Laura’s Corkboard Connections

Congratulations to Amy Loftis, the winner of the blog-title contest, and to everyone who participated! I was amazed at the outpouring of wonderful creative names, and it was really difficult to settle on one. However, I finally selected Laura's Corkboard Connections because I'm hoping this will be a place where we can connect and share ideas. This theme fits with my newsletter, Candler's Classroom Connections, so it was a logical choice.

Now my web designer and I are in the process of adding some graphic design elements and blog features to tweak the look and feel of the blog so that it doesn't look exactly like my site. Soon I'll be posting regular updates and new teaching strategies, so why not subscribe to it now? You don't need to log in - just use the orange RSS feed button to subscribe to this blog and use a feed reader like Google Reader to read all your blogs in one place. Happy teaching!

My website is getting a new addition - this blog! I'm excited because blogging will be a quick and easy way for me to update my site, and it will give you a chance to share your ideas, too. The problem is that I need a great name for my blog. Let me tell you my plans for my blog and maybe you can help me think of a great title for it. By the way, since it's under construction, this page is still missing a number of blog elements that will be added to the sidebar soon. Blog topics will include short, focused messages including the following:

• Teaching tips or strategies
• New free items on my site and ideas for using them
• Book reviews
• Updates about my new books and Mini Packs

Can you help me think of a title for my blog? Right now it's Laura's Teaching Tidbits, but I'm not particularly happy with it since it doesn't allow for other types of posts (book reviews, new products, etc.) Since it will be located right here on my site, it would be nice if the title fit with my site's theme, but that's not a definite requirement. Some people have suggested using my name in the title, and if I do that, I would prefer the more informal "Laura" over my last name. I've thought of the following ideas, some that I like and others not so much:

• Timely Teaching Tidbits
• Laura's Tips for Teachers
• Timely Tips for Teachers
• Laura's Corkboard Commentary
• Laura's Notes
• Laura's Notes for Teachers
• Teaching Notes
• Quick Notes for Teachers

Do you have any ideas to suggest? I'm going to do a random drawing of all the people who give me feedback on this issue. You can either tell me which of the titles I suggested that you like or suggest your own. I'll send you your choice of up to $25 worth of materials from my site! Post your suggestions on my Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/TeachingResources or by logging in here and posting your comments on this blog. The contest will end sometime Sunday, August 28th, when I pick my new title. Thanks for your help!

Welcome to my new blog, Laura’s Teaching Tidbits!

I know you’re thinking, “Blog? What blog? This looks just like your website!”

You are exactly right! My new blog is actually a part of my Teaching Resources website. You’ll notice the same navigation system, and it has the same look and feel as my website. Same brown corkboard background, white torn-paper images, and the distinctive green and orange color theme.

So what’s the difference between my blog and my website? Let’s compare:

• My website has tons of great teaching resources, but the pages tend to be pretty static. Not so with my blog – I hope to update it several times a week.
• Using my website, I can share information and resources with you. But my blog will be a place where you can comment and share your ideas with me and other site visitors
• Each page on my site is a packed with a variety of resources, but my blog posts will be focused on a single resource or strategy.
• If you want to see new materials that I add to my site, you’ll have to remember to come check it out regularly. But if you subscribe to my blog using the RSS feed button or the email subscribe feature, my blog posts will be sent directly to you!

I could go on, but I have promised myself that I’ll keep my blog posts short and to the point. This one is a little longer than a “tidbit,” but it seemed a fitting way to get started! What do you think? What would you like to see me include in my blog posts?