Today I had a productive TC meeting with Lynda. One of the things we talked about that really stuck with me, though, was about my own classes. I've been debating changing my handouts to some extent to make things a bit easier for the students. I don't think this is a bad idea. Oftentimes I feel that I need to apply the "less is more" principle to my teaching, and I suppose this is true with my online handouts as well. I just need to remember to refer students to handouts that are already well-written. As Lynda put it, "You don't need to be a technical writer." This is sound advice. I need to spend some time thinking about my larger objectives: am I using the new technologies just because they're new and fun, or am I using them for sound pedagogical purposes? To what extent are the new technologies making students better writers? If I can't articulate why, Lynda suggested, maybe I shouldn't use them. Lynda also recommended an interesting link that I will another look at--http://vyew.com. Looks pretty fascinating, like Adobe Connect!
Digital Writing TC: My Impressions after Meetings 3 and 4.
Meeting 3 focused a lot on Dianne and Bob. Dianne introduced Zoho, Dropbox and Google Groups to the TC, and Bob spent quite a bit of time showing us how to use Windows MovieMaker. Soon after this meeting, I returned their goals/objectives and Reflection 1s to them. I tried to provide copious comments. Some of them needed to revise their goals/objectives, and I asked them to do so. Those who needed to revise took awhile to do so, but (with some prompting) they were able to do the revisions they needed.
Meeting 4 focused on Laurie and Laura--most of the meeting was spent on the different features of Adobe Connect, and Laura also gave a brief presentation on Wordle. Our next meeting will be April 1--and they need to hand in their Reflection 2s the day before. Some of them (about 4) have already done so, as of this writing. I also asked them to sign up for Individual Meeting #2 on the wiki, but only about half have done so thus far. I am also thinking about providing a book for them by the final meeting--it will cost about $300 for the nine of them.
I do wish, overall, that more of them would make greater use of the wiki, particularly the technology table. It is getting a bit crowded, though. Lynda suggested that we try to categorize it in some way, prior to the final meeting. This is likely a good idea.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
Digital Writing Teaching Circle Meeting Minutes--Meeting #4
DIGITAL WRITING TEACHING CIRCLE--MEETING #4
FRIDAY, MARCH 18--4-5 PM
On WebEx
Present: Brian Lewis (facilitator), Steve Anderson, Jacque Arnold, Laura Funke, Dianne Gregory, Stephanie Laurey, Laurie Lykken, Sue Taylor
Absent: Bob Bledsoe, Brandy Opse-Weber
1. Announcements
a. Brian reminded everyone who has presented--or about to present--to contribute to the "technology table" on the wiki.
b. Brian also mentioned that those who need to refine/revise their goals and objectives should do so by today (Friday).
2. Laurie introduced us to Adobe Connect. In WebEx, she showed us how to sign up/access it (at www.metnet.edu). There we will request it and eventually get an e-mail confirmation of a username and password. After this step, we all moved to an Adobe Connect room that Laurie set up: https://umconnect.umn.edu/r14675675. In this room, Laurie showed us the following:
a. How to see presentations
b. How to chat
c. How to use the whiteboard and write on presentations (student must have "Presenter" privileges)
d. How to talk (using the microphone)
e. How to "Raise your hand" to be called on
3. Laura showed us other features of Adobe Connect. These included
a. How to use the polling feature (similar to using clickers in the classroom)
b. How to set up Discussion groups for students
4. Laura then talked (in Adobe Connect) about how to use Wordle (http://www.wordle.net). It allows students to create "word clouds" out of words that they write. Wordle may serve several pedagogical purposes, including prewriting, introductions online, analysis of political speeches, study of common words in a literary piece, and even concrete poetry.
5. Closing remarks
a. Next meeting will be IN WEBEX, FRIDAY, APRIL 1, FROM 4-5 PM. BRIAN WILL SEND EVERYONE THE WEBX MEETING LINK AT LEAST 24 HOURS BEFORE THE ONLINE MEETING.
b. Jacque and Stephanie will share digital writing/new media techniques and explain why they would work well for the English classroom.
6. HOMEWORK FOR EVERYONE BEFORE NEXT MEETING:
a. Find at least ONE new media teaching technique that you think might be worth sharing with the group if you have not yet done so.
b. Your Individual Reflection #2 is due to Brian via e-mail on March 31. (Please use the form provided for you.)
c. Please sign up for your Individual Meeting #2 on the wiki if you haven't done so already.
Meeting ended at about 5:01 pm. A recording of the meeting was done and is on the MnSCU WebEx site.
Brian
FRIDAY, MARCH 18--4-5 PM
On WebEx
Present: Brian Lewis (facilitator), Steve Anderson, Jacque Arnold, Laura Funke, Dianne Gregory, Stephanie Laurey, Laurie Lykken, Sue Taylor
Absent: Bob Bledsoe, Brandy Opse-Weber
1. Announcements
a. Brian reminded everyone who has presented--or about to present--to contribute to the "technology table" on the wiki.
b. Brian also mentioned that those who need to refine/revise their goals and objectives should do so by today (Friday).
2. Laurie introduced us to Adobe Connect. In WebEx, she showed us how to sign up/access it (at www.metnet.edu). There we will request it and eventually get an e-mail confirmation of a username and password. After this step, we all moved to an Adobe Connect room that Laurie set up: https://umconnect.umn.edu/r14675675. In this room, Laurie showed us the following:
a. How to see presentations
b. How to chat
c. How to use the whiteboard and write on presentations (student must have "Presenter" privileges)
d. How to talk (using the microphone)
e. How to "Raise your hand" to be called on
3. Laura showed us other features of Adobe Connect. These included
a. How to use the polling feature (similar to using clickers in the classroom)
b. How to set up Discussion groups for students
4. Laura then talked (in Adobe Connect) about how to use Wordle (http://www.wordle.net). It allows students to create "word clouds" out of words that they write. Wordle may serve several pedagogical purposes, including prewriting, introductions online, analysis of political speeches, study of common words in a literary piece, and even concrete poetry.
5. Closing remarks
a. Next meeting will be IN WEBEX, FRIDAY, APRIL 1, FROM 4-5 PM. BRIAN WILL SEND EVERYONE THE WEBX MEETING LINK AT LEAST 24 HOURS BEFORE THE ONLINE MEETING.
b. Jacque and Stephanie will share digital writing/new media techniques and explain why they would work well for the English classroom.
6. HOMEWORK FOR EVERYONE BEFORE NEXT MEETING:
a. Find at least ONE new media teaching technique that you think might be worth sharing with the group if you have not yet done so.
b. Your Individual Reflection #2 is due to Brian via e-mail on March 31. (Please use the form provided for you.)
c. Please sign up for your Individual Meeting #2 on the wiki if you haven't done so already.
Meeting ended at about 5:01 pm. A recording of the meeting was done and is on the MnSCU WebEx site.
Brian
Friday, March 4, 2011
Digital Writing Teaching Circle Meeting Minutes--Meeting #3
DIGITAL WRITING TEACHING CIRCLE--MEETING #3
FRIDAY, MARCH 4--4-5 PM
On WebEx
Present: Brian Lewis (facilitator), Steve Anderson, Jacque Arnold, Bob Bledsoe, Laura Funke, Dianne Gregory, Stephanie Laurey, Laurie Lykken, Brandy Opse-Weber, Sue Taylor
Absent: None
1. Announcements
a. Brian reminded everyone to contribute to the "technology table" on the wiki.
b. Brian then mentioned that all individual goals/objectives and reflection papers were received. He will be providing comments on these papers and returning them within a week. He may ask some people to refine/revise their goals and objectives a bit.
2. Dianne presented three different websites:
a. Zoho--www.zoho.com. Zoho performs many of the functions of GoogleDocs, including writing and collaboration. It also provides a wiki and an alternative to PowerPoint presentations. So it contains many different rhetorical functions for students in one centralized place, much as GoogleDocs does. Dianne argued that, in some ways, Zoho is easier for student use. It even allows video conferencing.
b. Dropbox--www.dropbox.com. It provides a centralized place for saving documents and allows for asynchronous writing collaboration. It could be particularly useful for students using iPhones and iPads.
c. Google Groups--groups.google.com. Offers an alternative to D2L discussion. It's private--people are invited to join specific groups in Google via e-mail. It allows for online discussion on specific topics, just as the Discussion Boards in D2L do; one advantage of Google Groups is that people receive e-mails when someone posts to the "Group."
3. Bob completed his presentation on mashups. He showed us how he puts together a presentation using Windows Movie Maker. This presentation included images from Google images, audio (song), and transitions. He also showed us how to create opening and closing credits for the presentation. Students can create mashups as a kind of visual rhetoric assignment in composition classrooms.
4. Closing remarks
a. Next meeting will be IN WEBEX, FRIDAY, MARCH 18, FROM 4-5 PM. BRIAN WILL SEND EVERYONE THE WEBX MEETING LINK AT LEAST 24 HOURS BEFORE THE ONLINE MEETING.
b. Laurie and Laura will share digital writing/new media techniques and explain why they would work well for the English classroom. Part of the meeting may be in AdobeConnect. Details on this later.
c. Sue Taylor reminded everyone that an English UFT position is now available at Saint Paul College.
5. HOMEWORK FOR EVERYONE BEFORE NEXT MEETING:--Find at least ONE new media teaching technique that you think might be worth sharing with the group if you have not yet done so.
Meeting ended at about 5:06 pm. A recording of the meeting was done and is on the MnSCU WebEx site.
Brian
FRIDAY, MARCH 4--4-5 PM
On WebEx
Present: Brian Lewis (facilitator), Steve Anderson, Jacque Arnold, Bob Bledsoe, Laura Funke, Dianne Gregory, Stephanie Laurey, Laurie Lykken, Brandy Opse-Weber, Sue Taylor
Absent: None
1. Announcements
a. Brian reminded everyone to contribute to the "technology table" on the wiki.
b. Brian then mentioned that all individual goals/objectives and reflection papers were received. He will be providing comments on these papers and returning them within a week. He may ask some people to refine/revise their goals and objectives a bit.
2. Dianne presented three different websites:
a. Zoho--www.zoho.com. Zoho performs many of the functions of GoogleDocs, including writing and collaboration. It also provides a wiki and an alternative to PowerPoint presentations. So it contains many different rhetorical functions for students in one centralized place, much as GoogleDocs does. Dianne argued that, in some ways, Zoho is easier for student use. It even allows video conferencing.
b. Dropbox--www.dropbox.com. It provides a centralized place for saving documents and allows for asynchronous writing collaboration. It could be particularly useful for students using iPhones and iPads.
c. Google Groups--groups.google.com. Offers an alternative to D2L discussion. It's private--people are invited to join specific groups in Google via e-mail. It allows for online discussion on specific topics, just as the Discussion Boards in D2L do; one advantage of Google Groups is that people receive e-mails when someone posts to the "Group."
3. Bob completed his presentation on mashups. He showed us how he puts together a presentation using Windows Movie Maker. This presentation included images from Google images, audio (song), and transitions. He also showed us how to create opening and closing credits for the presentation. Students can create mashups as a kind of visual rhetoric assignment in composition classrooms.
4. Closing remarks
a. Next meeting will be IN WEBEX, FRIDAY, MARCH 18, FROM 4-5 PM. BRIAN WILL SEND EVERYONE THE WEBX MEETING LINK AT LEAST 24 HOURS BEFORE THE ONLINE MEETING.
b. Laurie and Laura will share digital writing/new media techniques and explain why they would work well for the English classroom. Part of the meeting may be in AdobeConnect. Details on this later.
c. Sue Taylor reminded everyone that an English UFT position is now available at Saint Paul College.
5. HOMEWORK FOR EVERYONE BEFORE NEXT MEETING:--Find at least ONE new media teaching technique that you think might be worth sharing with the group if you have not yet done so.
Meeting ended at about 5:06 pm. A recording of the meeting was done and is on the MnSCU WebEx site.
Brian
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