Socializing online; joining discussion forums

I have started looking into online social media that will help me reflect on my content area and found some really cool things.

There are lots of different kinds of social media out there, and many of them have useful information that can be used in the classroom.

I am directly following a few different blogs so that I can stay up to date on my content area.

The first is Kerouac Alley, which follows new writing centered around mid 20th century American Lit. This is the area that I studied in my undergraduate, and hope that by following the blog I will be able to maintain my passions and stay up to date with current writing in the area.

Secondly, I searched around the internet for blogs that would help me get ideas to get the students writing more. I found a blog called, Build Creative Writing Ideas, and decided that I would follow it so that I could get more arsenal in my toolbox for future classes on writing.

So far it is still early in the semester, so time will tell how much I can get out of the two social medias that I subscribed to, but I was certainly inspired as I looked through them.

2-12-2010 After meeting with my professor I have decided to try a few more links that might be more helpful as I continue on my journey of technological literacy. Today I subscribed to the Ilearn technology website today, where they continually send updates on new technology and how to use them in your classroom. I am looking forward to seeing what they send.

I noticed that they had the Jackson Pollock Whiteboard technology where students would be able to create abstract art on the digital screen by moving around the cursor. I am thinking that I will be able to use this in an easy chapter review type way. First I will ask the students to sign on to the website, then I will have them make an abstract painting of the chapter, and lastly I will have them explain to the class why they made the artwork that they did. This would be a lot of fun and get us talking about the chapter!

Secondly, I checked out my creative writing idea page and got an idea about getting students to write about their homes. We could do this before we start our Africa unit so that they will be able to reflect on the differences between our homes and the homes that they are going to read about. To see the home writing exercise follow this link, home.

2-23-2010 Today the ilearn technology website came out with a mars exploration program. This is something that I really could have used last semester in my science fiction class when we were exploring the other planets. This program takes people through exploration of Mars and would help with the crative writing topics that I gave them and given them more of a background to build off of. Check it out at this link.