Blogs
Web Logs, or Blogs, are online journals that people create to share with the world. They often deal with a particular interest like politics or sports, but can also be more personal in nature. To see a blog, visit mine:

Option Paralysis - A Blog

In Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, Douglas Coupland defines Option Paralysis as "the tendency, when given unlimited choices, to make none." This is my first attempt at blogging, so please be patient.

Blogs could, I think, redefine the way students discuss literature. Blogs could be the new Book Clubs, and would be useful for Literature Circles and Independent Reading Assignments.

Charlie's letters in the novel read very much like a diary, and one could easily adapt his "letters to an anonymous reader" format to a blog. It would be a good place for students to discuss issues they face in their lives as well as issues from the novel. They might even try writing back to Charlie.

Students might want to read along with Charlie as he explores such classics as The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill a Mockingbird, Hamlet, Peter Pan, This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, The Fountainhead, The Stranger, A Separate Peace, and On the Road. Those interested could discuss the books, ask each other questions, and share other recommendations.

Students might include other tools in their blogs (YouTube clips, podcast links, etc.).

To start a blog, there are many places to go including: www.wordpress.com.

Podasts
Whether or not students choose to include them in their blogs, podcasts could be an effective way for them to communicate. Students could record audio journals for others to listen to, and could even include music. Just as Charlie's experiences in the novel are punctuated by music, students could create their own life soundtrack. Call it "Mix Tape 2.0!" Podcasts would be a creative way for students to start expressing themselves, even if they are not confident writers. It's a great way to start creating new narratives.

As an extension of this activity, students could also use this tool and their new skills to create fictional narrative podcasts.

Wikis
Wikis offer a collaborative space for students to work on projects together.
They also offer a discussion-space alternative to blogs, and are more private (you must be invited to the space and login each time you want to contribute).

Places to start: www.wikispace.com or www.wetpaint.com.

Wikis likewww.wikipedia.org give students the opportunity to share what they know with the world on this online collaborative encyclopedia. Though this is useful for quick and easy reference, it does not replace other forms of research, and because anyone can contribute, it is not always reliable. For information about Stephen Chbosky, look here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Chbosky.

Del.icio.us
Del.icio.us is an easy way for students to pool resources they may be using during their study of The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Reviews, author information, and other resources could be tagged for easy access.

RSS
RSS in Plain English - A Video Demonstration
RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a great way to cut down on the amount of time you and your students spend surfing the web. Instead of looking for updates on all your favourite blogs, podcasts, news sites, and other frequently updated websites, subscribe to have these sites send the updates to you. It takes seconds to do. You can get started at google - just sign in and start subscribing. It's free! Unfortunately, not all sites are capable of this type of feed.

If the class is blogging, this is an easy way to watch for updates. Also, because the novel deals with a variety of issues (abortion, homophobia, child abuse, etc.) students could watch for discussion of these issues from a variety of news sources.

YouTube
YouTube has several applications for this project. Here are a few: