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Janet Bianchini's Page
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Hi all
I have been reading this discussion on Moodle with great interest as I am a fairly new Moodle user. I have used it as a student and really enjoyed the good layout and features which the tutors chose for the classes.
Just recently I have tak…
I have been following an Integrating Technology online course on Moodle for the past 4 weeks and I think it has a huge amount of potential as a Learning Management System. It offers a lot of features for teachers and students to exploit.
I have use…
What can I say? Teaching is in my blood and sharing my knowledge of the English language is and always has been a marvellous, invigorating experience. I love inspiring and motivating learners, especially complete beginners who need so much TLC and g…
Hi my fellow twitterers. I like Twitter but I don't tweet every day. My tweets are a mix of personal and educational. I am janetbianchini.
Thanks for sharing this link- I like the sound of it because I can imagine it would appeal to young students in this era of tweeting about everything. If Twitter encourages them to write on Dante's Inferno, which is a mighty impressive tome, then I'…
Profile Information
- Where do you work?
- I am a freelance teacher and teacher trainer
- Choose all that apply to your job
- Consultant
- What is your Twitter ID
- janetbianchini
- What is your blog, wiki, or website URL?
- http://civitaquana.blogspot.com
- What are you reading?
- "The Reader"
- How do you define your role/work?
- I want to learn as much as possible to make myself a better educator
Comment Wall (1 comment)
- At 12:37pm on April 24, 2009,
Nellie Deutsch said…
- Hi Janet,
I hope things are getting better for you. Glad to see you here.
Warm wishes,
Nellie
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Latest Activity
Yay Doug! He was one of my teachers in pre-teaching grad school (itp.nyu.edu), and I'm a huge fan of his work. Thanks for posting this, Frank. I'm really excited to see what these guys have come up with this time.
I am looking for opportunities for high school students to publish their writing. I am in VT. We are part of the NWP and can certainly offer that to our students. I know about the Mountain Review, but I would really appreciate other venues where stu…
Oh, a marvelous poem, Carol -- by one of my favorite poets. In graduate school far back in the 60's, I took a creative writing class from Bly at the University of Kansas, and have never forgotten it. Thanks for the connection.
I actually do have a plan (I also have a yearly book filled with objectives). I just can't say I have a detailed plan. I found it easier to plan for 90 minute block lessons than the 45 minutes we have at this school which makes me feel like I am in…
Oh I do! I just had a tutorial with a final year student, who thank me for introducing her to philosophy. It's just that the rest of it sucks up so much time.
Andy,
The fact that you have not heard of it doesn't mean the theory has not had a wide influence. Nearly every school of education in America now promotes "constructivist" ideas, and it is why many of our student teachers are not receiving some of…
How about this for a poetic connection to your posting, Hamilton?
Gratitude to Old Teachers by Robert Bly
When we stride or stroll across the frozen lake,
We place our feet where they have never been.
We walk upon the unwalked. But we are uneasy.…
I really think that PDFs kick SOOO much butt compared to .mobi Kindle Books or any other text with DRMs.
... and xboxes can make lovely computers if you know how to hack them. But that's also illegal. ;)
My husband has a bebook, which will read PDFs and some other formats... I don't know if it does text files or not.
And yet many teachers would grade "gentle seductions" harshly and comment that they "take too long to get to the point" or "meander." It just goes to show the huge chasm that exists between persuasive essays taught in the "Cookie-Cutter School of Es…
While it may be true that in reality there are not that many people reading student work on the Web (who but an English teacher could love a character analysis of Scout Finch??), I wonder if that really matters.
I suspect it does matter. I think it…
"the thesis came too soon"
You are really onto something here, Maja. Why would an authentic audience read on if a writer gave away the point in the first sentence. Most writing, particularly persuasive writing, is a gentle seduction. Follow my thin…
I did an exercise in which my students had to write the same story four times, each time with a different point of view. You could tell which students understood the concept and which didn't pretty easily.
Thanks for this activity, it supplements m…
I do agree that most "great" works of literature tend to be more serious than funny. Even though it's about the bombing of Dresden, Slaughterhouse-Five is pretty funny at times. Catcher in the Rye is hilarious, as is Cuckoo's Nest and Huck Finn (our…
This doesn't help, but it might make you feel better. Many of my college students still don't get it. They have to do a research paper for their first-year comp class, and even with easybib, citationmachine, and all the other aids -- not to mention…
I liked your idea of going backwards chronologically so have tried it this year. So far, the kids are really enjoying it. One big advantage that I see is that Beowolf and Canterbury Tales, the texts from the earliest periods which are challenging be…
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