As the semester has progressed I have been tasked with finding a professional community related to the field of social studies. This being a rather large field, it gives me a lot of leeway. The goal of which is to network; gaining in my knowledge of the subject and providing an outlet where I can contribute what I have learned and am experiencing.
I have become a spider so to speak. Stalking the depths and corners of different websites, hesitating to join until I found something that really stuck out, something I really might use. Window-shopping, that anonymous user viewing one forum or another. As I searched I joined a few; National Geographic’s online community, TeacherTube, BrightHub, Cabelas(very educational), YouTube, and a few others among the dozen or more sites I visited.
The one that kept and keeps drawing me back is Brighthub.com. It is a fantastic site that has information of value and insight for just about anyone willing to take a little time to look for it. So, I joined. There are limitations. As a member of this community I was still limited to commenting on already posted item by “writers”, the members who also have accounts, pages, and blogs through Brighthub. While this doesn’t really detract form the site as a whole it was not really what I was looking for. So in doing some more research I decided that I would like to be a “writer”. Yeah, I know…. So I decided that having my own blog page through brighthub would best suite my needs; share experiences, photos, lessons, and the day-to-day goings-on of life in the village when I move to St. Mary’s, Alaska in the fall.
Ok, so I now knew what I wanted. The application process for this page is a little more in depth than blogspot. Fill out the application, info about myself, why I wanted to be a “writer”, sample work, examples of things I might contribute, and then wait…. And wait a little more. It is similar to waiting for an acceptance letter for a university. I was accepted and now just have to begin to create my own blog to contribute through.
On a side note, this site has been a fantastic resource for lesson plans and ideas. A number of times this year I was required to teach English II. On one occasion we (students and myself) were covering Old Man and the Sea and the lesson and ideas provided from Trent Lorcher on BrightHub were invaluable to me as a social studies teacher teaching English. His thoughts and ideas for the Pit and the Pendulum likewise were a huge help. And I am happy to say that Mr. Lorcher was the first “connection” that I made after joining the fantastic BrightHub website.
Check it out: http://www.brighthub.com/
pic: http://www.freakingnews.com/pictures/58500/Old-man-and-the-sea-58631.jpg
