Blog Review Blog

The Thesis Whisperer

This blog is a creation of many - it is an online newspaper with contributors who are in the process of writing and submitting their thesis for their Ph.D. It is edited by Dr Inger Mewburn, the Director of research training at the Australian National University. The articles are all aimed at doctoral students, on their personal journey to doctor-hood, and is written appropriately; in their "About [us]" section, it reads, "We want to be concise. PhD students have to do a lot of reading so no posts will be longer than 1000 words." I think that is really cool.

I would certainly add this blog to my Google Reader. I would follow this because eventually I do plan to get my own doctorate degree, and I think it holds many valuable stories. For example, the absurdly short post titled "What's Up Doc?" brought up a vital point - what does getting your Ph.D actually mean to you? Why are you chasing the degree? Or is it just a title? Even though the post numbered a measly 258 words, the message evokes a great many thoughts and questions, far outnumbering thought to words 1,001:1.

Another post written to the title of "Wormhole Literature" is perhaps even more so terrifying. The author writes about a friend doing research for her Ph.D. - "She hadn’t yet read enough to know what she should be looking for." Basically, this means that I can NEVER stop reading, and there is no such thing as knowing "enough" about a subject. I recommend the read - AND the blog.

The Ivy Coach

The Ivy Coach is great. A blog written by Bev Taylor, the leading authority of college admission. The Founder of the Ivy Coach (which includes the blog, resources, and the opportunity to have Ms. Taylor speak or even become a private college counselor), she writes and speaks about everything from students selecting a university to interviewing and social media.

Indeed, Taylor tackles every problem. In the short post "MIT Legacy Admission," a recent declaration about not believing in legacy admission by an MIT employee is disputed. The counselor Chris Peterson states that he would not stand for that, and that he would never personally work for a university that practiced such measures. However, Taylor asks why, then, would MIT have a section on their application asking for affiliation? A compelling three paragraph post really gets you thinking.

I would add this to my Google Reader because, if I ever do end up teaching in high school, I would want to give my students the best advice out there. Reading from the widely accepted authority on admission will certainly be a welcome boon to my students and their future. With insightful posts like the one listed above, there is no reason not to read it.

The Tech Savvy Educator

Ben Rimes is impassioned about using technology in the classroom as a means to allow student-centered learning to flourish.The blog seems to be far more informal than many of the others I have been reading - and that's a good thing in and of itself. So many of the postings we read are so sterile, spell checked and uniform that we lose the human element of these posts. Blogs were meant to be individual, and I can appreciate a good rant when I read one.

The post "The Revolving Door of Technology" is a great example. This post was written and posted after a self-professed long string of "failures," and carries that tone. But even in this organized ramble, Rimes seems to capture a good deal of questions a number of us ask on a daily basis. And even while raising the same point, Rimes finds a way to elegantly point out a few ways for us to continue to push forward.

I will add this blog to my Google Reader as well, for very different reasons than the other two. Sometimes you need to read words that you can tell are written by another human being, and more than that with emotion. A familiar, comfortable, and encouraging one.