A few links...

I've added a few links that I've used for resources and lesson ideas at the side of my blog. The Teachit website has many useful ready-to-use resources, particularly for Shakespeare and poetry. You need Adobe Acrobat or Microsoft Word to download the printable worksheets, etc. I'll add more in the coming weeks. Enjoy!

My link to turnitin.com

Since I've been talking so much about this website, it seems only natural that I link to it here, so that others may explore it for their own professional use. If you're not already a member on the site you can sign up very quickly and easily to begin exploring and creating your own accounts.

www.turnitin.com

Enjoy!

Plagiarism

The issue of plagiarism is one that has dogged English teachers for decades. With the ever-increasing reliance on the internet for research and, in some cases, whole papers to copy, what can an English teacher do in this modern day and age to avoid the pitfall of plagiarism?

My school has used www.turnitin.com since I arrived there three years ago. The mandatory use of this website for all written submissions is written right on our course syllabus for each grade. The use of this anti-plagiarism web site has certainly made the students aware that we hold them very accountable for their work, and has discouraged internet plagiarism. The policy we've adopted (written on the course outline) is as follows: once the student has turned in the paper copy of their assignment, an electronic copy must be sent to turnitin.com before their mark is entered in the computer, and the student will not receive credit for the assignment (or get the assignment handed back) until the electronic copy is submitted and scanned.

So far, so good. In the three years I've been at St. Francis the only instances of plagiarism we've seen are students attempting to hand in another student's work (which the database also picks up, just so you know). I would recommend this web site to anyone teaching an English course, as it is a tool that has come in very handy, and is a very good aid in preparing our University bound students for what they can expect in their post-secondary careers.

Introducing.....

Hello everyone!

I can't believe how easy it was to create this blog! Well, since you've taken the time to wander into my little corner of the cyberspace jungle, I'll give you a few words about who I am.

My name is Timothy John Chalmers (just "Tim" is fine) and I have been a secondary English teacher for five years. I got my Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in English Language and Literature with First Class Standing from Brock University. I went to teacher's college in Buffalo at D'Youville College and shortly thereafter began supply teaching for both the public and catholic school boards here in the Niagara Region. I spent 4 years as an L.T.O., working at various schools and developing some wonderful professional relationships, before landing at my current school, where I am proud to say I got a full-time contact just this past September.

I currently teach for the Niagara Catholic District School Board at St. Francis Catholic Secondary School in St. Catharines, Ontario. I've taught just about every section of English, Grades 9-12, in my five years, including developing the Locally Developed English program for Grade 10, and the Grade 12 Ontario Literacy Course. I absolutely love my job and look forward to developing the new GLE 2O technology course this coming September.

So that's the "professional me" in a nutshell. Thanks for reading, and keep checking back as this blog develops :)