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As an assistant high school and middle school cross-country coach, I need to stay up to date with the best runners, coaches, rule changes, results, and any news regarding the sport of cross-country. I have three subscriptions on Google Reader to help me stay connected to the running world. Once a week, the head cross-country coach (Hector Gandara at Edinburg North High School) and I ask our athletes to provide any news or insights they have found about their sport. I can’t be caught off guard not knowing about the sport that I coach. Results and up and coming runners are constantly changing along with meet event schedules and UIL regulations. Flotrack posts information daily with videos and interviews of the best runners and races in the world. Flotrack also contains updated workouts used by colleges. TXrunning.com is my results resource allowing me to view the latest cross-country meet results in order from most recent as there are cross-country meets held every Saturday. The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association shows collegiate and high school information ranging from Division I - DIII to 5A – 1A high schools. Having these resources in Google Reader will help me save a lot of time searching and compiling all the information I need to be a better coach.

I am also an art teacher, and like to keep up with new developments in art. For this, I have subscribed to Education Art 21 Blog. Art 21 is a television series that provides opportunities to increase knowledge of contemporary art in the 21^st century. It is great resource showing what real artists are doing today. To make my art class more relevant to my students, I need to talk and show them what artists are doing now and not what they did years ago. I also subscribed to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Special Exhibition Podcast. The MMA changes exhibitions regularly. Listening to current podcasts from the exhibition curators makes me feel like I am there in the room experiencing a live tour. The up to date tours help me keep tabs on what and where the exhibitions are going. I can also use the podcasts in the classroom when explaining a lesson using that particular artwork, style, or time period.

I subscribed to Teacher Magazine and EdWeek to stay connected with Education News at the National and International levels. I am usually not aware of the whole spectrum of Education at those levels, and am hoping to become more familiar with what our Nation is doing to improve Education for students, teachers, and communities.