So many web sites, so little time

I must admit that I am enamored with the Internet. Well maybe not enamored, infatuated is more like it.  Perhaps infatuated is not quite strong enough. Gaga, crazy, mad, hooked, attracted, bewitched, charmed, enthralled, enraptured, entranced, besotted, that is what I am, all of the above.  The verb enamor means to fascinate or captivate.  Check! The Internet fascinates and captivates both my time and my attention.  The adjective enamored means to be in love.  Check!  I am in love with the Internets ease of use, its versatility, its adaptability, its goldmine of data.  

It speeds up the slow tedious process of research to the speed of light.  One touch of a button and what used to take hours and hours of looking through the stacks at the library is now revealed in seconds.  It allows for creativity.  I can put my artistic endeavors on virtual paper and tweak them until the colors and the shapes are a perfect expression of my creative visions.  I can rock out with the music in my head and record it all in perfect pitch even though I can't read or sing a note. Oh and what I can do with writing.  Edit, revise, rewrite, edit, revise, rewrite.  The first draft, the sloppy copy, the 20th version until I think it is perfect and even though I don't use spellcheck, I spellcheck anyway.  This is the same amazing tool I will exploit to teach ELLs.  Why not?  The Internet is a tool that makes learning easier and fun and with all of its capacity, it can make teaching easier and fun as well. 

Here's a simple word search that I created using words from this post to illustrate just how easy and fun this is.  Try it with your students.

Internet Love

I F A I C G A G A W K J W R D   L J S E N I F T H M D K A P Z   F R M E N F X G S E Z B B R O   Q A A Z W R A M T Z H H J D T   E Y D N P X A T E G E G M E H   N Z A M Z E O P U N Y R Y R F   I A T X H S C X T A Z J I O X   M R A M E O A H C U T S N M W   D C K B K A R D R K R E U A Q   L D E C N A R T N E A E D N Q   O H Y H L L Y P H D A X D E L   G X A L A Y W D E M R A H C Y   J P E N D E H C T I W E B G H   Q D W I Y K X G D E K O O H Q   Y M A X A F A T T R A C T E D   ENAMORED INFATUATED GAGA CRAZY MAD HOOKED ATTRACTED BEWITCHED CHARMED ENTHRALLED ENRAPTURED ENTRANCED BESOTTED GOLDMINE DATA