One of the technologies that we will be using at "The Institute" is Google Blog. I'm not a big fan of blogs; I don't really have a good reason for my dislike. I am enjoying this personal blog, but I'm not an "everybody post something and read all the entries" kind of gal.

So, when I read that I was required to submit to the blog by introducing myself, I thought hmmm, what am I going to write? I don't want to seem like a slacker who doesn't write enough, but at the same time, I don't want to look like a pompous Easterner who tells her whole life story.

So, do I tell them that while I wanted to be a cheerleader in high school, I was never chosen for the squad? I ended up being a "bando nerdo" instead. Or that I ended up being a cheerleading coach for over 10 years after high school?

Do I tell them about my daughter's visit to China these last two weeks--doing research with PSU on China's polluted water source?

Maybe I tell them that I love to make jewelry, but I don't seem to have the time. That I enjoy crafts, reading, etc...boring, boring, stuff.

After a bit of deliberating, I decided that I would post a bit of information and add links. This way if someone wants to know more about me...they can read on.
Here is my post:

Well, I tried to post last night from my "smart" phone, but it decided that it had been smart enough for one day; thus, I had to wait until I had my laptop, so I could post on the blog.

Greetings everyone!
My name is Karla Erdman, and I am an English teacher at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In addition to teaching English to tenth graders, I also teach journalism and SAT preparation. Also, I'm the adviser for The Freedom Forum, our school newspaper. We are going through some major cuts and restructuring, so I may be teaching 11th graders next year, too.

Click the links above in the paragraph to visit some websites pertaining to me, my school, and the school newspaper.

I am excited, nervous, and wound-up to attend the Institute at ASU. I'm looking forward to meeting everyone and working with different people and getting fabulous ideas. Since the temperature has risen quite a bit here in PA, I am slowly getting used to the heat.

My goal is to come away with some great lesson plan ideas, as well as article ideas for the newspaper. While no one is fan of criticism, I know I'll get a lot, but it will be useful and help my students grow.

Signing off for now. See everyone soon. Have a great end-of-the-school-year!

Karla Erdman
Freedom High School
Bethlehem, PA

One of my assignments before I leave for Phoenix is to email Steve with three article ideas for institute publication. No pressure there, right? This is such a daunting task for me. I don't really know why because I usually have tons of great ideas. However, this time I feel pressure to come up with a REALLY GREAT idea--one that will show how savvy and intelligent I am. Well, I don't know if my ideas do that, so I decided to send them and ask Steve for his thoughts. Below is my email to him.

Dear Steve,
As I sit here wracking my anxiety-laden brain for ideas, I thought just send the ideas and get Steve’s insight. So that is what this email is about. While I may be Freedom’s resident journalism teacher, I am by no means a journalist. Therefore, I am having a difficult time trying to figure out what my “angle” would be for these topics. I just know that they are things that either bother or interest me (or maybe a bit of both).
Possible story topics
1.      Dress Code (enforcing it/uniforms/knee-huggin’-pants/underwear peaking for sunlight/club attire seen during the day, etc)
-      Are schools enforcing appropriate student and adult dress codes
-      Alternatives
-      This would push to link to college and business expectations
-      Are employers relaxing their standards based on the prevailing styles
2.      The Privatization of Public Education
-      I am convinced that the turmoil in many states regarding education budgets and the attacks on teachers, teacher unions, performance appraisals, proficiency levels, etc. are all means to try to dismantle public education and put it in the private sector
-      However, I have no idea where to start this, and it is such a large topic, I don’t know what my focus would be
3.      My last idea is about the abhorrent way people express themselves in writing. I’m not talking about texting lingo, although that is relevant to my idea. I can’t stand when people send emails to colleagues with “i” or with no punctuation. Or when publications, like the one I picked up in my doctor’s office, have grammar issues galore. Or even worse, the people, who respond to articles in the newspaper, write on the newspaper’s blog and don’t spell words correctly and can’t use there/their/they’re properly. Again, I don’t know where this may or may not play a role in a possible story/article.

Since my last post, I have booked my flight to Phoenix, received information about the hotel where I will be staying in Phoenix, and I have received the dreaded SYLLABUS. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the term, the document in which I am referring is the required reading and assignments that will take place before, during, and after the two-week program.

Now, don't get me wrong. I fully expect to work my fanny off during the two weeks that I am in Phoenix. I certainly did not expect it to be a vacation. In fact, I am earning educational credits toward my Act 48, which I don't need because I have over 1200 hours (we only need 180), and I have a year left before my time rolls over to a new five-year stint.

However, when I received the 23-PAGE SYLLABUS, I nearly fell off my chair. I have taken graduate classes that did not even have a quarter of the page number. And remember, I'm to complete all of this within a two-week period. So, yes, my anxiety level has certainly increased dramatically.

As I was talking about it today with my newspaper staff, one of the students said, "Wow, Mrs. Erdman! You are going to be an expert when you come back from Phoenix." Well, with a 23-PAGE SYLLABUS, I certainly hope so. Either that, or I'll come back in a straight-jacket. Let's hope for the former.

Today I received a reply to my email to Patricia (Trisha) Turner, who participated in the 2010 ASNE Reynolds Institute. Trisha is a teacher at East Stroudsburg North High School and an adviser to The Wolf Pack newspaper, and she went to Texas last year for her fellowship.

The reason I contacted Trisha was because I am originally from the Stroudsburg area, so I thought it would be easy for me to connect with someone from my hometown. And I was right. In fact, her husband and my husband graduated from Stroudsburg High School the same year.

Trisha was very generous in her information via email to me. While her experience is going to be different from mine because of location, the general ideas should be similar. Trisha stated that it was the best program she has been in and that she had a wonderful time. She made some recommendations about what to bring (an external hard drive), and she described the hotel and the overall feeling of the two-week adventure.

Trisha said that she keeps in touch with the colleagues from the program. In fact, they are planning a get-together this summer.

I am sure that I will have a wonderful experience both educationally and personally.

Last month (April 2010), I received notification that I was accepted into the 2011 ASNE Reynolds Institute program, a two-week intensive journalism program. I will be going to Arizona State University (ASU) in June 2011. The program will focus on journalism, newspapers, media, the First Amendment, and other great topics. It is such an honor to be chosen. The application process was extensive, and they chose 175 applicants from 400 submissions. I am just so proud of myself.

I am starting this blog, so I have a record of my time from the moment I was accepted until it ends. My hope is that I will learn how to enrich my current journalism classes, as well as continue to improve on The Freedom Forum, the school's newspaper, to which I am the adviser.

I am getting pumped to go to Arizona, where it is hot, hot, hot. Much better than the rainy weather we've been having here in Pennsylvania. I mean seriously; we actually had to run the tornado drill last week at school. I'm ready for a change in scenery. I am looking forward to working with a diverse mix of educators from around the United States. Again, the thought of a two-week break from boring PA is nudging my enthusiasm. It also doesn't hurt that school is almost out for summer, and soon I'll be jetting off to another state.

Today, I received my first email from Steve Elliott, the founding director of Cronkite News Service's print and digital services, who will be directing the program at ASU. The email from Mr. Elliott (call me Steve) included an eight-item list of things to do or bring. Number eight was the deal breaker for me..."You'll receive a big box of books from ASNE." An English teacher's dream--free books. Needless to say, I got a jump on the additional seven items (my minor OCD took over).

#1 take a survey--check.

#2 send two pages (electronically) of The Freedom Forum--check.

#3 and #4 require some light to medium reading, so while I briefly glanced at the information, I am saving those items for the weekend.

#5 states, " IF YOU HAVE ONE, BRING A CAMERA." If I have one?? Really, if any of my colleagues do not have a camera, I would be flabbergasted. Of course, I have a camera. But I've already made myself some notes to clean off the SD card and to purchase extra batteries.

#6 tells me to get ready to blog. I sent him my Google account information, which I already had because I use Google Docs with my students. Steve set me up with the blog already...I think he has some OCD, too.

#7  on the list that gave me pause. TWITTER?! Seriously? Personally, I think Twitter is stupid. Sorry for those of you reading this who are in love with it, can't live without it, allow it to consume your every waking moment, blah, blah, blah. Believe it or not, I already had a Twitter account. The techno-nerd in me has to try everything online--at least once. Yes, I have a Facebook account, too, but we teachers don't talk about that right now. Sorry; I digress. So I logged into my Twitter account, which is only the second time I have done so, and I thought, "Hey, I have a student on the newspaper who loves Twitter. I'll have him tell me how to use it." Well, he did. And I still think it is stupid. But I always have an open mind. I'm hoping Mr. Elliott (call me Steve) shows me that this site and application are more than just...stupid.

Last, but not least, I am back at number eight--FREE BOOKS!