I have to admit that it is pretty cool having all of this information delivered straight to me no matter where I'm at (as long as I have a connection). I've got the BBC, Al Jazeera English, and NPR news and information at my fingertips. It's interesting to compare how different news cites, with different affiliations, treat the same story differently. It has, also, occurred to me that technology and non-print media has its advantages to print media when it comes to news (I doubt I'll ever feel that way when it comes to books). I'm a born scanner, so it doesn't take me long to skim through the feeds to find what I'm actually interested in reading. It's like all of today's headlines on one page, and with a click of a button, I can read the ones I want.
Plus, it is amazing how much support and technology is out there, and it's all free. A Teacher Writes is a nice blog, which offers helpful hints, practical activities, and some personal reflection on the trials and tribulations of teaching. The English Blog has cartoons with analysis, links to free film clips, rhetorical speeches from movies, etc. Finally, Free Technology for Teachers has... free technology for teachers (links to film, movie clips, current news issues, games for learning, and much more). The list of useful blogs goes on and on, hence part of my being "stuffed."
I love this kind of thing; however, I'm on input overload at this point. Too much stuff. It's like walking into a candy store or the cereal aisle at the local grocer. I can't decide where to start, and if I want to use some of these resources, which I do, how can I get that ball rolling without losing sleep at night trying to fit everything in. It is something I'll have to work on.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I too feel stuffed, but maybe not in a good way. I think I have too much info on the outside world. Maybe I need to subscribe to some more of the teacher sites that have resources. Then this problem arises: can we get to them at school? Have you found anything you are able to use now or are thinking about using in a future lesson? Maybe this 6 weeks (which really is 6 weeks) will start out a little less hectic. Oh who am I kidding . . .
ReplyDeleteThe English blog had some useful things. I really liked the political cartoons and news articles that lend themselves to rhetorical analysis. The bloggers even offer some insight into these items. Since we are finished with this for now, I won't really use them but perhaps next year. Also, on the left-hand side, there are some links to some cool places - like how to use film clips or sound bytes for lessons.
ReplyDelete