stumbling toward clarity, balance, and insight
Posted in Educational on Jun 17th, 2008
[I realize this post is long. If you'd rather read this post as black text on white background, you can use the "Print This" link to view the post in that format without actually having to print.]
In an earlier post, Humanities and the DY/DAN Method, I linked to Dan Meyer’s blog and his take on [...]
Posted in Creative on May 16th, 2008
For my needs, Windows Live Writer (WLW) is the best desktop blogging application I’ve found.1 WLW makes it easy to insert elements and format posts, even allowing you to write using your blog’s stylesheet so you know exactly how the post will look once it’s published. I also appreciate the easy access to drafts and [...]
Posted in Creative on May 14th, 2008
I received an email from a teacher/friend asking for tips on script format to pass on to her creative writing students. I sent a quick reply,1 but I also mentioned that the students should consider using some software that was developed specifically for writers (instead of business professionals).
I’ve tried a number of these tools, but [...]
Posted in Educational on Mar 4th, 2008
I added a post on this topic to the TeachEng.us blog. Here’s the teaser:
… if I were in the classroom right now, and had students with consistent Internet access, I think I’d ask them to keep a few different writing spaces: a private journal, a public journal, a blog “notebook” or two, and a [...]
Posted in Educational on Feb 13th, 2008
I mentioned the notebook/textbook approach in my previous post, so I thought I’d take a minute here to explain it further. The idea is pretty basic, and something a lot of people already do without necessarily calling it that. To me, it’s just an approach to these tools that integrates blogs and wikis [...]
Posted in Educational on Nov 7th, 2007
Google and Weekly Reader’s Writing for Teens magazine have put together a few lesson plans for to help teachers and students use Google Docs for collaborative writing. The lessons provide instructions for using Google Docs, student-oriented suggestions, tips, and checklists for working through an online, collaborative revision process, and an educator’s guide. Helpful [...]
Posted in Educational on Oct 29th, 2007
I’m teaching a dual-enrollment freshman composition course through NVCC, the local community college. The course lets high-school seniors take the introductory college English courses in place of typical “English 12.” We’re fortunate enough to be working in a computer lab, so I asked the students to set up Google accounts and work with [...]
Posted in Educational on Sep 1st, 2007
School starts in Prince William County next week. Even though I’m not teaching at Woodbridge High this year, I’ll still be helping my former colleagues with their online needs, which means I’ve been spending time thinking about what the students will need this year in their courses and how best to meet those needs. [...]
Posted in Cultural, Educational on Aug 13th, 2007
My girlfriend and I were a little restless yesterday, so we took a drive out to a local “urban legend” hot spot: Bunny Man Bridge. The legends that collect around this site vary widely, attributing the origin to an escaped convict, a murderous teen, or perhaps just a local nut-job upset about trespassers.
[It's the [...]
Posted in Cultural, Educational on Aug 12th, 2007
October’s issue of Realms of Fantasy magazine has an article by Terri Windling called “Lost and Found: The Orphaned Hero in Myth, Folklore, and Fantasy.” In it, Windling traces the archetype through mythology, fairy tales, fiction, and history.1 She also offers some explanations for the continued interest in these tales, such as the [...]
