ELABlogs

Michelle Walker's Ideas: [|English Companion Ning] The English Companion Ning--very similar to a blog has helped me so much this semester. It is a coalition of English teachers across America that help each other get ideas, exchange lesson plans and so forth. It also has links to many of the latest articles on English Teaching and I love being up to date on the most contemporary discussion on the hot topics in education and in English.

Clarissa Harris' Ideas: [|Greetings From Nowhere] This is a blog I just recently started following. This woman is a children's book author and she's also a member of NCTE. Even though I'm going into secondary education, I like the idea of using children's books in my classroom in order to introduce a subject or topic. Dr. Debbie Dean uses this method in her classes - even her 400 level classes. Greetings From Nowhere is a nice mix between book reviews and the regular goings on in the life of an author.

Whitney Henkel's Ideas: [|The Innovative Educator] This was my favorite and most useful blog of all those that I followed over the course of the semester. It was my favorite because it talked about ideas that were directly related to teaching subject matter to students as well ideas that were merely important for teachers to know and think about. For example, it had several posts talking about facebook and how it plays a part in children's lives.

Alison Canar's Ideas: [|The Book Whisperer] I enjoyed following this blog because she gives lots of ideas about how to http://greetings-from-nowhere.blogspot.com/ books for your classroom, stay informed about new books coming out for teens, and foster a love of reading in your students.

Amanda Garlock's Ideas: [|Teaching Authors] This website is great because it's written by six (6) authors who also teach writing in middle/high schools. They have some great insights and update every week or so.

Shane HIll's Ideas: [|English as a 2nd Language] The Blog/Site that I enjoyed the most is nice, because it is user friendly and is helpful in thinking of ways of approaching things that may seem basic for me. I want my students to have a good experience with English and some of the ideas here are helpful in facilitating me with ideas.

Tasha Tanner's Ideas: [] This website has some great ideas for using picture books. It also had some good ideas to find books that would interest each gender. I love the idea of using picture books to introduce important themes in novels.

Allison Bailey's Ideas: [] This blog has a many fun ideas for all subjects, age levels and interests. There are many of links to interesting resources found on the internet that are designed to catch students' interest.

Alyssa Andrus' Ideas: [|http://teachingtechnology.suite101.com/] This is a great site that gives tips for students, parents, and teachers alike. It gives examples of projects that teachers have used, and students have created. There are lesson plans for students of all ages.

Julie Minch's Ideas: [] This site gives reviews on popular teen fiction because who can read everything an English teacher should know about?

Dasily Lasko's Ideas: [] I chose this blog because not only is it engaging and entertaining, but he shares experiences of using technology in his classroom--whether it worked or not and also links to the technologies he discusses.

Abigail Robinson's Ideas: [|prezi.com] This is an excellent alternative to powerpoint that provides a fun new way for presentations. You can embed videos and audio and just about anything depending on how awesome you want to make your presentation. This could also be useful for a lesson on perspectives.

Nicole Barber's Ideas: [] This blog is dedicated to discussions and reflections on the use of Weblogs, wikis, RSS, audiocasts and other Read/Write Web related technologies in the K-12 realm, technologies that are transforming classrooms around the worl d.

Cat Cowan's Ideas: [] This is a little more casual, as it is basically the personal blog of a high school English teacher. Because it's so personal, it occasionally veers away from strictly school matters, and goes into her personal life. I like this, since it gives a wider view of what it is like to be a teacher //and// have a family, and shows how those things affect each other.

Cara Jessop's Ideas:[| http://englishcompanion.ning.com/] This ning was such a great resource that I've used consistently throughout this semester. It has so many resources and the greatest part is all of the interaction that you get with other English teachers. You can browse through other people's discussions, or create your own, asking questions for teachers all over the country to help answer. It's a great collaborative tool and I rely on it so much!

Kimberly Keck's idea- [|http://www.freetech4teachers.com]

They post all the time, so usually, I would just scan through, see if something interested me and be on my way. They cover a range of subject areas, too, which I think is useful for a English teacher.

Heidi Barnhart's Idea: [] This is Gail Carson Levine's blog. If you don't know her, then you've probably been living under a rock since before 1996, when her first novel, //Ella Enchanted//, was published and became a Newbery Honor book. She has written many novels since, and is a full-time children's author. She also is a teacher! She teaches a writing workshop for children and teens during the summer at her local library. Her blog is intended to help young writers on their way, giving writing prompts and answering questions that have been sent to her via email. She is an amazing teacher, and after discovering this blog, I feel like my ideas for helping both students and myself with creative writing have become much better. I highly recommend following this blog. It is infused with teaching magic.

Jenny Dunn's Idea: My Dog Ate My Lesson Plan This is a blog where past graduates of the Brigham Young University English Education go to post ideas, lesson plans, interesting articles and links etc. It is a wonderful resource to turn to for ideas, and it also has a wonderful sense of community to it. I check it often to keep in touch with other graduates of my program and to see the myriad of ideas they are using in their classrooms.

Betsy Sieber's Idea: Huff English Huff English is a discussion of the shifting face of education especially as it pertains to technology in the classroom. It includes links to sample lesson plan, handouts, her classes' blogs, and a list of online teacher resources. I highly recommend it, everything is thoroughly researched, and as there are only 2-3 posts a week, you need not worry about it taking too much time.

Emily Bastian's Idea: [|Cliff's Notes] This was one of the ideas Professor West used as a good resource and I have to agree. Cliff focuses on many different aspects of education and pulls in ideas from numerous people, resources, educators, technologies, etc. While there is a lot of information his site is easily accessible to search different ideas. It is a fabulous resource for teachers to find new and exciting things to include in lesson plans and teaching strategies.