Tools for the TEKS Updates: Background Information Want to subscribe to the Tools for the TEKS Updates? Instructions are available! Update 5 October 2005: Email subscriptions are again available thanks to Feedblitz! (Use the link above to access the email subscription form.) Since the fall of 1997 until the fall of 2004, I maintained a free mailing list for educators wanting to stay up to date on a variety of educational technology issues. Starting in March 2005, this mailing list evolved into a bloglines clipblog with the same goals and objectives. Tools for the TEKS Updates address and include: Educational website recommendations Current articles relating to classroom technology integration and other educational technology issues "How to" and "technology tips" articles Links to and info about my latest EdTech articles published in the TechEdge, in Technology and Learning Magazine, and elsewhere Subscribing to the Tools for the TEKS updates and reading through the articles remains a great way to stay informed about trends in educational technology, as well as learn about new websites to use with students in the classroom! The main reasons for switching from a monthly or bi-monthly email newsletter to a bloglines clipblog are: Email was a late 20th century communications technology, blogs and RSS are early 21st century communications technologies. I found it increasingly difficult to take several hours periodically to aggegate, format, and email out TEKS updates. The increasing levels of email spam and spam filters on school district mail servers as well as free mail services like Yahoo mail caused many TEKS update email delivery problems. Although I found ways to make the management of my email subscriber list (which has been over 1000 people for several years) easier, it was always a pain to remove people from the list who requested it, as well as email addresses that were no longer active. This was basically a waste of time. The potential immediacy of Internet communication was not realized through a mailing list that was sent out, at best, a couple of times per month-- at worst, every few months. I anticipate and hope that the use of a bloglines clipblog will effectively address all of the problems and issues mentioned above. Yes, most educators today are more familiar with email than they are with blogs and RSS feeds. Yes, I see the advantages of a "push" communication technology like email rather than a "pull" communication technology like RSS. Despite these shortcomings, I suspect my blog-based Tools for the TEKS Updates will: Allow educators and other interested web users to view and access posted updates in a much more timely manner. Save me loads of time previously required to manage the email mailing list and aggregate information for an emailed update. Permit me to post updates (and therefore share ideas/information) much more frequently . Avoid any potential for someone to complain (from a copyright perspective) about content that was not authorized to be copied and redistributed to others via email (since now with the bloglines clipblog I am merely providing links to online content.) Encourage other educators to become aware of and utilize great free resources like bloglines as well as the other blogs I read and recommend. If you have a lesson, educational website, or tip of your own to share, as before I invite you to please submit it using the feedback page! :) Tools for the TEKS Updates are available via my Blog or email updates, subscription instructions are available!   Tools for the TEKS home | Article Archive | Technology Workshops Mailing List | Feedback | Tools and Techniques | Technology Idea Exchange Contact me using this webform. Links to my blogs are also available. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.