Book Review

Classroom Blogging by David Warlock (2005) is just what the “technology doctor ordered for this educator! It is chock full of useful “handbook” type information for any educator interested in how the interactive global discussion (blogosphere) fits into the learning/teaching process. David Warlick provides extensive how-to details to enter the conversation with blogs, wikis and podcasts. The book initiates and promotes further discussion of his broader vision of a new society of “citizen journalists” who observe, reflect and report on current issues through meaningful interaction among respected individuals. The book is all about what and how we teach our students.
Many parts of this book were totally new to me this year. It clarified RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and how it essentially allows each person to “train” the internet to search and deliver what he/she wants each day. It explained that podcasts are audio blogs developed by Apple through a “clever usage of RSS syndication”, but that they do NOT require a Mac or iPod. It provided specific instructions for making and using blogs, wikis and podcasts for classroom and personal use. It offered specific examples across multiple disciplines. It detailed programs such as Garageband and Audacity to record, mix and produce audio tracks. It presented Content Management Systems, information on Seedwiki, CheeseWiki, bloglines, blogger.com, listservs and message boards. Furl, flickr, archive.org were introduced, with educators’ blogs ( David’s 2 Cents Worth, Weblogg-ed, One-Trick Cyberpony, shifted Librarian, Teach42) and Technorati to search blogs.
For me, the most meaningful and insightful conversations in the book were on net publishing for educators being “our best opportunity to reassert ourselves as the experts on education and …taking leadership in retooling classrooms for the 21st century teaching and learning” (p 98); on uncovering the truth through conversation (p 110); on how to “include in our instruction the ethics of how we access, use, and communicate information”(p 167); and how “we should no longer assume the authority of the information we encounter, but, instead, prove the authority.” (p 11). I greatly appreciate the practical inclusion of his Blog Contract and information on creative commons licenses that allow individuals to publish materials as long as the creator is given credit (http://creativecommons.org )
I am certainly excited that David Warlick is here in Raleigh and wonder why, prior to this class, I had not chanced upon any information about him. In this course, I was introduced to BlogMeister, but I did not know anything about his Landmark Project and the many applications he offers freely to teachers. I now know considerably more about David. On http://davidwarlick.com/wordpress/?page_id=2 he states “my web site, Landmarks for Schools (http://landmark-project.com/ ), is a labor of love for teachers offering links to hundreds of Web sites”. His blog for teachers has been mentioned, but he also created Rubric Builder, Citation Machine, PiNet Library, The Education Podcast Network and placed his workshop handouts online. It is obvious that David Warlick’s 25 years as a classroom teacher and technology director, contributed to his attention to teachers’ specific needs for using technology and to matters such as student privacy and protection. The book and applications he has created will help teachers successfully and creatively manage students’ access to truthful information and global conversation, while keeping track of the progress of each student’s learning. I have so much more to learn on this, but at least I have begun the process! I thank the author for this incredibly rich, detailed, truthful and comprehensive overview of the technological tools to achieve instructional objectives and promote authentic learning.