50 Best Blogs for Online Educators

As students flock to online courses in greater numbers than ever, and even elementary schools add online components, more and more educators are needed for online colleges and online educational programs. Teachers working online must not only know their subject matter through and through, but also how to use the latest technology to communicate with and engage students. On top of all that, they also have to keep abreast of new ideas and products that will make their jobs easier and improve their ability to work with students.

Fortunately, many who work in educational technology fields are more than willing to share their expertise with others online through videos, podcasts, and more commonly, blogs. And, after all, there are online colleges for education, as well! We’ve collected a few of these great blogs here, creating a great reading library for any online educator who wants to learn more, develop professionally, and connect with others in the field.

News and Views

Give these blogs a read to make sure you stay in-the-know when it comes to all things edutech.

1. Wired Campus: The Chronicle of Higher Education hosts this blog, which is an excellent source of news on all things education and technology related.
2. Digital Tweed: Part of the Inside Higher Ed site, this blog is a great place to follow news stories related to technology in higher education, with a special focus on the business aspects of the field.
3. eClassroom News: Get technology news you can use in your online classroom (or offline for that matter) through this informative blog.
4. Online Learning Update: Professor Ray Schroeder posts updates on the latest and greatest stories related to technology in higher education.
5. Eduwonk: Readers will find education-related news, commentary and analysis on this information-packed site.
6. Dangerously Irrelevant: Commentary on technology, leadership and the future of schools forms the crux of this blog, with amazing posts on topics like social media, educational games and effective educational leadership.
7. Digital Education: Located on the Education Week site, this blog provides educators with a way to keep up with the latest news and trends in digital learning for K-12.
8. Electronic Frontier Foundation: Need to know more about the politics behind online technology? Visit this organization’s site for some serious commentary on online freedom of speech.
9. mLearnopedia: Check out Judy Brown’s blog for commentary and news on the latest mobile technologies being used in learning.
10. Education 3.0: Take a look at the world of online education from a student perspective, with posts on scholarship, career advancement and more.

Educational Technology Professionals

Here you’ll find blogs from professionals working in educational technology, a great resource for those new to online teaching and old pros alike. These are an interesting read for prospective online colleges for information technology students too.

11. Howard Reingold: Howard Reingold provides readers with a great collection of video blogs on this site, dealing with issues that will face every online educator, like 21st century literacies and social media in the classroom.
12. Got Social?: Social media is everywhere these days, even in education, so teachers working online need to know a thing or two about it. This blog by AJ Kelton, the Director of Emerging Technology for the College of Humanities and Social Studies at Montclair, is full of ideas about how educators can blend teaching with tools like social media and virtual worlds.
13. Clive on Learning: Clive Shepherd is an expert on using technology to learn and communicate with over 25 years of experience. On his blog, readers will find interviews, commentary and articles all about educational technology.
14. eLearnSpace: Learn more about open education, online learning and technology in education from this great blog associated with the eLearnSpace site.
15. Connectivism: George Siemens wrote the book on emerging technologies for learning (literally) and is a big proponent of social media. Through the Connectivism blog, he shares his theory of connectivism as well as providing some thoughts on online learning, networks and more. Students at online colleges for online marketing will appreciate this one.
16. Moving at the Speed of Creativity: From sharing ways to engage students with games to helping online teachers learn how to send text message alerts to students through Google Docs (who knew?) this site is a must-read for any educator committed to employing more technology in their classroom.
17. Stephen Downes: On this blog, readers will find posts on a number of digital and collaborative education topics, with the goal of educating teachers and techies alike in building better systems for learning online. If you can’t get enough of Stephen, he also blogs at oldaily.
18. The Power of Educational Technology: Director of Academic Technology at Belmont Hill School, Liz Davis, comments on wide range of educational technology issues here.
19. Will Richardson: Blogger and author Will Richardson investigates the way the web is changing how the modern classroom functions, with a special focus on using technologies like blogs, wikis, podcasts and networks as learning tools.
20. Education Innovation: Touching on topics like leadership, innovation, technology and collaboration, this blog is a great place to take a hard look at the future of education.
21. EmergingEdTech: IT expert Kelly Walsh shares news, inspiration and commentary on a wide range of instructional technology topics, with posts that are sure to motivate you to get more into the techie side of education.
22. Artichoke: The world of education is pretty complex and new technologies make it even more so. This blog takes a look at where e-learning is taking education, with some amazingly in-depth posts that are well worth reading.
23. Kathy Schrock’s Kaffeeklatsch: Kathy Schrock posts her thoughts on educational technology here, and invites other teachers and educational professionals to join in the conversation.
24. McGee’s Musings: On McGee’s Musings, readers will find posts that explore the role of technology in how we acquire, store and use information.

Education Professionals

These teachers, professors, librarians and other educational professionals share their advice on teaching online courses and incorporating technology into the classroom. Hint: these are a great read not only for education students, but also those in online colleges for library science or studying web design online.

25. Angela A Thomas: Professor Angela Thomas isn’t your run-of-the-mill English teacher. She also works with new media literacy and 3D multimedia authoring. Her blog is a great place to learn more about teaching reading and writing through the web.
26. Teach Online: Leslie Bowman shares her expertise on developing great course materials for teaching K-12 students online at Teach Online, an excellent resource for teachers who are new to online education and need help designing better, more effective course materials.
27. Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts: On each “Techno Tuesday,” school librarian Cathy Nelson shares her thoughts on all things edutech.
28. E-Learning Queen: The E-Learning Queen, also known as Susan Nash, holds a PhD in English but has been working with e-learning for almost 20 years. Her blog is a can’t-miss resource for anyone working in online education, with posts on developing lessons, using online tools and a whole host of other great topics.
29. 2 Cents Worth: On 2 Cents Worth, teacher and instructional technology guru David Warlick comments on the potential of new technological resources as well as the general health of America’s educational system.
30. Tomorrow’s Professor Blog: Technology is already changing the way students and professors alike approach their coursework. This blog takes a look at the way these interactions will continue to change and how educators can prepare themselves for the classrooms of tomorrow.
31. Learning with ‘e’s: Associate professor of learning technology Steve Wheeler is passionate about e-learning technologies. Through his blog, educators will get a chance to see new and exciting ways technology can be used to educate and train the workers of tomorrow.
32. MPB Reflections: College educator Michelle Pacansky-Brock shares her reflections on the effective use of web-based technologies in learning on this blog, with resources that should be of great interest to any higher education professional.
33. Open Thinking: Open education offers a lot of opportunities for future students and Dr. Alec Couros, professor of educational technology and media, shares his thoughts on just what those opportunities might mean for the future of schools, learning and media literacy through this blog.
34. Digital Writing, Digital Teaching: If you’re an English or language arts teacher, you’ll appreciate this blog which focuses on the way new technologies can be used to improve the teaching of writing.
35. Leigh Blackall: While Blackall is a professor in Sports Studies at the University of Canberra, he also has a passion for open education and networked learning, both of which topics you’ll find posts about on this blog.
36. Web 2.0 Classroom: Math teacher and instructional technology expert Steven Anderson blogs about the many ways technology and education are intersecting these days, for better or worse. He also offers loads of tips for educators and education professionals.
37. Rick Osborn’s Continuing Education Blog: Many students in online education programs are non-traditional or adult students. On this blog, you’ll get a chance to see how technology is changing the future of continuing education and impacting the lives of these adult students.
38. Cathy Anderson: A professional in adult, continuing and distance education, Cathy Anderson shares her thoughts on all things education and technology related on this site.

Tricks, Tips and Resources

These sites are full of great advice and resources for online educators to use.

39. Free Technology for Teachers: There are tons of free digital resources out there for teaching if you know where to look. This site simplifies the process by bringing the best resources into one easy-to-navigate place.
40. Jane’s Pick of the Day: Educators on the lookout for new online resources and tools to use in the classroom will find a great collection of links on this site that will make everything from creating a poll to chatting with students online a whole lot easier.
41. Tony Bates: Educators should check out this site for helpful e-learning and distance education resources that can make teaching online easier for students and teachers alike.
42. The Edublogger: At The Edublogger, online educators can find tips, tricks and help navigating the sometimes confusing world of educational technology.
43. Thurmann Resources: Geared towards K-12 students, teachers can find a wealth of resources and ideas to bring technology into the classroom in fun and innovative ways on this site.
44. Open Culture: Open Culture features articles about and links to some of the best free cultural and educational media available online, making it a great resource for anyone in education.
45. Box of Tricks: Looking for some tips and tricks for using educational technology? Look no further than this blog, which is loaded with them.
46. Rapid e-Learning: Whether you want to learn better online yourself, or help your students to do so, you’ll find useful tips on here that can make using tech tools in the classroom much more effective.
47. Teachers Teaching Teachers: We could also use a little professional development, and on this site, teachers can learn about new technology and learning theories from other teachers in the field.
48. Tech Ticker: Learn how to use a variety of online technologies more proficiently with the help of posts on this site, as well as finding news and information that could be useful to anyone working in education.
49. Educational Origami: This blog will teach you about educational apps that can help your students to better learn and communicate.
50. Experiencing e-Learning: Look to this blog for some great e-learning related links.