Tutors together online

News, news of the network sort! Society of Authors Educational Writers Group features a whole week of Susan Lee Kerr in their May Blog-of-the-Month. Not this blog content directly, more of a round-up of a typical week of a teacher-writer-publisher-person. If you are an SoA member, once in the Members section you can go to EWG to see this, or previous month-blogs, from full-time educational books writers, editors and publishers (and some teach). Some are looking for writers -- interested?

Also: Keith Burnett, who teaches maths in an FE College, has publicized my weekly blog in his own http://bodmas.org/blog He provides learning material samples at no charge on his site from time to time. He's also very keen on IT in teaching, and had an article Blogging about teaching in In Tuition, the magazine of the Institute for Learning. The idea is to encourage FE colleagues to use IT, including blogging -- especially about teaching their subject. Of course I contacted him and now we've done a titfer.

So if you have maths-IT colleagues, spread the word -- by internet, I guess. In Keith's article he lists several other post-16s teacher blogs. The one most relevant to our interests here is Chris Jackson's Skills for Life blog http://chris-sfl.blogspot.com/ Definitely worth a look if this is your area; has lots of links. If you want to know more, do contact Keith at bodmas.

Brinkmanship, fell off the edge: alas Creative Non-Fiction enrolment is not enough to run the course. So that's 5 free Wednesday evenings from next week; at least I won't miss out on the final episodes of The Apprentice.

An established poet as guest tutor, free?

How about Monica Ali or Andrew Motion talking about poetry, or even Sylvia Plath, reading her own in your class? For free, and you don't have to book them?

I have just discovered (thanks to Society of Authors, The Author) http://www.poetryarchive.org Dozens of poets recorded reading their own work, and some, like Ali, Motion, Ted Hughes, exploring poetry, giving personal responses to poems, 'teaching' poetry. You'd need to have online facility in your teaching situation to use the sound aspect.

It's more poetry appreciation than writing it. But the 'For Teachers' section offers whole lesson plans and of course can be adapted. Inside this section I found a link to http://www.teachit.co.uk which is chock full of English teaching ideas, resources and online interactive 'Whizzy things'.

As usual these teaching sites are aimed at schools-teaching, not adults. However, materials at A-level and even GCSEs -- heck, even children! -- easily adaptable, or spring-boardable for us who teach adults.

Opportunities via Society of Authors

Just signed on to the Educational Writers Group (EWG) within the Society of Authors; I was focussed on writing novels for my first years of membership. It's very friendly. They have a writer-teacher blog-of-the-month, inspiring to read. Have given me the April slot!

Hope you know that you can join the Society on strength of one book or just a book contract. Extremely helpful. Also, the EWG send out emails, including a recent one re educational publisher looking for writers.

Went to Kew on Sunday to see the magnificent Moores; now off to see the First Emperor warriors at the British Museum. Rich life.