Praise for the Teachers' Lounge

From Joanne Jacobs in the Christian Science Monitor:

Combing through thousands of lessons is time-consuming, says Rob Lucas, who's starting his second year as a sixth-grade social studies teacher in Rocky Mount, N.C. He calls most of the online lessons "mediocre."

So to help teachers share their classroom expertise, Mr. Lucas, a Teach for America instructor, created a collaborative website called a "wiki" at teacherslounge.editme.com.

There is no charge for the service. Registered users can post lesson plans, links, handouts, and PowerPoint presentations.

No technical expertise is required. Wiki users also can modify other participants' posts. It's a high-tech version of the Japanese practice of continually improving lessons, known as "polishing the stone," says Lucas.

From the November 2004 NEA Today:

Virtual Teachers Lounge: Based on "wiki" technology that allows any registered user to post and edit lesson plans, handouts, and other resources online, this site is designed to allow educators to work collaboratively to refine and perfect their teaching materials. Creator Rob Lucas' vision is to eventually have users "develop an extensive library of creative, finely tuned, engaging, lessons." Intrigued? Go to http://teacherslounge.editme.com/.


Knowledge Management consultant Liz Lian says Teachers' Lounge is a great example of:

Teach for America (TFA) as a spark for innovation in public education....It is this blend of entrepreneurism, familiarity with technology, and understanding of educational challenges that generates innovation in education today. The next challenge for these education innovators will be to disseminate their successes into classrooms beyond their immediate reach."


Will Richardson, school technology coordinator and editor of weblogg-ed.com, says:

It's a great model for how I'd like to present a wiki for articulation in my district, but heck, maybe I'll just point everyone to Rob's space.

See also links from the National Council for the Social Studies, SB Dunks , UGGs Boots and the Teacher Leaders Network.