I am being published! I will have to give you more details as they come. But as luck would have it, about six months ago an educational researcher and professor at Columbia University, Lori Langer de Ramirez, Ed. D., found my students’ wiki and loved it. She asked me to write a narrative about how I used the wiki in my ESL class and why. Well, it is getting published in her book about Web 2.0 in language classrooms. I am so excited. My little teaching narrative will compliment the more theoretical, research-based chapter on wikis in her book.

This achievement inspires me in a few different ways. First, as a fairly new teacher, I feel empowered by the Internet’s ability to level the playing field. What are the chances that the author would have found me and been able to peek into my classroom like that without the Internet? Second, it inspires me to try more new things because people notice! They noticed me! Not like being noticed really matters. (But we all know it does.) Anyway, I will keep you posted about when and where to buy the book.

And P.S. thanks for all the encouragement you guys gave me to teach abroad. I am excited about that too.

Image:  Zoha Navehebrahim

Technology users come in all shapes and sizes. In my last post, I called myself a tech junkie. That makes me sound a little crazy. What techie type are you? The PEW/Internet Project has a thorough set of tech types. (I am an omnivore. I like that language. I consume it all. I love it all.  In typical internet fashion, PEW updated their site and changed the quiz omnivores no loner exist– they are now called “digital collaborators” I think. )

Read about the different types identified by PEW here (And take the PEW Internet quiz here):

You might have an idea about where you fit, but take the PEW Internet Typology quiz for yourself.  Then, tell me what type you are. Knowing a little more about the relationship you have with technology can help you figure out what learning tools are best for you as a teacher or student of English!

The Internet is necessary to do a lot of things. Being an active member of a national government isn’t one of them.

It has recently become news that McCain doesn’t use email. When questioned, a representative of his campaign responded, that the senator, “is aware of the Internet.”

Well, I should hope so. I think you’d be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t aware of the Internet, but I’m kind of surprised that there’s anyone in the US who doesn’t use it–let alone a senator and presidential candidate.

According to this article about increasing Internet penetration in China, only 71% of the US uses the Internet, so McCain is by no means alone. But what’s important here is that McCain might know English, baby! exists. Apparently his wife commonly logs on for him and directs him to things such as his daughter’s blog. So there’s a very small chance that she has directed him to our site. But, if we were to get on John McCain’s daughter’s blog, those chances would increase greatly. So I hereby pledge to do my best to get the attention of Meghan McCain and have English, baby! join the Internet in the category of things that John McCain is aware of. Who knows? Maybe I can even get her to create a profile here. Since McCain’s competitor, Barack Obama is leading him in polls of our members by 60%, he could use some help here, so maybe Meghan will step in. Stay tuned.

CNN Report on Internet use among US presidents and presidential candidates:

My first contact with Meghan’s blog:

While it’s taking a fair amount of time, many educators are coming around to the idea that students can learn valuable skills from each other while interacting online, even in social networks.

The Economic Times reports that according to a new 6-month study by the University of Minnesota that watched the online behavior of students from 13 high schools in the Midwest, social network users were found to learn lessons in technology, creativity and “being open to new or diverse views and communication skills.”

How about that? Sharing ideas can encourage learning.

A student-empowerment movement is happening. Learners are becoming more reliant on their peers and less reliant on their teachers to disseminate information. Sure it’s valuable to have an English language teacher help correct grammatical mistakes, but it can be just as helpful when a friend shares that the most important phrase he learned on a recent budget trip to New York was “Where can I get some pizza?”

Teachers are an important educational resource but students often do a better job sharing real-world experiences. What sounds more engaging – memorizing how to ask directions or listening to a friend tell the story of how she misunderstood a bus driver and instead of riding to San Diego, she ended up in Las Vegas? A little bit of context goes a long way.