Digital Writing Teaching Circle—Meeting #7
April 29, 2011—4:00-5:15
On WebEx
Present: Brian Lewis (facilitator), Laurie Lykken, Bob Bledsoe, Brandy Opse-Weber, Dianne Gregory, Laura Funke, Stephanie Laurey, Sue Taylor
Absent: Jacqueline Arnold, Steve Anderson
I. Intro/Announcements
A. Bob asked Brian to review how to post files to the wiki—we went over how to do this.
B. Brian reminded the group of all remaining due dates: Final Reflection (April 30); Final Report on Wiki (May 6); and Final ftf Meeting at Century College (May 13 from 3:30-5 pm).
II. Brian’s sites
A. Blogger (http://www.blogger.com/) --an online (free) blog for students to use. Easy to set up. Students may use this blog to do narrative/descriptive work. More advanced students may use it for argumentation—students may argue with each other on blogs that they set up.
B. A group technology project (draft) that he’s working on. The project shows the different options that students may be given in working with technology. He plans to have students present their work to the class as well and evaluate each other. This draft may be found on the wiki at http://digitalwritingtc.pbworks.com/f/4-26-2011_Bulletin.pdf.
III. Brandy’s site
Brandy shared the importance of students learning auditorily. To this end, she shared a site called A Z lyrics (http://www.azlyrics.com/). She had her creative writing students analyze songs for figurative language and use of story. Brandy was able to show the site, but there were some technical problems with the audio and we weren’t able to hear all that she said.
IV. Dianne’s site
Dianne showed us http://education.skype.com/. It’s a Skype for educators site. Professional speakers can Skype into the classroom. You can also get your students involved with certain projects with other students around the globe. Groups of students can Skype with each other.
V. Laura’s sites
A. She mentioned that D2L 9.2.0 will have audio responses in the Dropbox or Discussion posts (beginning in June). Audio recording is saved as .wav file.
B. She also talked about http://cartoonstock.com/. It’s a repository of cartoons. Can be used to illustrate difficult concepts to students, like irony. Or use it as a way of making statements about contemporary issues/college topics.
C. Finally, she talked about e-folio (http://www.efoliomn.com/). She uses it for herself and currently uses the new version. Some of us (Laurie, Sue, Brian) have used e-folio for classes as well (GPS life plan, common book, technical writing class, final portfolios, etc.). Laurie has had students present e-folio to each other.
VI. Stephanie’s site
Stephanie presented http://www.myhymphs.com/. She teaches a lot of developmental courses; this is a site to show these students what bad grammar looks like. Students can analyze grammar in the context of songs. The explanations tend to be quite humorous.
VII. Sue’s sites
A. Her first was http://www.wolframalpha.com/. A good site for students to obtain data with cited information. Can be used for the research paper for Comp 1.
B. Her second was http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/. It shows visual examples of errors from a humorous perspective.
VIII. Conclusion
A. Brian made a plug for everyone to do a Voki for Laurie—we stopped a bit early so people would have time to make one.
B. See you at the last meeting on May 13!
Meeting adjourned about 5:08. Posted on WebEx
Brian
Friday, April 29, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
A thought, after returning from CCCC
Last week I returned from CCCC in Atlanta. As usual, after coming back from the C's, my mind was chock full of ideas, and this time was no exception. For me, going to the C's is like going to church: it refreshes me and invigorates my thinking about teaching. It makes me question why I do what I do.
The more I go to C's, the more I'm beginning to view the five-paragraph essay as a thing of the past for first-year composition students. But if it is a thing of the past, why is it so stressed in textbooks? And even, to some extent, in my own evaluation rubrics? I really need to think about answers to these questions.
In the meantime, what I decided to do is to change my major individual writing assignments for my English 0090 and 1021 students--my individual "Writing Tasks"--to incorporate more digital options. Instead of just having the assignments be fairly open-ended, what I'm going to do is give the class about 6 or so options for each Writing Task, and many (but not all) of these options will have some sort of digital writing emphasis. The purpose behind this is to remind the students that most writing these days is done digitally and/or for Internet purposes. Furthermore, the specific assignments will remind them that writing has specific purposes and specific audiences. It has to be more than just "write a narrative essay." Why? For whom?
I still will keep the "Group Technology project" (the custom books are done, so it's too late to change that now, anyway). Besides, I want to make sure that the students do something with collaboration and technology--at least one assignment like this. I'd also like to mention that the assignments for the 0090 students will be a bit more formalized than for the 1021 students: 0090 students need to learn to move from paragraphs to short essays, which (in my view) is more of a dramatic move than moving from short essays to research-based writing (which is what 1021 students do). So there's more flexibility and sophistication in terms of what 1021 students may accomplish.
I am mentioning this here because my CTL work has been so focused on assignment creation. When I return, I want to ensure that the assignment I give are creative and innovative for students, while ALSO fulfilling course objectives, and I think the changes that I'm making will fulfill that goal.
The more I go to C's, the more I'm beginning to view the five-paragraph essay as a thing of the past for first-year composition students. But if it is a thing of the past, why is it so stressed in textbooks? And even, to some extent, in my own evaluation rubrics? I really need to think about answers to these questions.
In the meantime, what I decided to do is to change my major individual writing assignments for my English 0090 and 1021 students--my individual "Writing Tasks"--to incorporate more digital options. Instead of just having the assignments be fairly open-ended, what I'm going to do is give the class about 6 or so options for each Writing Task, and many (but not all) of these options will have some sort of digital writing emphasis. The purpose behind this is to remind the students that most writing these days is done digitally and/or for Internet purposes. Furthermore, the specific assignments will remind them that writing has specific purposes and specific audiences. It has to be more than just "write a narrative essay." Why? For whom?
I still will keep the "Group Technology project" (the custom books are done, so it's too late to change that now, anyway). Besides, I want to make sure that the students do something with collaboration and technology--at least one assignment like this. I'd also like to mention that the assignments for the 0090 students will be a bit more formalized than for the 1021 students: 0090 students need to learn to move from paragraphs to short essays, which (in my view) is more of a dramatic move than moving from short essays to research-based writing (which is what 1021 students do). So there's more flexibility and sophistication in terms of what 1021 students may accomplish.
I am mentioning this here because my CTL work has been so focused on assignment creation. When I return, I want to ensure that the assignment I give are creative and innovative for students, while ALSO fulfilling course objectives, and I think the changes that I'm making will fulfill that goal.
Digital Writing Teaching Circle--Meeting #6
DIGITAL WRITING TEACHING CIRCLE--MEETING #6
FRIDAY, APRIL 22--4-5:15 PM
On WebEx
Present: Brian Lewis (facilitator), Steve Anderson, Jacque Arnold, Laura Funke, Dianne Gregory, Stephanie Laurey, Laurie Lykken, Bob Bledsoe, Brandy Opse-Weber, Sue Taylor
Absent: none
1. Announcements/Questions and Answers
a. Brian reminded everyone of the upcoming circle due dates: April 29--next (and last) online meeting; April 30--Last Reflection paper due; May 6--post report on wiki (on your page); and May 13--ftf Teaching Circle meeting at Century College from 3:30-5 pm.
b. Steve asked if it was a problem to miss a meeting. Brian replied that it wouldn't as long as the entire group contributed 60 sources total to the Technology Tables; he will try his best to make sure that each person gets the stipend deserved.
c. Brandy wanted to review how to add to the Technology Tables, and Brian walked the group through the process.
2. Sue’s Presentations
a. Sue first presented Turnitin (www.turnitin.com). She has her students use it for an exercise on paraphrasing that she has her students do. Students submit their paraphrase to Turnitin, which evaluates their work for them. Turnitin's primary function, however, is to detect student plagiarism. This assists students in producing accurately cited research.
b. Next, Sue presented some aspects of Softchalk (www.softchalk.com). She showed us an HTML page that had been linked to text pop-ups that she created. She also showed us how to insert quiz pop-ups in Softchalk and pointed out that instructors could also use it to create games, etc. She’d only begun to learn about its potential. It’s a free software with a 30-day license (ask your Faculty IT people).
3. Steve’s Presentations
a. Steve began by mentioning three articles (which he e-mailed to us) about technologies and classroom use.
b. He then talked about the Center for Digital Storytelling (http://www.storycenter.org/index1.html), a site to inspire students to do visual analysis, think of old stories in new ways, and possibly even create their own stories.
c. Next, he showed us Connect from McGraw Hill (http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com), a site where students could work on exercises as needed.
d. Lastly, he talked about the need to create more visually-based handouts for developmental students. This could be done through the use of the Print Screen function on the keyboard (to capture images), and then inserting arrows as “Symbols” in Windows 7.
4. Bob’s Presentations
a. Bob pointed out a site connected with a textbook that he uses with his students called *America Now* (8th edition). This site has additional articles to provide student context for their readings. It also contains links to Diana Hacker exercises and Exercise Central (Bedford).
b. Bob then discussed the US Dept. of Labor website (www.dol.gov) and how he uses it as the basis of a student research paper: he wants them to study the site and ask them to (re)evaluate their views on their chosen career—do they still wish to pursue it? This makes for an interesting research-based writing assignment.
c. The last part of Bob’s presentation was a book recommendation: Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnson. Bob has his students read this book as well and they seem to enjoy it.
5. Conclusion
Brian asked everyone to continue their wiki contributions and to work on their final reports. The next meeting will be NEXT WEEK at 4 pm, and we’ll continue to discuss what we’ve added to (or plan to add) to the wiki “Technology Tables.”
Meeting adjourned about 5:17.
Brian
FRIDAY, APRIL 22--4-5:15 PM
On WebEx
Present: Brian Lewis (facilitator), Steve Anderson, Jacque Arnold, Laura Funke, Dianne Gregory, Stephanie Laurey, Laurie Lykken, Bob Bledsoe, Brandy Opse-Weber, Sue Taylor
Absent: none
1. Announcements/Questions and Answers
a. Brian reminded everyone of the upcoming circle due dates: April 29--next (and last) online meeting; April 30--Last Reflection paper due; May 6--post report on wiki (on your page); and May 13--ftf Teaching Circle meeting at Century College from 3:30-5 pm.
b. Steve asked if it was a problem to miss a meeting. Brian replied that it wouldn't as long as the entire group contributed 60 sources total to the Technology Tables; he will try his best to make sure that each person gets the stipend deserved.
c. Brandy wanted to review how to add to the Technology Tables, and Brian walked the group through the process.
2. Sue’s Presentations
a. Sue first presented Turnitin (www.turnitin.com). She has her students use it for an exercise on paraphrasing that she has her students do. Students submit their paraphrase to Turnitin, which evaluates their work for them. Turnitin's primary function, however, is to detect student plagiarism. This assists students in producing accurately cited research.
b. Next, Sue presented some aspects of Softchalk (www.softchalk.com). She showed us an HTML page that had been linked to text pop-ups that she created. She also showed us how to insert quiz pop-ups in Softchalk and pointed out that instructors could also use it to create games, etc. She’d only begun to learn about its potential. It’s a free software with a 30-day license (ask your Faculty IT people).
3. Steve’s Presentations
a. Steve began by mentioning three articles (which he e-mailed to us) about technologies and classroom use.
b. He then talked about the Center for Digital Storytelling (http://www.storycenter.org/index1.html), a site to inspire students to do visual analysis, think of old stories in new ways, and possibly even create their own stories.
c. Next, he showed us Connect from McGraw Hill (http://connect.mcgraw-hill.com), a site where students could work on exercises as needed.
d. Lastly, he talked about the need to create more visually-based handouts for developmental students. This could be done through the use of the Print Screen function on the keyboard (to capture images), and then inserting arrows as “Symbols” in Windows 7.
4. Bob’s Presentations
a. Bob pointed out a site connected with a textbook that he uses with his students called *America Now* (8th edition). This site has additional articles to provide student context for their readings. It also contains links to Diana Hacker exercises and Exercise Central (Bedford).
b. Bob then discussed the US Dept. of Labor website (www.dol.gov) and how he uses it as the basis of a student research paper: he wants them to study the site and ask them to (re)evaluate their views on their chosen career—do they still wish to pursue it? This makes for an interesting research-based writing assignment.
c. The last part of Bob’s presentation was a book recommendation: Everything Bad is Good for You by Steven Johnson. Bob has his students read this book as well and they seem to enjoy it.
5. Conclusion
Brian asked everyone to continue their wiki contributions and to work on their final reports. The next meeting will be NEXT WEEK at 4 pm, and we’ll continue to discuss what we’ve added to (or plan to add) to the wiki “Technology Tables.”
Meeting adjourned about 5:17.
Brian
Friday, April 1, 2011
Digital Writing Teaching Circle--Meeting #5
DIGITAL WRITING TEACHING CIRCLE--MEETING #5
FRIDAY, APRIL 1--4-5 PM
On WebEx
Present: Brian Lewis (facilitator), Steve Anderson, Jacque Arnold, Laura Funke, Dianne Gregory, Stephanie Laurey, Laurie Lykken, Bob Bledsoe, Brandy Opse-Weber
Absent: Sue Taylor
1. Announcements
4. Brian introduced two collaborative programs
5. Closing remarks
6. HOMEWORK FOR EVERYONE BEFORE NEXT MEETING:
Meeting ended at about 5:03 pm. A recording of the meeting was done and is on the MnSCU WebEx site.
Brian
FRIDAY, APRIL 1--4-5 PM
On WebEx
Present: Brian Lewis (facilitator), Steve Anderson, Jacque Arnold, Laura Funke, Dianne Gregory, Stephanie Laurey, Laurie Lykken, Bob Bledsoe, Brandy Opse-Weber
Absent: Sue Taylor
1. Announcements
a. Brian reminded everyone to hand in their Individual Reflection #1 who has not done so.
b. Brian reminded everyone to sign up for Individual Conference #2 on the wiki.
c. Brian reminded everyone that we don’t meet again until April 22 after today’s meeting. That meeting will be from 4-5:15.
d. Laurie asked everyone to create a Voki on the wiki, in order to help her with her individual technology project. She provided directions for everyone and asked us to fill out a survey as well.
2. Jacque presented some information. First, she pointed out that her school website at U of Mn-Mankato has several links to many different software programs that educators can use. This site is located at http://www.mnsu.edu/its/academic/tools/. She then went on to discuss Jing, www.techsmith.com/jing, and she showed us a video about it. We learned about some of its key features:a. It makes screen captures of photos.
b. It allows you to make brief five-minute videos.
c. These things may be shared in online spaces (e-mail, Twitter, blogs).
d. Jing is free.
3. Stephanie introduced us to an online game that her students have begun using, Salubrious Nation (www.salubriousnation.com). She demonstrated the game for us; it has eight levels that can be played. Students make guesses regarding various questions about the state of the health of our nation on the basis of demographic information provided for them. They then earn points for accurate guesses. This game can teach such skills as cause-effect relationships, correlations, argument, research, and correlation to students. It can also make students more aware of the condition of our country and sometimes shatter social myths as well (e.g., obesity only being prevalent in poor areas of the country). 4. Brian introduced two collaborative programs
a. The first was called Vyew, www.vyew.com, a collaboration platform very similar to AdobeConnect. It has a whiteboard, video communication capabilities, and chat. Students can be invited to participate. It should work well for online group communication. It is also free and requires no installations. Continuous rooms are always saved and on.
online peer review. Students simply need to click a button to go into a room. They can chat with other students and share their written work with each other. Color-coding indicates which students are contributing what to the peer review conversation. They can also save their work. Students can either be invited to join the room or be given a link to show up at.
5. Closing remarks
a. Next meeting will be IN WEBEX, FRIDAY, APRIL 22, FROM 4-5:15 PM. BRIAN WILL SEND EVERYONE THE WEBX MEETING LINK AT LEAST 24 HOURS BEFORE THE ONLINE MEETING.
b. Steve and Sue will share digital writing/new media techniques and explain why they would work well for the English classroom.
c. April 29 meeting is pretty open—what do you want to do for it? Send me ideas.
d. Reminder: last meeting is ftf at Century College. Those who complete all TC requirements will be given a book on digital writing.
e. Technology table on wiki needs some organizing—how should we organize it? Send me ideas.
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 ASAP, if you haven’t already submitted it. (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.
d. Please do a Voki (at Laurie’s request, for her individual project) and try to complete an activity with Jing as well (post your results on the wiki).
e. Work on your own individual projects.
f. Share your ideas with Brian about what you want to do with (a) the wiki technology table and (b) our April 29 meeting.
Meeting ended at about 5:03 pm. A recording of the meeting was done and is on the MnSCU WebEx site.
Brian
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