Teaching Tip #118

Teacherscribe’s Teaching Tip #118

One more great blog.

This website I have just discovered.  It doesn’t have a catchy title like the other two.  This one is simple willrichardson.com  It’s by one of my favorite people in education, Will Richardson.  I learned about Richardson from a TEDx Talk he gave that I stumbled across on the internet.  I just love his example of how his daughter taught herself to play “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey on the piano using his laptop and the internet in her free time.  Yet, when Richardson told her piano teacher, she said, “She can’t do that!  She’s not ready for that!”  It is a great example of “Just-in-time” learning and just how motivated digital learners can be when they are engaged to learn.

Richardson’s blog is far more visually appealing than the other two blogs I reviewed.  He has higher resolution images and a more striking presence on the blog.  His blog, though, has some things in common with the other two.  He has a banner across the top introducing himself to his readers and offering content to them.  His quotes and ideas, though, stand out more to the reader and are more eye catching.  The body of his blog isn’t like the other two blogs, which are more traditional and offer thoughts and ideas in a journal like fashion.  Richardson’s blog is far more professional in nature and partially designed (a bit like Couros’ blog) to make him money by showing how great he is at speaking and consulting.  The main body of this blog is divided into several sections– the first section is a great picture of Richardson giving one of his TED Talks with a striking quote.  The second section is devoted to his speaking/consulting business with links and examples.  The third section  is another picture of Richardson – this time the view is from behind him as he looks out from the crowd, so the viewer can see how packed the place is to hear him – with a quote from someone who attended one of his presentations.  The fourth section is entitled “What They’re Saying,” which includes quotes from some other biggies in the speaking business (such as Ken Robinson).  The fifth section is, at least for me, the real gold of this blog.  It is where Richardson has “Will’s Resources,” which are the links to his TEDx Talks, his articles and interviews, as well as book suggestions.  I really like his suggested reading list.  Overall, this one is slick, but it is not quite as up to date and easy to access as the other two blogs.