Reflections from a Third-Grade Classroom

Do you know the difference between a blog and a webpage?

Don’t worry; many people have no idea! If we deconstruct the portmanteau, however, it can help considerably. “Blog” is simply an abridgment of the prior term “web log;” a blog is just that: an online record (log) of thoughts, ideas, and reflections that adheres to a reverse chronological order. As new posts are published, older records are archived by catagories, tags, and chronological hierarchies so that they remain easily searchable. By its very nature, a blog is a living body of work. It is constantly evolving and growing as new information is posted. A webpage, on the other hand, remains relatively static, and updated much less often. Webpages are better for organizing and displaying a finalized product, whereas a blog is a tool for chronicling the history and development of a user’s changing attitudes, beliefs, and theories.

Thoughts on TPACK

Because of the “unfinalized” nature of the blog, I don’t expect that I will be utilizing this technology as I begin to flesh out my TPACK (Technology, Pedagogy, and Content Knowledge) project. Perhaps I will change my mind as I continue to develop my project, however, a blog seems much better suited as an aide to the process rather than the product.

I expect that my TPACK project will be a website. While Dreamweaver has it’s own issues and struggles, the freedom and control it affords makes it well worth the effort. It will help me to create a clean and finished product that looks well thought-out, rather than a developing work.
(This could very well change tomorrow and I will be convinced that blogging is the best way to go…)