Internet Resources

The ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) Database

The ERIC database, an index of articles related to education, is an important resource for educators to know about. Two parts of the site are particularly important to be aware of: the Thesaurus and the Advanced Search page. Every article in the database is tagged with words called "descriptors". These descriptors come from a closed set; indexers can not just make up their own descriptors for each new article entered into the database. This means the user does not have to guess whether articles are tagged with "mathematics" or "math". Looking up "math" in the thesaurus tells us that the word "math" is never used as a descriptor; looking up "mathematics" in the thesaurus brings up a list of about 30 specific descriptors, including the general term "mathematics", that are used to index articles relating to mathematics. More specific descriptors include "mathematics anxiety", "mathematics avoidance", and "mathematics materials". An understanding of the descriptor indexing system, and experience using the Thesaurus, is particularly important in conducting a thorough literature search. The Advanced Search page allows us to choose any number of descriptors to include or exclude, a date range, education levels, and more. Of particular interest is the "Full Text Only" option. This returns only articles which are freely downloadable, without a subscription to the journal they are published in. A quick search of the ERIC database can make a significant difference in staff discussions around many common school issues.


PEN (Public Education Network) Weekly Newsblast

Many of the education-related forums I have seen are unsatisfying. Many education forums are either inactive, or they resemble a bad teacher's lounge: a lot of complaining, with little constructive conversation. I once asked a professor to recommend a good source of education news and articles, and she recommended the PEN Weekly Newsblast. I have read the newsblast for the last year, and it is one of the most consistent sources of high-quality education news and articles I have seen. Each week there is a summary of recent education news and recently published articles, a section of shorter news briefs, and a section of grant and funding opportunities. Each brief is a link to the full article. I read the full newsblast each week, and I usually skim several of the full articles as well. I print out and share full articles with colleagues every couple weeks, so the newsblast ends up influencing our school's professional practice. As I continue to grow as an educator, I will use the grant funding referrals as well. I highly recommend that educators subscribe to the newsblast; it comes in on Friday mornings, a perfect time to be re-inspired as an educator.


Coding Horror and Joel on Software

As I have gotten back into programming, I have started to read a few blogs about bad programming. The blogs at first seem to be simply making light of bad programming examples, but there is a much deeper significance to them. By raising awareness of bad programming, they focus on good programming practice. The people who write these blogs are highly skilled programmers, frustrated at the bad reputation their profession gets by the work of mediocre and bad programmers. The best of these blogs is Coding Horror, written by Jeff Atwood. Coding Horror articles provide guidance on developing high-quality software, and inspire us to do excellent work, whatever our profession.

Jeff Atwood collaborates with Joel Spolsky, who built a unique software company called Fog Creek Software, founded on the principles of high-quality software design. The company puts programmers first, with management clearly in the role of supporting the programmers. They aimed to build the "ideal programming workspace", and did it all without outside funding, so they would be free from the obligations that dependence on venture capital brings. The Fog Creek culture raises the question: "What if schools were structured in a similar way, where administrators were set up to serve teachers, and students were given the best work space money could buy?" It's an exemplar worth reflecting on. Joel Spolsky writes another of the best software development blogs, Joel on Software.

For an example of how Coding Horror articles can inspire non-programmers to do excellent work, take a look at a post about execution, the difference between simply having a good idea and carrying that idea out fully.