C4T#1

My first C4T#1 assignment was Matthew Tabor's blog Education for the Aughts. I enjoyed reading his latest post which was titled Recommend Me- Or Not- For a Ph. D. in Education Policy/Reform. Mr. Tabor is applying for a Ph.D. Program in Education Policy. In his post he talked about how the application process for a Ph.D. is flawed even for the most selective schools. He states that the process does not reveal accurate and complete information about the candidate. He talked about how written content on the application is usually edited to the point that it does not reveal the student's actual abilities. He also talked about how transcripts do not reveal much information and that the institutions looking at the applications have to make decisions based on a very limited amount of information".
Mr. Tabor is using a very different approach in his application process. He attempting to seek references from all of the hundreds of professionals that he has conversed with in the education world through education sites. He is asking them to share their comments on whether to recommend or not recommend him for the Ph.D. program. I believe that he has a lot of very good ideas and is using all of the great resoursces of the technological world that we live in today to his advantage. I am just beginning my education courses and I admit that I am not that familiar with the application process for a Ph. D. program. However, I would imagine that it would be a very lengthy process being that it is the highest degree awarded in a given field of study. With that said, I think that his idea of bringing the whole team to the playing field through the education blogosphere is a great idea that would bring a wealth of information to the table.
In my comment to Mr. Tabor I indicated that I thought his idea of using his vast amount of contacts throughout the education world to help him was a great idea. It is truly amazing how modern technology can be applied in so many ways.

The second post of Mr. Tabor's that I commented on was titled best-education-sites-maps-college-web-design-utility In this post he talks about how colleges today are using the internet for marketing to students. He includes a link that rates colleges and universities throughout the U.S. on their web presence. I recommend checking out this website Best Education Sites. It is very interesting and has a tons of information. It shows how colleges use the web and how they are even using Facebook, Twitter, and other social media like You Tube in their marketing strategies.Some colleges are more successful then others with the use of social media. The top ranked schools academically are also the schools with the best web presence. I think that the internet is a very powerful tool and the colleges that make the most use of that tool will lead the way in education. They will also be able to provide prospective students with valuable information. In my second comment that I left for Mr. Tabor I said that I thought that the use of Twitter, Facebook and the internet in general was a very productive tool for colleges and universities. I also told them that I thought that a college's website can be very helpful for students.