Caroline Marie

In all honesty, the idea of blogs and podcasts still blows my mind, even though I have gently been introduced to them over the past few weeks and have experimented a little bit on my own. I feel as though these new technological advances crept up on me and I’m the only one in the dark, unaware of the vast opportunities they provide. Why wasn’t I ever told about blogs and podcasts? Probably because I was too scared to explore that which was new and unknown to me, and unconsciously never let myself in on the big secret. Now that I am required to explore blogs, podcasts, and a host of other resources on the Internet, I am actually quite excited. Today I reviewed several of the educational blogs and podcasts on the course site and was amazed with what I found. I couldn’t believe that elementary and middle school children participate frequently in online discussions about subject material from class, post blogs and comment on each other’s blogs, and produce advanced podcasts that display what they are learning in the classroom.

The blog that I enjoyed the most was The Secret Life of Bees, which can be found at http://weblogs.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/bees/. The blog was created by Modern American Literature students at Hunterdon Central Regional High School. It serves as a weblog and reader’s guide as students read the book, The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd. I was attracted to this blog because I have also read, and love, The Secret Life of Bees. Students enrolled in the class are able to post discussions on characters, themes, and symbols found in the book and may also post chapter summaries, ask questions, and add any other thoughts and ideas. In addition, students are able to post artistic interpretations that they find relevant to the book and material covered in class. I found this application the most interesting and was very impressed with the artwork the students posted. My favorite artistic interpretation was a collage of different bits of information relevant to the book or found in the book. Images included a bee, a picture of Abraham Lincoln and one of William Shakespeare, bananas, a music note, a heart, and a depiction of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. All the images tie into The Secret Life of Bees in one way or another. I thought that this was a creative and clever way to encourage discussion about the book. If you are a fan of The Secret Life of Bees or interested in reading and literature I urge you to check out the site!