The shortlists of the 2013 EduBlog Awards have been released and I certainly was humbled by my nomination in most influential blog post as well as best individual blog. But please don’t vote for me. There are so many others that have have done more for education as a whole than me. I am not at my peak yet, nor do I wish to be, so instead perhaps vote for the ones I nominated or whomever has touched you or made you change something.
Most Influential Blog Post: John T.Spencer’s “Be Present” blog post. I read this before I started this year and this has been my mantra for the year. Not just in the classroom but in my life. I turn off my computer, leave my phone somewhere and focus on those incredible kids in front of me. Be present indeed has influenced me in so many ways, I hope it will do the same for you.
Best free webtool for me continues to be Kidblog (although Edmodo is close behind). This blogging tool created by teachers allows me to peek into the minds of my 5th graders every week and brings the world in for us in a meaningful way. Thank you Kidblog for creating such an incredible product.
Best Group Blog for me has to be The Nerdy Book Club – this daily blog brings together some of the most passionate and inspired educators, authors, and writers that share their ideas, opinions and passion for all things reading. Thank you to all of those who continue to contribute and inspire me every day to be a better reading teacher.
Best individual blog: I found myself once again thinking of a post John T. Spencer wrote again today, he is a must read for any educator that cares about anything. So not only does one of his posts get my nomination for most influential post, but his blog also gets a nod for best individual blog. Please add it your daily read.
Best edtech resource/sharing site. While I turn to many of these throughout my week, Larry Ferlazzo’s is sheer insanity. The breadth of what he shares on a daily basis makes me suspect that he is not just a teache rbut actually a robot churnin gout useful information. whatever he is, I appreciate all that he does and all that he shares.
Best Librarian/Library Blog. Not only is Shannon Miller one of the most inspiring and kind women I know, she shares so freely on her library blog that anyone would be a fool to not want to be one of her students. You want to see students doing crazy cool things with books and tech, head over to Shannon’s blog for her Van Meter Library.
Best Twitter Hashtag. While I love many hashtags: #Edchat, #Wischat, #GRA13, there is one that has helped my classroom year after year and that is #comments4kids created by Bill Chamberlain. This hashtag is meant to get students’ comments on their blog posts, to bring the world in, and boy does it ever. It is partly thanks to this hashtag that my students’ blogs have had more than 300,000 visitors!
Pernille Ripp 
Pernille, although you are modest, I want you to know that your blog is the one that I look forward to reading the most. Sometimes, it is like you live in my head because when I am thinking about posting something about education, many times I seem to be a day or week behind you. Thank you for sharing the blogs that are meaningful to you. I look forward to checking them out.
I don’t know…you are excellent! Whenever I see a tweet that references you, I check it every time and, as usual, you inspire me. Thanks and keep doing what you are doing. You are an inspiration!
I agree that John Spencer is a must read.
And I really appreciate your blog. Thanks for all your thoughts and words.
I appreciate your humility. I just started following your blog and entering the world of blogs and twitter within the last couple of months and your blog has so enriched me. I also learned about new people to follow. Thank You.