Specific Activity:
Well, I had a specific idea for the use of a piece of this technology in my creative writing class (an elective for 10-12th graders) and am in the process of using it. Here it is:
My CW students create a cast of characters and a common event to write about. Then they create plot lines that must compliment each other (and not contradict). I set up a wiki for them to keep track of all of the mutual information, and they have made it their own. Here it is: http://champlincw.pbwiki.com/
They also have blogs, so they're posting their stories for all to read and to help them clear up contradictions.
I'm doing this project for the 4th time, and it changes each time a little bit. This time, adding the wiki has really changed the nature of the project: kids are more excited and invested.
Final Project Ideas:
1. Our sweet 9th graders are writing a lot of "firsts" this year: their first literary analysis paper, their first research paper, and their first comparison/contrast paper using embedded quotes. Most kids understand how to write these papers with the instruction they receive in class, but some kids need that one-on-one time for me to just repeat it all over again. I could make some vlogs summarizing the instruction for any/all of these papers so kids could review at home if they are totally lost once they sit down to write the paper.
2. CW2: I did a digital poetry unit with them last year and they LOVED it. They made some very cool stuff, too (on Powerpoint) but most kids' digital poems were like music videos for poetry. I'd like to see them explore this genre on a deeper level. More examples? Some articles? Maybe I need to spend some more time with that unit.
3. Romeo & Juliet: We do a persuasive essay for this one for 9th grade. It would be cool to do some online role playing before they launch into the essay, so I could develop the guidelines for some asynchronous discussions/other activities to assist with the pre-thought/pre-writing work.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
Use of asynchronous discussion
We used tappedin.org during Tom Reinartz's media literacy class (the course Rick usually teaches, but he was on sabbatical).
Things I liked:
An online place that kept track of files, the schedule, and allowed me to post assignments.
How most of the time, the chat function. (More on that later)
Constant, live tech-support
Things I didn't like:
The tiny fonts.
It's not very user friendly.
The big problem:
My asynchronous discussion group. I was randomly placed with 3 women, two of whom were tech savvy and one of whom was not. I have this tendency to lead, and this woman was angry at me for being a "young whipper snapper" and having opinions when I wasn't a "real" teacher yet.
So.
When we had our live chat or our asynchronous chat, she misconstrued my tone, and the tones of the other 2 women in our group. She was angry at us for not "waiting" until she had her turn to say what she needed to say. She felt like we jumped in too often and didn't give her space.
Finally, we all had a very easy breezy open discussion and solved our mounting miscommunication issues which had been escalated by the use of technology.
Therefore.
This is a skill that students need to practice. They need to find their voices and learn how to shape them in an increasingly technological world. They need to learn how to not piss people off. Plus all the other good things, like shy kids find they can say what they need to, and people stop and think more when they know other people will be able to see what their opinions are, and that they practice writing and critical thinking.
I teach Honors 11 next semester, and I can see using asynchronous discussions with that group of kids to great success. It's a lot of dense American literature and this might help them see deeper into the material than they would in a class discussion because they're "forced" to participate and listen to others' opinions.
Things I liked:
An online place that kept track of files, the schedule, and allowed me to post assignments.
How most of the time, the chat function. (More on that later)
Constant, live tech-support
Things I didn't like:
The tiny fonts.
It's not very user friendly.
The big problem:
My asynchronous discussion group. I was randomly placed with 3 women, two of whom were tech savvy and one of whom was not. I have this tendency to lead, and this woman was angry at me for being a "young whipper snapper" and having opinions when I wasn't a "real" teacher yet.
So.
When we had our live chat or our asynchronous chat, she misconstrued my tone, and the tones of the other 2 women in our group. She was angry at us for not "waiting" until she had her turn to say what she needed to say. She felt like we jumped in too often and didn't give her space.
Finally, we all had a very easy breezy open discussion and solved our mounting miscommunication issues which had been escalated by the use of technology.
Therefore.
This is a skill that students need to practice. They need to find their voices and learn how to shape them in an increasingly technological world. They need to learn how to not piss people off. Plus all the other good things, like shy kids find they can say what they need to, and people stop and think more when they know other people will be able to see what their opinions are, and that they practice writing and critical thinking.
I teach Honors 11 next semester, and I can see using asynchronous discussions with that group of kids to great success. It's a lot of dense American literature and this might help them see deeper into the material than they would in a class discussion because they're "forced" to participate and listen to others' opinions.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Flickr
Is it really so much effort that we need to eliminate that extra "e" from the real word flicker? Do we really need to keep confusing our children about spelling? I embrace the curmudgeon in me. I do.
Here's the link to my Uptown Minneapolis slideshow. I chose Uptown because one of my creative writing classes last year picked Uptown as the location for their group story, but very few students had actually been there. (Even though it's only 20 minutes from Champlin). Finding money for a bus to go there was not an option (time, money, permission) so this would have been a good alternative. At least for them to get the feel of place. Since I used to live there, I was their main resource for place-related questions. The photos I chose are all places/events that resonate with me when I think of my old neighborhood.
This time around, my group has picked a common event to write about. We're still in the brainstorming process as to what that will be, but I'm excited--they're a bright group and I think we'll get some really interesting interactions. I've set up the wiki (see previous post) in a very bare bones way, and tomorrow (Monday) I'm going to show them how it works. Maybe over MEA they can have some homework involving posting info on the wiki.
But back to Flickr. I'm not sure if it's blocked in my district. I'll have to check that out. But using images from Flickr (if it isn't blocked) could be a great addition to the wiki for the creative writing project. I have found with this project that the more images we have in common, the richer the connections in the story.
Re: the reading for this week... I like Selfe's assignment about creating a visual argument. In 9th grade we have a weak non-fiction unit that needs some serious life blood pumped into it. There's so much potential for really important learning, but we're bogged down by the district curriculum. I'm about to have my 3rd swipe at this unit (twice last year b/c of block scheduling) and there has been NO TIME to give it CPR. The visual argument could be a great way to talk about emotional and logical appeals as well as advertising...
Here's the link to my Uptown Minneapolis slideshow. I chose Uptown because one of my creative writing classes last year picked Uptown as the location for their group story, but very few students had actually been there. (Even though it's only 20 minutes from Champlin). Finding money for a bus to go there was not an option (time, money, permission) so this would have been a good alternative. At least for them to get the feel of place. Since I used to live there, I was their main resource for place-related questions. The photos I chose are all places/events that resonate with me when I think of my old neighborhood.
This time around, my group has picked a common event to write about. We're still in the brainstorming process as to what that will be, but I'm excited--they're a bright group and I think we'll get some really interesting interactions. I've set up the wiki (see previous post) in a very bare bones way, and tomorrow (Monday) I'm going to show them how it works. Maybe over MEA they can have some homework involving posting info on the wiki.
But back to Flickr. I'm not sure if it's blocked in my district. I'll have to check that out. But using images from Flickr (if it isn't blocked) could be a great addition to the wiki for the creative writing project. I have found with this project that the more images we have in common, the richer the connections in the story.
Re: the reading for this week... I like Selfe's assignment about creating a visual argument. In 9th grade we have a weak non-fiction unit that needs some serious life blood pumped into it. There's so much potential for really important learning, but we're bogged down by the district curriculum. I'm about to have my 3rd swipe at this unit (twice last year b/c of block scheduling) and there has been NO TIME to give it CPR. The visual argument could be a great way to talk about emotional and logical appeals as well as advertising...
Monday, October 8, 2007
Wiki
http://champlincw.pbwiki.com/FrontPage
Okay. Here's the wiki for my Creative Writing class project that comes up in a couple weeks. In the past, I've had a hard time helping my students keep track of all the mutual information, but with a wiki, it'll be slick. I hope they think it's an awesome tool and want to add to it.
I'm a little concerned that the kids who have internet access will be more in the loop than the kids who don't. I can book some computer lab time, but it won't be totally ideal.
Ooh--you know, I've got links to their blogs for the actual story writing part, but maybe they can each have a page or something on the wiki...hmmm.....
Okay. Here's the wiki for my Creative Writing class project that comes up in a couple weeks. In the past, I've had a hard time helping my students keep track of all the mutual information, but with a wiki, it'll be slick. I hope they think it's an awesome tool and want to add to it.
I'm a little concerned that the kids who have internet access will be more in the loop than the kids who don't. I can book some computer lab time, but it won't be totally ideal.
Ooh--you know, I've got links to their blogs for the actual story writing part, but maybe they can each have a page or something on the wiki...hmmm.....
Monday, October 1, 2007
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