Welcome!
Welcome to the ProfessorGarfield.org Teachers’ Lounge Blog! We are glad you found us! The Teachers’ Lounge section of ProfessorGarfield.org is where we offer user-friendly and standards-based learning materials for the classroom teacher, parent, tutor, or mentor.

The ProfessorGarfield.org (PGO) Blog is where we will offer current and helpful information about how you can support literacy learning using the materials and activities available on the ProfessorGarfield.org site. The PGO Blog is a place you will want to visit often to see what’s new on the PGO site, to give us some feedback, and to read what other educators have to say about how they are using materials and activities at ProfessorGarfield.org.

Blog Basics

If this is your first time reading a blog, here is a little information about what a blog is. Blog is short for weblog, which is defined by Wikipedia as “… a website where entries are written in chronological order and displayed in reverse chronological order.”

Because we will be posting new entries on a regular basis, reading the ProfessorGarfield.org Blog is an efficient way keep up-to-date about literacy and about how to supplement your reading instruction in our interactive learning environment. Blog entries will often be accompanied by an educational podcast, like this one, that will supplement the information on the blog.

One of the important features of any blog is the ability to interact with the writers and readers of the blog. You can do this through posting comments and reading the comments that accompany each entry. Let us know how you are using the activities and materials on the PGO site. Let us know what other types of activities you would like us to include. Ask us questions about the materials. Voice your opinion. We would love to hear from you!

Blog Creators

Susan Tancock, Ph.D.

My name is Susan Tancock, and I am one of the producers of the content for the ProfessorGarfield.org Teachers’ Lounge. I am a Professor at Ball State University where I teach literacy courses in the Department of Elementary Education. My teaching background includes working with struggling readers. I became involved in producing materials for ProfessorGarfield.org because I believe technology offers a motivational way to engage even the most reluctant reader. Add to that the appeal of Garfield, and you have a winning combination!
I will be writing the PGO Blog, so feel free to send me any comments you have about what I have written. I hope we will all learn from the blog.

Mike Putman, Ph.D.

My name is Mike Putman, and I am also one of the producers of the content for the ProgfessorGarfield.org Teachers’ Lounge. I am an Assistant Professor at Ball State University where I teach education courses in the Department of Elementary Education. My teaching background encompasses preschool through sixth grade. As I am interested in technology with an emphasis on literacy, working on ProfessorGarfield.org offered me a unique opportunity to combine my interests and produce content I hope you will find useful in your classrooms.
I will be creating the podcasts for the PGO Blog. While podcasts are a relatively new phenomenon in education, I believe they offer unique opportunities for teachers and students to take advantage of out of school time to continue learning.

TechnoStuff

We don’t want you to miss a single blog entry or podcast. All you have to do is click on the "Subscribe Now!" button at the top/right hand portion of this web page. Then just select the icon that represents the way you would like to receive this blog and podcast.