The Dean's List: 50 Must-Read Higher Education Technology Blogs
IT administrators, professors and CIOs are driven by the needs — and rising expectations — of students. In the world of higher education, technology is a catalyst for real growth. Topics like online learning, “bring your own device,” electronic textbooks and cloud computing are hot in the industry right now, and rightfully so.
Technology is creating better learning environments, faster and more efficient access to resources such as e-mail and online lectures — and, ultimately, a better experience for professors and students.
What about the men and women behind all that campus technology? IT workers need resources too. EdTech: Focus on Higher Education has surveyed the web and found what we believe are the 50 best IT blogs in higher education. These blogs — including well-known names and some who are less familiar — cover every aspect of technology, both in the classroom and behind the scenes. Learn from tech experts and IT peers at colleges who are in the trenches. Dig into the very best the web has to offer.
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We also have an OPML file with RSS feeds of all 50 Must-Read IT Blogs for your convenience. Google provides assistance on importing the OPML file into Google Reader.
American Sentinel University's Information Technology Blog
What makes a blog a must-read? Thoughtful posts that inform its audience. That is exactly what American Sentinal accomplishes with its IT blog, which covers hardcore tech issues such as big data, as well as inspirational stories such as one chronicling how a stay-at-home mom launched her IT career taking online courses.
| Read the blog: americansentinel.edu/blog/category/it
Blog HighEd
The team at BlogHighEd aggregates content from their network of higher ed bloggers, including webmasters, marketers, counselors, providers and consultants. Created by Brad J Ward and Matt Herzberger, you can look forward to posts from a community of knowleadgable and experienced bloggers.
| Read the blog: bloghighed.org
Christina Bello - ITS Technology Tips
Loyola University Chicago's IT Services Department uses their highly focused Technology Tips blog to educate students about how to use popular technologies and protect against current security threats. Lots of information, easily consumed.
| Read the blog: blogs.luc.edu/techtips
Cisco Education Blog
Cisco Systems is one of the largest technology companies in the world, with more than 60,000 employees. This blog homes in on their specialty — networks — and showcases colleges that are implementing efficient and innovative technology.
| Read the blog: blogs.cisco.com/category/education
College Open Textbooks Community Blog
The Community College Open Textbooks Collaborative’s blog keeps its readers updated on trends driving adoption of electronic and open textbooks. The organization also has an active online community of bloggers reporting from the trenches.
| Read the blog: collegeopentextbooks.ning.com/profiles/blog/list
Cyber Pop Blog
Sidneyeve Matrix's Cyberpop is a rich and visually stimulating trend-watching blog that examines the effect of digital popular culture on education, among other things. Matrix is assistant professor in the Department of Film and Media at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
| Read the blog: cyberpopblog.com
Dave Olsen - Mobile in Higher Ed
Dave Olsen is a programmer and project manager at West Virginia University. A leader in mobile technology, Olsen has released several major mobile solutions for WVU, including a robust mobile website and an iPhone app. He shares lessons learned and offers tips for colleagues who want to join the mobile revolution.
| Read the blog: www.dmolsen.com/mobile-in-higher-ed
DePaul University's Instructional Design and Development Blog
DePaul University's Instructional Design and Development blog is the online voice of the Faculty Instructional Technology Services department. Engaging topics and a deep bench of well-qualified contributors make this blog an intriguing read.
| Read the blog: iddblog.org
Digital Tweed
Written by Kenneth "Casey" Green, the founding director of The Campus Computing Project, Digital Tweed chronicles the ongoing evolution of technology in higher education. Thoughtful and comprehensive posts make this blog a must-read. Be prepared to step outside your comfort zone because, as Green lets us know, "a little dissonance can be a good thing."
| Read the blog: insidehighered.com/blogs/digital-tweed
Dr. Rey Junco - Social Media in Higher Education
Interested in how social media impacts the daily lives of college students? Dr. Rey Junco is a professor at Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania and a lab mentor for the Youth and Media project at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society. In his blog, he presents his ongoing research on the integration of social media and the classroom.
| Read the blog: blog.reyjunco.com
Duke University's Center for Instructional Technology Blog
The staff of the Duke University Center for Instructional Technology writes posts for this blog about technology at large as well as the campus's specific resources. The "Get Ideas" section of their website is a rich supplement of strategies for using technology, including examples drawn straight from Duke's classrooms.
| Read the blog: cit.duke.edu/blog
Educause
EDUCAUSE is a nonprofit dedicated to providing resources to IT leaders in higher education. In addition to the community blogs, check out EDUCAUSE's awesome online resources, FAQ's, professional development courses and major initiatives.
| Read the blog: educause.edu/blogs
EDUniverse
EDUniverse, which includes posts from more than 400 contributors, covers a variety of topics including technology, video, mobile, social media and marketing. This is more than a blog… it's a community of smart people exchanging ideas.
| Read the blog: http://www.eduniverse.org/posts
e-Literate
Ed Tech is both a hobby and a profession for some. Apart from his job as senior program manager of the MindTap learning environment at Cengage Learning, Michael Feldstein maintains this blog as a space for his own and some featured writers’ thoughts on “whatever is interesting” in the world of ed tech.
| Read the blog: mfeldstein.com
Elon Technology Blog
Published by the IT staff at Elon University, this blog offers in-the-trenches advice for all users of educational technology. It has several great contributors and even a YouTube channel to complement the site. For universities that use Moodle, this is a blog to watch.
| Read the blog: blogs.elon.edu/technology
Eric Stoller's Blog
Eric Stoller "gets" social media (he has almost 8,000 Twitter followers) and he has more than 10 years of experience in student affairs technology. This is a pro from whom anyone can learn. He is also a contributor to Higher Ed Live.
| Read the blog: ericstoller.com/blog
Globe University's IT Blog
Globe University is one of the leaders in virtual and remote learning, offering many online classes and degree programs. Its blog pinpoints practical applications of technology and timely news bites for a busy, connected audience.
| Read the blog: blogs.globeuniversity.edu
Hack Education
Audrey Watters will keep you informed and entertained as she covers the spectrum of technology and education. Hack Education also jointly produces a weekly podcast in which Watters and colleague Steve Hargadon discuss the latest ed tech news.
| Read the blog: hackeducation.com
Hanover Research Higher Education Blog
Hanover Research publishes a rich and stimulating scholarly blog, analyzing the findings of a broad selection of educational researchers. Stay up to date on marketing, teaching trends, e-learning and instructional design, among other topics.
| Read the blog: hanoverresearch.com/category/higher-education-blog
Higher Ed Live
Want to change things up a bit? Check out Higher Ed Live's weekly web shows on admissions, student affairs, innovation and technology. You can watch all their past shows on their YouTube channel but you can tune-in to a live show Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays.
| Read the blog: higheredlive.com
Higher Innovation
In his role as chief technology officer for Microsoft Education, Cameron Evans writes about how technology can empower students of all ages.
| Read the blog: higherinnovation.com
Instructional Technology Virtual Café
The University of Cincinnati's Instructional Technology Virtual Café delivers a smorgasbord of tech information for every palate. On the menu: blogs dedicated to developing and using video presentations; faculty training and support; and instructional design and online course content.
| Read the blog: blog.msbb.uc.edu/thecafe
Jeff Selingo's Blog
Jeff Selingo, editorial director of The Chronicle of Higher Education, draws on 15 years of experience reporting in the world of higher education. In addition to his eponymous blog, he writes a regular blog, Next, for The Chronicle, in which he explores innovation in education, and is also an education blogger for The Huffington Post.
| Read the blog: jeffselingo.com/blog
Jerry Bishop - The Higher Ed CIO
Jerry Bishop's blog is written for CIOs, but it draws readers of all stripes. For IT leaders, he wants to help shift the approach from tactical to strategic, as a means of increasing the value of technology for their institutions. Non-techies get "a glimpse behind the IT curtain into how the sausage is made."
| Read the blog: blog.thehigheredcio.com
Jerry Waldron - Campus Technology
Jerry Waldron is the CIO at The College of New Jersey. His blog about emerging technologies, Campus Technology, is written with an eye toward new and continuing college students.
| Read the blog: freshmantech.blogspot.com
Jim Hall's Blog
Jim Hall, director of IT at the University of Minnesota, Morris, has been blogging about "leadership and vision" in higher education IT since 2008. He keeps his community up to date on every angle of technology — from networks, security and privacy issues to his hilarious but spot-on "leadership lessons" for a tech-driven world.
| Read the blog: blog.lib.umn.edu/jhall/blog
Karine Joly - College Web Editor
College Web Editor is an independent resource for online marketers, website managers and PR professionals at universities. Karine Joly's experience developing online curricula for university executives allows her to bring unique insight to this niche. Example: How a high-profile university president used Twitter to diffuse a very public hiring crisis.
| Read the blog: collegewebeditor.com/blog
Kelly Walsh - EmergingEdTech
Every weekend, Kelly Walsh, CIO at The College of Westchester in White Plains, N.Y., begins what he calls a "conversation" on a specific technology topic, posting an initial blog entry and video that he then expands on throughout the week as the conversation grows. On Fridays, he puts it all together in a "tweet-wrap" of the week's postings and resources.
| Read the blog: emergingedtech.com
Kevin Corbett's Blog
Kevin Corbett’s site is a customized news aggregation area for the latest information in online learning, mobile learning, game-based design, technology and robotics.
| Read the blog: kevincorbett.com
Lakeland Learning Technologies
Bill Knapp, dean of learning technologies at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio, makes time for informative posts across a gamut of topics of interest to his faculty, from blended learning to Twitter in the classroom to appropriate use of open textbooks.
| Read the blog: lakelandlearningtechnologies.wordpress.com
Mark Guzdial - Computing Education Blog
For Mark Guzdial, how people understand technology is perhaps more important than the technology itself. Guzdial, a professor in the School of Interactive Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, takes on issues of teaching and learning about computing in his blog.
| Read the blog: computinged.wordpress.com
Megan Ura's Blog
Megan Ura is the computer training coordinator at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas. She blogs about web design and development and social media. Great insight from a recent college grad working in higher ed.
| Read the blog: meganura.tumblr.com
National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education Blog
How does technology mesh with the unique mission of a liberal arts college? Is there a place for learning to write code in arts and sciences curricula? What is a digital humanist? The National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education attempts to answer these questions and more in its blog.
| Read the blog: blogs.nitle.org
NspireD
A publication of Notre Dame's Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning, this blog encourages expansive thinking about how to apply technology as a tool for learning both in and out of the classroom. Posting almost daily, this is a good read for faculty and students alike.
| Read the blog: ltlatnd.wordpress.com
On The Go with Ed Cabellon
Ed Cabellon ruminates on the intersection of emerging technology, social media and higher education. As director of the Campus Center at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, Cabellon is dedicated to building a better campus community through the effective use of technology.
| Read the blog: edcabellon.com
ProfHacker
The Chronicle of Higher Education's ProfHacker blog is a prolific (three times daily plus Twitter supplements) discussion of pedagogy, productivity and technology — "the daily work of university life," say its editors. Posts are written and edited by a wide-ranging group of academics from all disciplines.
| Read the blog: chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker
Ray Schroeder - Educational Technology
Ray Schroeder, professor emeritus and director of the Center for Online Learning, Research and Service at the University of Illinois at Springfield, developed this blog as a "scholarly chronicle" covering all facets of educational technology practice and pedagogy. Since 2002, he has curated daily posts from educators, researchers and reporters nationwide.
| Read the blog: people.uis.edu/rschr1/et
Rutger's OIRT Blog
The Office of Information Technology at Rutgers provides information for professors, students and any IT department smart enough to follow along. Highly recommended for IT managers at large universities.
| Read the blog: oirt.rutgers.edu/aboutoirt/blog/
Stay Safe Online
The National Cyber Security Alliance is a nonprofit public-private partnership that works primarily with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and industry sponsors such as Cisco Systems, McAfee and Symantec to educate “digital citizens” about safe use of the Internet. An essential resource for students and IT professionals.
| Read the blog: staysafeonline.org/blog
Tame the Web
Michael Stephens, a professor at San Jose State University in California, writes about the intersection of libraries, technology and people, in a manner that will engage any consumer of the digital or printed word. He also writes a regular blog with an ed-tech bent, Office Hours, for Library Journal.
| Read the blog: tametheweb.com
UMassOnline Blog
The UMassOnline blog has chronicled distance learning since 2008. It fosters a community of learning for staff and students alike. According to CEO Ken Udas, "Blogging, and the easy access to — and exchange of — ideas that it has spawned, is having a transformative effect on education."
| Read the blog: umassonlineblog.com
University Business
As the online voice of the widely read University Business magazine, this blog covers higher education technology, news, finance, policy and more. Editor-in-Chief Tim Goral and Managing Editor Melissa Ezarik are regular contributors.
| Read the blog: universitybusiness.com/blogs
University of Mississippi's TECHNews
You can't accuse Ole Miss of being "old school." It recently launched a mobile website and a mobile app, and it uses QR codes in orientation brochures. Even better, the IT team documents campus tech news in an blog that should prove worthwhile reading for IT professionals working on other campuses.
| Read the blog: technews.blog.olemiss.edu
University of Oregon's IT Blog
At the University of Oregon, the College of Arts and Sciences Information Technology (CASIT) blog provides a wealth of information about technology on and off campus — covering everything from how to use Blackboard to the latest tech upgrades in Eugene, Ore., where OU lives. There's even a tutorial on typefaces.
| Read the blog: casitweb.uoregon.edu/blog
University of Wyoming's IT Blog
The University of Wyoming IT blog is written primarily to teach students about campus technology resources, but its tutorials and question-and-answer format make it useful for anyone who wants to learn about emerging technologies.
| Read the blog: uwithelpdesk.wordpress.com
UW Bothell Learning Technologies Blog
The University of Washington Bothell blog focuses on integrating emerging technologies to enhance the classroom experience for both students and faculty. UWB bloggers also frequently look beyond campus to cutting-edge applications in classrooms worldwide.
| Read the blog: depts.washington.edu/etuwb/ltblog
WCET Frontiers
The five "blog-ologists" at the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies, or WCET for short, report from the "frontiers of the e-learning policy and practice wilderness," sharing knowledge on educational technology as fast as it develops.
| Read the blog: wcetblog.wordpress.com
West Virginia University Tech Blog
The information technology team at West Virginia University puts out a great deal of useful and timely information, on everything from how to clean your mobile devices to protecting against the latest security threats.
| Read the blog: blog.oit.wvu.edu
Wires Crossed
This blog is a project of the Yale Instructional Technology Group, created to explore the mobile habits and technology needs of Yale University students. The blog is maintained by five Yale undergraduates who write about emerging technology and how it affects their educational experience.
| Read the blog: wirescrossedblog.tumblr.com
Yale University's Instructional Technology Blog
The Yale Instructional Technology Group's blog supports and celebrates the digital humanities work of its Arts and Sciences faculty and students. Numerous links to online content and presentations.
| Read the blog: itg.yale.edu/blog
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