Here a post on teacher’s unions and Web 2.0. I’m doing it potentially(?) as a background to an Ed Tech Talk on Sunday 3/4/2007, but I’m not sure if it will be a go….

First, NEA, or the National Education Association. NEA is a professional association (as opposed to a trades union). NEA seems to have decent coverage of Web 2.0 issues, but does not maintain a blog itself.  Here are some pieces they’ve had on their website…

NEA: New Kids on the Blog – Article on how new teachers use blogs for reflection and development

NEA: March 2007 NEA Today – Podcasting the 1600s – Article on podcasting in the lastest issue of their magazine includes quotes taken from Will Richardson and others.

Next, AFT, the American Federation of Teachers. They don’t have articles, but instead have a blog called lets get it right.

AFT NCLB Blog – This blog has a number of authors (sorta like Crooked Timber, etc.) It’s still very personal. I like what it’s saying, but can it have that personal voice, and represent an institution. The danger (candidates for political office are running into this) is that one of the authors will strike a sour note.  Also, I’ll note that they do not get a lot of comments, which I think it really key with a blog, and especially for such a powerful institution. They have a Technorati rating in the 50,000 range, but I’m not the person to say if that is good or bad.