
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br /Both books are good, both will get you up and blogging in no time. It's just a matter of what you're looking for. And, by the way, both men write excellent blogs which you should add to your RSS feed immediately.
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