The Technology Autobiography

Sophomores read The Time Machine by HG Wells for summer reading and start the school year with a personal writing project, a technology autobiography, in which they write about their experiences using technology throughout their own life. Here is a video from Ted.com about the beginnings of the computer age. Students can see how science has changed society, and how this change is happening exponentially all around them today. Wells examines this change through his writing and this is the starting off point for the course, which examines how the written word changes society by surveying British literary traditions and the pioneers who challenged and changed that tradition.

finding choice novels

Students read novels of their choice throughout the school year. Here are two sites that could help them pick out a book of interest or share with their friends: www.zoomii.com and www.librarything.com

Utopias aren't all what they seem to be

Interesting article about the New Atheists from a Muslim-American view. He discusses the warning signs that Americans are not thinking for themselves, or reading. This would be good to use with the seniors in World Literature as suggested by SNobles.

Year in Review

From Wordle

Using images

Two free sites for finding images to use in presentations: www.freefoto.com and http://www.freeimages.co.uk/
This one also give tips for creating an effective presentation with images.