Recently, a conversation on our department’s listserve sparked me to offer a rare response. Most of what you need to know about the conversation on the list is embedded in my comments below, and I would welcome ideas for how you help students use technology during class in productive, ethical, and responsible ways. — Colleagues, [...]

Another semester has zoomed past and, before these thoughts escape me, and I begin a series of summer workshops and our CRWP summer institute, I am going to try to capture a few of the lessons learned in relation to digital writing and digital teaching. Good lessons seem to come in threes, so here goes: [...]

Tomorrow, I will be presenting two sessions at the Sessions at Wisconsin State Reading Association Conference. Here are descriptions of the sessions and the related presentations: From School to Screen: Why Digital Writing Matters (9:30 – 10:45) Without question, writing continues to change in the twenty-first century. Teachers, administrators, parents, and other stakeholders value the [...]

As the holidays begin, another conference season comes to a close. For the past week, Sara and I have been in Philadelphia at the National Writing Project‘s “Digital Is…” pre-conference, the NWP Annual Meeting, and the National Council of Teachers of English Annual Convention. As it is each year, we enjoy spending time with colleagues [...]

Notes from “Integrating New Literacies into Classroom Practice and the Resulting Impact on Site Leadership” NWP 2009 Annual Meeting This session invited four teacher consultants/tech liaisons to discuss their personal experiences with technology and the ways in which these experiences led to changes in their site’s work. Knowing two of these teachers through my work [...]

As we prepare to head to the NWP Annual Meeting and NCTE Convention in just about a week, I am also plugging away at our Chippewa River Writing Project Continued Funding Application. I have come to one of the most compelling parts of the report, at least for me… the point where we reflect on [...]

This past weekend, our department chair received an email from a local high school English teacher who asked, in short, should they be teaching students how to do a “traditional” research paper — including the use of 3×5 note cards — because some of his colleagues are strong supporters of it and others consider it [...]

Teachers Teaching Teachers: Exploring Author’s Craft in the Digital Writing Workshop October 7, 2009 In this second episode of our three part series, please join Troy Hicks, author of The Digital Writing Workshop, and Director of the Chippewa River Writing Project at Central Michigan University, as we continue exploring the principles and practices described in [...]

Over the past few weeks, I have had a few opportunities to reexamine my thinking about the purposes of digital writing and professional development. As Sara begins her doctoral program at MSU and has started to share her own thinking through her “Connecting, Collaborating, Continuing to Learn” blog, it has given me pause to think [...]

Each Wednesday for the next three weeks, I will be hosting a series of episodes that invite teachers highlighted in the book on for conversations about teaching in the digital writing workshop. Here is the announcement for this week’s webcast: Teachers Teaching Teachers: Choice and Inquiry in the Digital Writing Workshop September 30, 2009 This [...]