Blogs on After-School Learning

Editor's Note: Blogger Mary Beth Hertz was one of the organizers of Edcamp Philly, a free education "unconference" that took place in Philadelphia last May. The event attracted the attention of educators from around the world--not only for the excellent content and collaborative spirit, but also for the unconference model itself -- one that costs next to nothing to produce by facilitating ad-hoc community participation. Since then, groups of educators around the world have begun to organize local edcamps in their areas. In this four-part series, Ms. Hertz explores the edcamp model, and shares some tips on how to organize and host an edcamp unconference.

Editor's Note: Today's guest blogger is Jim Brazell, a technology forecaster, author, public speaker, and consultant. It is the fourth in a five-part series on the convergence of STEM education and the Arts (TEAMS).

This summer I created a summer reading network that allowed me to monitor the progress of my AP English Language students. They are reading 1 Dead in Attic by Chris Rose and I have asked them to read and annotate the text very closely. I also wanted to monitor their progress by questioning them throughout the summer at varying intervals and compose a response journal.