If you are a creative writer and haven't heard of nanowrimo, you need to check it out. It is a website that spurs writers on, through word goals and inspirational e-mails, to write a novel in a month. It could also be useful if you teach a creative writing class in the future. Effective writing teachers are writers.

Watch the video before reading the article. While watching, count the number of passes by people wearing white. I won't spoil it for those of you who haven't seen this before, but read the article. Our surprisingly intense level of "selective attention" will be useful to understand about our future students.

Although technology can certainly be useful in the classroom, some scientists argue that too much technology can do more harm than help. Here's one researcher's viewpoint. Check it out and decide for yourself.

For those of you who are in English because of your love of language, Bill Bryson's Mother Tongue is a fascinating and entertaining book all about our wonderfully weird language: English. I have read a lot of Bryson's stuff and he's one of my favorite writers. But this particular book can be helpful for English teachers, as it better acquaint them to the language they will be teaching.

If you haven't taken this class yet, I highly recommend it. I am in the class right now, and I have already gained more valuable information and experience related to teaching English than any class I have taken yet. If you can, take it with Kate Vieira.