An overview commentary on the use of EPortfolios for teachers and students. The article addresses what and how to use electronic portfolios and addresses how one should go about setting one up and how to assess the contents. One point not addressed but one I encountered in another technology class I took was what happens when the computers or programs are incompatible between the teacher and the student (using a mac versus a pc for instance). Very interesting.

I enjoyed this scholarly article because it provided an explanation of the purpose of the threaded discussions, then provided some samples of discussions in a variety of classrooms, and then it provided a sample rubric. I was most impressed with the rubric because embedded in the rubric were samples of appropriate and inadequate responses. Finally, the article addressed some of the positive elements as well as drawbacks to this type of digital learning. The most important element or focus of this article, however, was demonstrating student learning using technology instead of using technology but not necessarily improving student learning.

A lofty empirical research article intended for doctoral candidates and other researchers but if you can get past the SAT style language the information contained is rather interesting. While my high school students will not be writing formal literary analyses I am interested in them producing high quality papers based on valid research questions/topics and having them think of new ways to view the same literature. Some of the texts we read in class have so many articles and summaries already prepared that it is sometimes hard for students to think of new ways to approach the material and this article offers some interesting thought processes to consider when preparing a literary analysis.

A great resource for sites to use when writing literary criticism. Memorial Hall Library is located in Andover, MA and this particular article divides the information into the following categories: Plot Summaries, Criticism, Authors, Contemporary Authors, Reader's Advisory, Literary Awards List, and What do I Read Next? Easy to use and some new sites I did not know about.

This publisher is a subsidiary of the Workman Publishing Group and features a new online book club. The online book club features a new book each month (their first book was Julia Alavarez's "In The Time of the Butterflies") and one of the biggest features of this site is the live webcast interview of the individual authors.

A simple little article but I really liked some of the ideas that were included. For example, to help with teaching purpose and tone there is a site for making greeting cards - while this could be aimed towards the lower grade levels I think it could also be incorporated into high school literature courses by having characters write greeting cards to other characters. I also think that some of the suggested sites could be utilized across departments.

You do not have to join to view some of the basic features of this site. However, if you do decide to join you gain access to lesson plans, illuminated texts, discussion groups and so on. All you need to do is participate in the site - if you add a lesson or make comments in discussion groups you accumulate points. I joined because I was very interested in making illuminated manuscripts with my students using either powerpoint or the adobe group materials. I was really impressed with Prezi for the power of that tool but sometimes I just want student work to stay within our classroom and not be shared on the web so I like the idea of the illuminated manuscripts.

I really enjoyed reading this article about making appealing and intriguing powerpoint slideshows using images that attract attention. The article is brief but they offer several sites to obtain images from and then they suggest some editing elements you can do to alter the originals and use them as talking points before during or after a presentation. The most impacting piece I got out of it was when they asked the question - would you sit through your own presentation? Yeah, no kidding, how many times have you sat through a dull presentation with nothing to keep your eyes and attention sharp and interested.