On the website entitled edutopia, http://glef.org/, the George Lucas Education Foundation shares examples of what is working in public education. The foundation documents examples of exemplary practices in K-12 public schools. Most of the stories are geared toward innovative uses of technology in the classroom. Free teaching modules created by professional development experts and education faculty are available at the website.
The edutopia website has several strengths. The site loads quickly and is visually appealing with good use of color and graphics. It is easily navigable with clearly labeled, working links and easy page-to-page movement. The content challenges reflection and discussion with many positive comments posted by teachers. The content is current and the information is updated. Additional resource links are included.
One weakness of this website is that many of the articles are written "by Eutopia Staff". The reader cannot determine the actual author of many articles. Members of the staff are listed on a web page, but their credentials are not included. However, there are many helpful articles on the website that do indicate the author and the author's credentials. Another weakness is that specific information is not easily located. This is an interesting and informative site to visit for general enrichment and enjoyment, but it is difficult to find answers to specific questions.
Edutopia does appear to be of value to 21st Century Education. It has some weaknesses, but overall, it is very good. I recommend the website to other educators--especially those teachers who want to learn how to integrate technology into their content areas.
