Exploration:  The List Serv that I found to be the most interesting to me, was the Reading Teaching List Serv. I went ahead and joined the IRA and it didn't take long to get a confirmation. I really did enjoy reading the input of several teachers. Since I'm going to be a Literacy Coach this fall, this site seemed more practical than for example Education World. I like the fact that it seems to address Reading questions more specifically.

 

Learning: On the List Serv I asked if anyone knew of some good reading materials for Literacy Coaching. I got several responses very quickly suggesting Richard Allington's Literacy Coach Handbook. One teacher suggested Sharon Walpole's reading materials. One teacher informed me that Richard Allington was going to be speaking at the Spring IRA Conference of 2006. Several teachers gave me plenty of insight into Allington's Reading Philosophy - which I enjoyed very much. I found out with List Servs that there is a whole new conversation that I started on Literacy Coaching became real interesting very quickly. One indivdual wrote and told  me that to be sure and teach Phonemic Awareness because she had read some research where students that had been taught Phonemic Awareness had higher I.Q.'s. The conversation soon spiraled out of control. Several individuals disagreed and decided from this point on that I would choose to lurk instead of participate. The conversation, became very heated and some teachers were very much against students having to count phonemes. I had never heard of having to count phonemes - only that students needed to be aware of them. Nevertheless, all of a sudden the opinions became very forthcoming and strong. I even heard something that sounded like a door slamming on the computer. This was all new to me!

 

I learned real quickly that I would prefer to keep a List Serv for only conversing about topics that will help me through a particular situation - then when I get the answer I feel comfortable with - then choosing to go on to something else. I can't see letting a list serv get you angry over a topic when you don't agree with someone else. However, if you're needing to converse with someone synchrously over a particular circumstance, this is a good way to get a variety of input.

 

I also enjoy sending IM messaging. My son had taught me how to do this a couple of years ago. I love being able to do this when I'm online and am working on something else. I didn't know that you could send IM greeting cards. There is such a variety of them too. I have sent them frequently to family members since I'm on line so much. They seem to enjoy them also.