Weblogs & Wikis & Feeds, Oh My!

You'll know what we did this summer if you join us on Teachers Teaching Teachers at Wednesday 9:00 PM Eastern

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:50:41 GMT

Please join us on this week’s Teachers Teaching Teachers. Let us know what you are learning this summer!

We want to introduce you to an exciting group of New York City teachers. Paul Allison will introduce you to 13 teachers he has been working with in an Open/Advanced Summer Institute of the New York City Writing Project this week and last week.

Since 1999, Paul has worked with many co-facilitators in the New York City Writing Project in 3-week Summer Institutes. These “Advanced/Open” Institutes have focused on building websites, webquests, blogs, wikis, images, VoiceThread, hypertext-stories, video, podcasting, StorySpace, digital poetry, digital stroy-telling, Google docs, Google maps, Google reader, and more! Each year we invite 15 or so teachers from the New York City Writing Project and the New York City schools in general to join us in exploring writing and technology.

This year, Paul has been joined by an old friend and colleague (from when they were teaching at University Heights Secondary School), Shantanu Saha. For the past week and a half, Shantanu and Paul have been working with a great group of 13 New York City teachers. They’re at the mid-point in the Institute, which is described like this:

How can we use technology to put the voices of youth at the center of the curriculum?
Spend 12 days this summer with other New York City Writing Project teachers who use technology in their classrooms. Share the ways we use the Internet to make student-to-student connections. Learn about a curriculum currently being developed and collaborated on by teachers across the nation. Explore how we use blogs, wikis, images, videos, podcasts, and other tools to inspire young people to do research into their own questions.

—from the NYCWP Youth Voices Group Home Page

Please join some of these teachers on this week’s Teachers Teaching Teachers. This will be the first time on Skype for many of them, so please join them. Welcome them to the EdTechTalk webcasting community! Find out from them what they are learning in a Writing Project Summer Institute focued on writing and technology. Hear their questions as they imagine integrating technology into their classes this fall.

Join us at http://EdTechTalk.com/live at 9:00pm Eastern / 6:00pm Pacific USA Wednesdays / 01:00 UTC Thursdays World Times

Posted via email from New Journalism | Comment »

You'll know what we did this summer if you join us on Teachers Teaching Teachers at Wednesday 9:00 PM Eastern

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 02:50:41 GMT

How can we use technology to put the voices of youth at the center of the curriculum?
Spend 12 days this summer with other New York City Writing Project teachers who use technology in their classrooms. Share the ways we use the Internet to make student-to-student connections. Learn about a curriculum currently being developed and collaborated on by teachers across the nation. Explore how we use blogs, wikis, images, videos, podcasts, and other tools to inspire young people to do research into their own questions.

—from the NYCWP Youth Voices Group Home Page

Posted via email from New Journalism|Comment»

What do we want a site like Youth Voices to be? on Teachers Teaching Teachers Wednesday

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:29:57 GMT

What do we to be able to do on a school-based social network like http://youthvoices.net ?

With the support of the National Writing Project and the design and technical expertise of Bill Fitzgerald and his colleagues at Funny Monkey, we have been building a Drupal site for a group of teachers whose plan and collaborate together.

Susan and I have invited Chris Sloan, Fred Hass, George Mayo (maybe?), Sheri Edwards, Michael Dodes… and others who have wanted to or have actually used Youth Voices this year.

We want to have a careful, honest exploration into what worked well this year and what might have gone better. What do we want our site to do? What do we want our community to do? What’s the difference between creating blog posts and discussion posts?

We might also get a report from NECC.

If you’ve considered using Youth Voices… if you are interested in the power and potential of a Drupal site to build community… If you have students post on blogs or discussion boards… We’d love to include you in this conversation.

Please join us on this week’s Teachers Teaching Teachers. Join us, at http://EdTechTalk.com/live at 9:00pm Eastern / 6:00pm Pacific USA Wednesdays / 01:00 UTC Thursdays World Times

Posted via email from New Journalism | Comment »

What do we want a site like Youth Voices to be? on Teachers Teaching Teachers Wednesday

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:29:57 GMT

What do we to be able to do on a school-based social network like http://youthvoices.net?

With the support of the National Writing Project and the design and technical expertise of Bill Fitzgerald and his colleagues at Funny Monkey, we have been building a Drupal site for a group of teachers whose plan and collaborate together.

Susan and I have invited Chris Sloan, Fred Hass, George Mayo (maybe?), Sheri Edwards, Michael Dodes… and others who have wanted to or have actually used Youth Voices this year.

We want to have a careful, honest exploration into what worked well this year and what might have gone better. What do we want our site to do? What do we want our community to do? What’s the difference between creating blog posts and discussion posts?

We might also get a report from NECC.

If you’ve considered using Youth Voices… if you are interested in the power and potential of a Drupal site to build community… If you have students post on blogs or discussion boards… We’d love to include you in this conversation.

Please join us on this week’s Teachers Teaching Teachers. Join us, at http://EdTechTalk.com/live at 9:00pm Eastern / 6:00pm Pacific USA Wednesdays / 01:00 UTC Thursdays World Times

Posted via email from New Journalism|Comment»

Graduation 2009 High School of American Studies at Lehman...

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:33:00 GMT

Graduation 2009 High School of American Studies at Lehman College | Free Family Videos - Watch Family Videos Online | Veoh

Graduation 2009 High School of American Studies at Lehman...

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 02:33:00 GMT

Graduation 2009 High School of American Studies at Lehman College | Free Family Videos - Watch Family Videos Online | Veoh

lfarm: Tonight’s sunset was no joke. Other photos here.

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:45:00 GMT

lfarm:

Tonight’s sunset was no joke.

Other photos here.

lfarm: Tonight’s sunset was no joke. Other photos here.

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:45:00 GMT

lfarm:

Tonight’s sunset was no joke.

Other photos here.

Senior Projects, Podcasting in a Speech Class, and Mummies and Vampires on this week Teachers Teaching Teachers

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:51:56 GMT

This week will be our third (and last) webcast that spins off the the book, Teaching the New Writing: Technology, Change, and Assessment in the 21st Century Classroom, which was edited by anne Herrington, Kevin Hodgson, and Charles Moran.

Here’s how the folks at the National Writing Project describe our guests. Kevin Hodgson will be faciliting the conversation:

Chapter authors Dawn Reed, high school teacher and teacher-consultant with the Red Cedar Writing Project; Troy Hicks, associate Professor and director of the Chippewa Writing Project; and Bryan Crandall, high school teacher and a teacher-consultant with the Louisville Writing Project, will share examples of their classroom practices to prompt a discussion about audience in writing using digital technology.

The topics they discuss will include high school students using multimodal ways of writing in a speech class and an example of what happens when you take the senior project “digital.”

In addition, Marva Solomon will be joining us to talk about her work with a small group of struggling elementary school writiers. The title of her chapter in Teaching the New Writring is “True adventures of Students “Writing Online: Mmmies, Vampires and schnauzers, Oh My!”

Please join Kevin Hodgson and these guests at http://EdTechTalk.com/live at 9:00pm Eastern / 6:00pm Pacific USA Wednesdays / 01:00 UTC Thursdays World Times

Posted via email from New Journalism | Comment »

Senior Projects, Podcasting in a Speech Class, and Mummies and Vampires on this week Teachers Teaching Teachers

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 02:51:56 GMT

Chapter authors Dawn Reed, high school teacher and teacher-consultant with the Red Cedar Writing Project; Troy Hicks, associate Professor and director of the Chippewa Writing Project; and Bryan Crandall, high school teacher and a teacher-consultant with the Louisville Writing Project, will share examples of their classroom practices to prompt a discussion about audience in writing using digital technology.

The topics they discuss will include high school students using multimodal ways of writing in a speech class and an example of what happens when you take the senior project “digital.”

Posted via email from New Journalism|Comment»

There’s always so much more to say, but here’s some...

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:12:21 GMT

There’s always so much more to say, but here’s some of my thinking about Youth Voices at the end of the 2009 academic year.

There’s always so much more to say, but here’s some...

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:12:21 GMT

There’s always so much more to say, but here’s some of my thinking about Youth Voices at the end of the 2009 academic year.

Collaborate with us tonight on Teachers Teaching Teachers 9:00 Eastern / 6:00 Pacific

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:20:44 GMT

Glen Bledsoe, Jeff Schwartz, and I (Paul Allison) will be interviewed by Kevin Hodgson this week (actually a few hours from now) on Teachers Teaching Teachers. (It will be fun to be on the other side of the microphone!) We’ll be talking about collaboration and the tools we use to collaborate in the classroom.

Here’s how the National Writing Project describes what we’ll be talking about on this show.

As educators move forward into the terrain of digital literacy and learning with their students, part of the challenge is balancing the innovation of new technology with the accountability of assessment.

The recently published book Teaching the New Writing: Technology, Change, and Assessment in the 21st-Century Classroom explores these balancing acts through case studies of elementary through university-level classrooms where teachers are integrating technology with writing and where the assessment of the digital work and student learning is being explored.

Chapter authors Paul Allison, a high school teacher, technology liaison at the New York City Writing Project, and facilitator of TTT; Glen Bledsoe, an elementary teacher and teacher consultant at the Oregon Writing Project at the University of Oregon; and Jeff Schwartz, high school teacher and member of the Bread Loaf Teachers Network, will share examples of their classroom practices to prompt a discussion about the collaborative nature of writing when using technology in the classroom.

Please join us! We would love for this to dissolve into a free-for-all conversation about collaboration. We plan for time when you can join us via skype if you would like.

Join us, at http://EdTechTalk.com/live at 9:00pm Eastern / 6:00pm Pacific USA Wednesdays / 01:00 UTC Thursdays World Times

Posted via email from New Journalism | Comment »

Collaborate with us tonight on Teachers Teaching Teachers 9:00 Eastern / 6:00 Pacific

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:20:44 GMT

Here’s how the National Writing Project describes what we’ll be talking about on this show.

As educators move forward into the terrain of digital literacy and learning with their students, part of the challenge is balancing the innovation of new technology with the accountability of assessment.

The recently published book Teaching the New Writing: Technology, Change, and Assessment in the 21st-Century Classroom explores these balancing acts through case studies of elementary through university-level classrooms where teachers are integrating technology with writing and where the assessment of the digital work and student learning is being explored.

Chapter authors Paul Allison, a high school teacher, technology liaison at the New York City Writing Project, and facilitator of TTT; Glen Bledsoe, an elementary teacher and teacher consultant at the Oregon Writing Project at the University of Oregon; and Jeff Schwartz, high school teacher and member of the Bread Loaf Teachers Network, will share examples of their classroom practices to prompt a discussion about the collaborative nature of writing when using technology in the classroom.

Posted via email from New Journalism|Comment»

"Despite the considerable recent attention devoted to the ‘Net Generation’, few..."

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:15:31 GMT

“Despite the considerable recent attention devoted to the ‘Net Generation’, few Australian studies have documented the characteristics of this group and little evidence has been provided to support claims made about the Net Generation and its implications for higher education in Australia. The ‘Net Generation’ or ‘Digital Natives’ are born roughly between 1980 and 1994 and have been characterised by their familiarity with and reliance on information and communication technologies. A number of commentators have argued that the digital culture in which the Net Generation has grown up has influenced their preferences and skills in a number of key areas related to education. Some commentators have also questioned the extent to which Universities and their staff are equipped to meet the needs of this incoming cohort of students.”

- Overview : Educating the Net Generation : The University of Melbourne

I’ll be teaching seniors next year. Ah… the transition to college.

"Despite the considerable recent attention devoted to the ‘Net Generation’, few..."

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 23:15:31 GMT

“Despite the considerable recent attention devoted to the ‘Net Generation’, few Australian studies have documented the characteristics of this group and little evidence has been provided to support claims made about the Net Generation and its implications for higher education in Australia. The ‘Net Generation’ or ‘Digital Natives’ are born roughly between 1980 and 1994 and have been characterised by their familiarity with and reliance on information and communication technologies. A number of commentators have argued that the digital culture in which the Net Generation has grown up has influenced their preferences and skills in a number of key areas related to education. Some commentators have also questioned the extent to which Universities and their staff are equipped to meet the needs of this incoming cohort of students.”

- Overview: Educating the Net Generation: The University of Melbourne

I’ll be teaching seniors next year. Ah… the transition to college.

"Digital Humanities have a utopian core shaped by its genealogical descent from the..."

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:20:20 GMT

“Digital Humanities have a utopian core shaped by its genealogical descent from the counterculture-cyberculture intertwinglings of the 60s and 70s. This is why it affirms the value of the open, the infinite, the expansive, the university/museum/archive/library without walls, the democratization of culture and scholarship, even as it affirms the value of large-scale statistically grounded methods (such as cultural analytics) that collapse the boundaries between the humanities and the social and natural sciences. This is also why it believes that copyright and IP standards must be freed from the stranglehold of Capital, including the capital possessed by heirs who live parasitically off of the achievements of their deceased predecessors.”

- A Digital Humanities Manifesto » The Digital Humanities Manifesto 2.0

I need some time with this document!

"Digital Humanities have a utopian core shaped by its genealogical descent from the..."

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 21:20:20 GMT

“Digital Humanities have a utopian core shaped by its genealogical descent from the counterculture-cyberculture intertwinglings of the 60s and 70s. This is why it affirms the value of the open, the infinite, the expansive, the university/museum/archive/library without walls, the democratization of culture and scholarship, even as it affirms the value of large-scale statistically grounded methods (such as cultural analytics) that collapse the boundaries between the humanities and the social and natural sciences. This is also why it believes that copyright and IP standards must be freed from the stranglehold of Capital, including the capital possessed by heirs who live parasitically off of the achievements of their deceased predecessors.”

- A Digital Humanities Manifesto» The Digital Humanities Manifesto 2.0

I need some time with this document!

Latino Pride Screencast

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:40:00 GMT

Latino Pride Screencast: Recently, there has been some interest in this screencast that I did four years ago. What interests me is how much emailing and blog posting went on around the writing that is highlighted here. The web of writing is important to notice, I think.

Latino Pride Screencast

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:40:00 GMT

Bridgetalks1-02.25.09

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:22:33 GMT

Here's "the grid": Participating in Youth Voices (One Week of Assignments)

Curriculum and "How To" Guides

EWSIS students paired with seniors at a Self-Help Center in an OATS class

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:49:31 GMT

Comparing two online publishing projects - Nov 2, 2008

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 05:42:27 GMT

This fall two projects in which students publish online have been supported by the National Writing Project. http://letters2president.org and http:youthvoices.net I think comparing these two in terms of development, adoption, collaboration, purpose, design, capacity-building, clarity, student-sponsored-ness ... and other things would be a useful piece of research.

Reading = Annotating, Dialectical Notes, Responding, Blogging

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:00:31 GMT

I recently introduced doing annotations as one of a four-part response to a text.
1) Annotations - asking students to write down, draw… in any language… anything that comes into their heads as they are reading
2) Dialectical Notes - I asked students to re-read the text, and as they were reading, to find 6 to 8 chunks of text that they thought were important to the text. With these they did “quotations” and “responses” — which I described as extended freewriting beginning with and annotation.

Gardens Near EWSIS

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:05:03 GMT

10 Graders Introducing Campaign Issues

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 03:59:08 GMT

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Introducing Campaign Issues

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:36:53 GMT

Online Videos by Veoh.com This was our first lesson in a unit about the U.S. Elections. We will be Writing Letters to the Next President using Google Docs.

Planning Youth Voices August 2, 2008

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 16:41:32 GMT

After some quiet thinking and imagining, I try to record some thoughts about how we might organize our new Drupal site for Youth Voices.

Remembering Lee Baber August 1, 2008

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:09:19 GMT

One story and a few reflections about Lee Baber, our friend at Teachers Teaching Teachers, EdTechTalk, WorldBridges... SpaceCasts, YouthBridges... We will miss Lee. She passed away on July 31, 2008.

Google Alerts & Limits July 26, 2008

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 05:55:32 GMT

I reflect on how I might have some students use Google Alerts instead of having them subscribe to Google Reader. I also complain about how limited Google Apps is.

Reflecting on VoiceTread

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:03:35 GMT

(35:55) Teachers in the New York City Writing Project's Open/Advanced Technology Institute at Lehman College reflect after 4 days of working with VoiceThread.

Overlapping Curriculum Circles

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 14:23:44 GMT

(11 min. 06 secs.) Some thoughts about planning for the fall while running on a road in Upstate New York.

Reponse to Health Nuts March 20, 2008

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:23:00 GMT

At Tech Thursdays, a group of New York City Writing Project teachers responded to a podcast recorded by Madeline Brownstone's students at the Baccalaureate School for Global Education. Their podcast was called "Health Nuts." and they asked how one finds reliability in a podcast.

Room 204 Weekend Checkin- March 17, 2008

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 23:49:57 GMT

(3:19) Five 6th Graders check in on their weekend on St. Patrick's Day.

Room 204 - Friday, March 14, 2008

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 13:31:20 GMT

(2:53) When the Internet went down, my sixth graders took a break from writing hypertext poems. We gathered around my iPod, and recorded this go-round in which students were asked to talk about something they did during the week that made them feel good about themselves or something they were planning to do on the weekend. This sharing of stories was, by now, a pretty common thing for us to do in this class.

Feb 2, 2008 Thinking about Micro-blogging in the Classroom

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 06:22:38 GMT

I'm excited about a new site that I set up this week at http://youthtwitter.com and I talk about some of the implications of that here.

8th Graders Spacecast at ESCHS

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 13:11:30 GMT

A few students from my New Journalism class at East Side Community High School in New York City talk about their blogs and read blog posts while connected with a couple of students from Lee Baber's class in Virginia. Lee webcasts live for us every Friday morning over through WorldBridges. And these conversations are available as a podcast. Look for Spacecast on iTunes.

Joomla and Goolge Apps (2 of 2)

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 08:00:25 GMT

Ride with me on Manhattan's Upper West Side, as I discss using a group of Google Apps instead of the current website at my school.

Joomla and Goolge Apps (1 of 2)

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 07:59:15 GMT

Ride with me on the West Side of Manhattan after school on day in March 2007. I discuss setting up an interactive website with Joomla for the New York City Writing Project

From Technical Education to Communication

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 08:13:43 GMT

Run with me as from Upper-Manhattan into Riverdale in the Bronx, and listen as I "go on" about a few different curriculum queries that have been bouncing around in my head. What I think underlies all fo the examples that a mention here is the notion that writing and multimedia production should be taught as communication and not as a technical skill.

On a gray day in January

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 03:23:34 GMT

The semester is winding down. Students are focused on final projects in their core courses, and preparing for state examinations. Blogging is feels harder and harder to care about. Still these young people seem to have enough sense of personal commitment to YouthVoices.net and their personal blog to put forward some effort.

Ryan sings Come Again, Sweet Love - J. Dowland

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 14:42:19 GMT

Rey-Rey's Music Studio Recital, Saturday, December 16, 2006.

The Theater Space at Holy Trinity Church

12th, 11th, 10th Graders Blog at East Side Community HS, NYC

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 11:44:25 GMT

We are in the last 5 or 6 weeks of the semester, and I'm having a great time with most of my 10th - 12th graders. A couple of stories that stand out: Cailin's abilitiy to see connections between a journal-entry-like blog post and an essay she is writing for English class... Nichole's amazing blog by now... John's podcasting habits... and more!

9th Graders Blog at East Side Community HS, NYC

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Wed, 13 Dec 2006 10:50:09 GMT

We are in the last 5 or 6 weeks of the semester, and I'm having a great time with most of my 9th graders. They have developed good habits of mind and work, and I'm just their consultant. Christy's story of her relationship with Flickr continues to blossom. She set up a group in Flickr. I'm also interested to see Jose and Zadia move beyond their comfortable subjects. Blogging is a n interesting process to watch!

Students Blogging with Self-Selected Content

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Tue, 28 Nov 2006 04:05:00 GMT

It may not be overly dramatic, but I'm enjoying these moments in my classroom, when I can go around and interview students, simply asking them, "What are you doing?" This was recorded on a Monday at the beginning of a regular week -- when there are no planned vacations or breaks... just four straight days of blogging. What I'm finding exciting this year is the ways I've found to allow students to find their own subject matter around which to read, write, find images, and listen to and create podcasts.

Nashville Reflections: Tech at the National Writing Project

allisonpr@gmail.com (Paul Allison) — Mon, 20 Nov 2006 11:06:39 GMT

This is a bit of a rant. I want to find ways for Writing Project teachers to be constructively critical of our work, not just celebratory.