I'd like to nominate the following blogs for http://edublogawards.com
Just keeping it very simple and on the ground, I've left some of the categories out. I'd like to express my deep gratitude to all who have networked with this blog and my home blog, the Island Weekly. There are so many bloggers around now that it's quite hard to keep up, and most of the blogs I read don't really fit into this grid; they're more personal and individual. Blogging isn't really about the best and the brightest. Never mind. Some of the main movers and shakers whom I owe a great deal to are:
Best individual blog:
Alex "I don't do Twitter" Case http://www.tefl.net/alexcase
Best collaborative blog:
It's his blog, but he invites many guest bloggers, so it seems very collaborative
Lindsay "Six Things" Clandfield http://sixthings.net
Most influential individual post:
Karenne "Here, There and Everywhere" Sylvester
http://kalinago.blogspot.com/2009/08/blogging-english-language-teachers-tech.html
Her blog carneval and her Ning for bloggers in EFL, BELTfree, kindly put little blogs on the map.
Best resource sharing blog:
Nik "Tech Tools" Peachey http://nikpeachey.blogspot.com
...but there are so many fabulous newcomers, e.g. Ozge Karaoglu
(for Young Learners)
Best individual tweeter:
Shelly "Reboot" Terrell http://twitter.com/ShellTerrell
Most influential tweet based discussion:
Teacher Tuesday, #edchat
Best teacher blog:
Marisa "Let's think this through properly" Constantinides http://marisaconstantinides.edublogs.org
Best student blog:
Markus "Englisch mit sch" Brendel http://www.der-englisch-blog.de
Best new blog
There are so many, so I'm saying, since September:
Darren "Lives of Teachers" Elliott http://www.livesofteachers.com
Best elearning / corporate education blog
Deborah "Wise Words" Capras http://www.business-spotlight.de/blogs/deborah-capras
and my great colleagues at Spotlight, especially Dagmar Taylor (whom I suspect I'm not allowed to nominate, but she's great.)
Best educational use of audio:
Sean "Listen a Minute" Banville http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com
Best educational use of video / visual
Jamie "Say hi, Dad" Keddie http://www.teflclips.com
Best educational use of virtual worlds
Nergiz "SLExperiments" Kern http://slexperiments.edublogs.org/
Lifetime achievement
Larry "Community" Ferlazzo http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org
Also see Shelly's shortlist - her blog is getting more populated and lively every day.
Looking at this list I'm a little dissatisfied. These blogs are great, don't get me wrong. It's just... So where are the categories that move me just a bit more, if I'm honest? The blog I read when I want to laugh? The one that has the songs I love? The one that has the news from a slightly different perspective and gives me the idea I need to jumpstart my lesson? The one that is charming and reminds me how different we all are? The one where there is sure to be a rollicking good fight? Or the one that is simply beautiful to look at? The one written by someone who really knows how to write (those are my favorites)? The one that has intellectual stamina that just reading it gets my brain into gear? The one where I find the best book tips? The one whose writer I'm secretly in love with? Or whom I'd like to meet because I think I've found a kindred spirit? Or the one who's been around the world and makes my feet want to go?
Do you read blogs like that, too?
8 comments:
I'm not into "nominations" and "awards", but I really like your last paragraph... because it is personnal and fresh and sparky and because yes, I do "read blogs like that"!
Alice M
Thanks for the nomination, Anne!
And, yes, there are many wonderful blogs out there that don't fit any category, might never get an award or even a nomination but are worth reading.
I see these awards more as a celebration of blogs in general rather than any specific one. Having said that, it feels nice to be nominated :)
Nergiz
Anne,
Thanks for the nomination!
Larry
I like your extra nominations, what fun!
The blog I read when I want to laugh? Alex Case
The one that has the songs I love? StrictlyNicky
The one that has the news from a slightly different perspective and gives me the idea I need to jumpstart my lesson? The English Blog
The one that is charming and reminds me how different we all are? Natasa Grojic
The one where there is sure to be a rollicking good fight?
Gavin Dudeney
Or the one that is simply beautiful to look at?
Dave ESL
The one written by someone who really knows how to write (those are my favorites)?
Vicki Hollett
The one that has intellectual stamina that just reading it gets my brain into gear?
Language Log...
The one where I find the best book tips?
Sheila Vine
The one whose writer I'm secretly in love with? Not saying.
Or whom I'd like to meet because I think I've found a kindred spirit?
Barbara Sakamoto
Or the one who's been around the world and makes my feet want to go?
me?
Thanks for the nomination, sweetie!
Karenne
Anne
Thank you very much for the nomination - I didn't know how this whole thing worked (the blog awards) up until a little while ago so I agree with Nergiz that it is nice to get nominated!
It's so lovely and so unexpected for me to be nominated at all!
Thank you so much!
I didn't know I was going to be so touched by all these nominations... hmmm...now I've got to put on my thinking hat and 'think this through properly'.....:-) !!!
Thanks for the nomination. How ironic that I get myself attention by not Twittering!
How about "guilty pleasure" as an EFL blog category as well?
Dear Alice,
It's marvellous to have met you on Twitter. Great times ahead :)
Dear Nergiz,
You really opened my eyes when we met online on your SL site. I was deeply impressed by your agenda. However, I must say I'm a little torn about SL at this point. A while ago someone made me realized what it was that has kept me from coming back, and that is the avatar faces. Eye contact is really important to me. I love the opportunity to meet online, and definitely see the advantage of a virtual reality over a flat video conference, but not seeing your face is just a little disconcerting. Have you heard this from other people, too?
Dear Larry,
A message from you is like one from Mount Parnassus. Your blog is the bottom line, the most thoroughly researched, the leading edge. Your lessons learned from years of experience with really challenging students shine through everything you write. Teaching college students and adults in Germany is really a piece of cake in comparison.
Dear Karenne,
Your list makes me want to read, read, read! Someone said, it may have been Lindsay or Alex, that you should write a coursebook. I disagree. I think you should write a teacher's handbook on blogging, edited down to the sustaining essentials and on a Kindle.
Dear Lindsay,
Your blog is just unbelievable. I missed quite a few posts, and when I started surfing back I discovered all these treasures. I see it's been nominated for best individual blog and not for the collaborative category, but you've really redrawn the map on this. I need to attend a proper teacher workshop of yours, not just a short session.
Dear Marisa,
You're the head EFL teacher I've always wanted to have. Full stop. :) You explore all the right angles, looking at the teaching materials and tools that are there and seeing what can be done with them. So much common sense in one spot is totally refreshing.
Dear Alex,
Guilty pleasure is a great category! My guilty pleasure blogs tend to be on posterous.com for the great photos they attach. Like Clementine Osakin's http://reflectionof.me/. Yours?
Thank you all!
Anne
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