|
In all my research efforts, I work with other educators in order to further our professional growth and generate new knowledge and teaching writing in a digital age. During the 2007-08 academic year, I published and presented a variety of work in local, state, and national contexts on topics such as digital literacy, writing for publications, writing across the content areas, digital storytelling, writing with wikis, etc...
- Category II
- Publications
- Keepin’ It Real: Multiliteracies in the English Classroom
- Developing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge through Teacher Research and the Pedagogy of Multiliteracies
- Multiliteracies across Lifetimes: Engaging K-12 Students and Teachers through Technology-Based Outreach
- From the Front of the Classroom to the Ears of the World: Podcasting as an Extension of Speech Class
- Running to Stand Still: Framing Research on Technology and Student Learning in English Education During an Era of Changing Literacy Practices
- Manuscripts in Progress
- Chippewa River Writing Project Grant
- Doctoral Education in English Education Belief Statement
- Electronic Pedagogical and Creative Materials
- Digital Writing, Digital Teaching Blog
- Category III
- Editorship
- Co-Editor, The Michigan English Teacher Newsletter and eNewsletter, Michigan Council of Teachers of English
- Newsletter Items
- Joining the Tech Conversation
- Getting Started with Google for Educators.
- Google for Educators, Part II: Google Docs and Notebook.
Category II
Publications
1. Hicks, T., & Reed, D. (2007). Keepin’ It Real: Multiliteracies in the English Classroom. Language Arts Journal of Michigan: The Scholarly Journal of the Michigan Council of Teachers of English, 23(1), 11-19.
This article represents part of my collaborative research effort with a high school teacher, Dawn Reed, as we work together to integrate newer technologies and literacies into her classroom. Appearing in a themed issue that coincided with the Michigan Council of Teachers of English fall conference, this article was the second feature after an article from the conference's keynote speaker and noted English education scholar, Kathleen Blake Yancey. In the article, I outline a number of reasons for integrating multiliteracies into one's classroom, connecting current theory and research to pedagogy. Dawn added a section about her blogging and podcasting project, thus illustrating the ideas that I was describing and representing the work of our collaboration in a practical article focused on the needs of Michigan teachers who are adapting to new high school content expectations.
Top
2. Hicks, T. (In Press, 2008). Developing Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge through Teacher Research and the Pedagogy of Multiliteracies. In S. Kajder & C. Young (Eds.), English Language Arts and Technology. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
As a chapter in an edited collection, this work reflects findings of my dissertation study involving seven teachers who conducted teacher research in their classroom and then represented their teaching through a digital portfolio. Written in light of the book's theme, Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, this particular piece suggests ways in which teachers can examine the ways that they visually represent their teaching through web-based digital portfolios. Two teacher sites are highlight, both of whom I coached through our work together in the teacher research project and who also received feedback from their colleagues in the project. As an example of technology learning, I conclude that teachers can use technology to enhance their research process by sharing their data, their workload, and their results with knowledagable and supportive colleagues.
Letter from editors seeking submission
Top
3. Hicks, T. (In Press, 2008). Multiliteracies across Lifetimes: Engaging K-12 Students and Teachers through Technology-Based Outreach. In J. Inman & D. Sheridan (Eds.), Multiliteracy Centers: Re-Centering with New Media.
This chapter outlines the technology-based outreach efforts that I coordinated in my previous position at Michigan State University. The collection itself is significant in that it is the first sustained look at writing center theory and practice from a perspective of multiple literacies, a perspective that has been developing in composition studies for many years. This chapter, in particular, is unique because -- as the editors note -- "Yours is the only chapter in the book that is explicitly focused on outreach to K-12 teachers and students." Thus, it has the potential to speak to a wide range of writing center administrators who seek to develop such technology-rich partnerships in their own contexts.
Book prospectus from editors
Letter of acceptance from editors
Top
4. Reed, D., & Hicks, T. (In Press, 2008). From the Front of the Classroom to the Ears of the World: Podcasting as an Extension of Speech Class. In A. Herrington, K. Hodgson & C. Moran (Eds.), Technology, Change, and Assessment: Teaching Practice in the Writing Classroom: Teachers College Press/National Writing Project.
In this chapter, Reed and I describe our work with a high school speech class over the course of a nine week term as the students communicated with one another and wider audiences using blogs and podcasts. Reed, a high school teacher and Red Cedar Writing Project Teacher Consultant, set up her Winter 2007 speech class with podcasting as a component of the course's work. I worked with Dawn to perform the technical set up and begin researching the process as she engaged students in podcasting and peer response to one another's podcasts through a blog.
The goals of this project are multilayered:
- To offer students a meaningful "online experience," one of the new requirements of the Michigan High School Reform Initiative and a component that all schools must implement in the 2007-08 school year. This project will serve as a model in which students engage in a hybrid course, requiring both face-to-face time in class and additional reading, writing, listening, and response online.
- To actualize the theories and teaching that we have seen used by other Writing Project Teacher Consultants and analyze students’ thoughts, feelings, and experiences as a result of that pedagogy. To that end, we are seeking human subjects’ approval for the project and will conduct confidential surveys with all the students in the class and interviews with selected focal participants to identify key themes from their experience over the course of the nine weeks.
- To reconsider how teaching "speech," a curricular partner to composition, changes when the media for production includes podcasting. In that sense, we will discuss how purposes and genres change, as well as the affordances and constraints of podcasting, both from technical and pedagogical perspectives.
Book prospectus from editors
Letter of acceptance from editors
Top
5. Young, C., Hicks, T., & Kadjer, S. (In Press, 2008). Running to Stand Still: Framing Research on Technology and Student Learning in English Education During an Era of Changing Literacy Practices. In A. Thompson, L. Schrum & L. Bell (Eds.), Framing Research on Technology and Student Learning in the Content Areas: Implications for Teacher Educators National Technology Leadership Coalition.
In collaboration with two other prominent English langauge arts (ELA) and technology scholars, Young and Kajder, I have contributed to the overall organization and writing of this chapter that will be included in a mongraph from the National Technology Leadership Coalition. The chapter describes the current state of research in ELA and technology, especially as it relates to the changing definitions of liteacy and effects on student achievement. I wrote significant sections of this chapter, including the section on new and multiple literacies, as well as an analysis of the one-to-one laptop research project.
Book prospectus from editors (accepted as part of the Swenson et al ELA chapter)
Top
Manuscripts in Progress
Chippewa River Writing Project Grant
Through attendance at ORSP’s Grant Writing Workshop (December 2007), I have begun work with colleagues in the English Deparment to develop a new site application to the National Writing Project. To be housed in the English department, the Chippewa River Writing Project will invite K-12 teachers and university faculty to examine best practices in the teaching of writing, collaborate on research project, conduct professional development in local schools, and invite youth and community members to campus for writing-related programs.
Top
Conference on English Education Doctoral Education Working Group. (June 2007). Doctoral Education in English Education Belief Statement.
Available: http://ceedoctoral.wikispaces.com/Belief+Statement
As a part of the second Conference on English Education (CEE) Leadership and Policy Summit, held at Lake Forest College, IL, June 2007, I participated in the collaborative development of this document. Intended to become an official publication and policy statement of CEE, this working draft summarizes the group's work through July 2007. Along with contributing content to the original draft, I helped significantly revise and restructure the previous drafts so that this version began to conform to CEE's expectations for policy statements.
Top
Electronic Pedagogical and Creative Materials
Hicks, T. (Continuous). Digital Writing, Digital Teaching Blog. Available: http://hickstro.org
For the past two and a half years, I have regularly maintained a blog about pedagogy, technology, literacy, and professional development that is read by K-12 teachers and teacher educators. Here, I share my insights on isses related to teaching digital writing including the pedagogical, technical, and ethical aspects of using such applications as blogs, wikis, podcasts, social networks, and other read/write web tools. While an exact readership is impossible to determine, I present two points of reference as considertation for merit in the service category. First, based on my most recent server statistics, my site had 25,253 requests for pages in January 2008. While some of these are assuredly bots seeking data, many are human readers. Thus, for my second point of reference, I have asked three readers that identified themselves to me to write testimonials about my blogging, two being K-12 teachers and another a prominent teacher educator.
Top
Category III
Editorship
Co-Editor, The Michigan English Teacher, Michigan Council of Teachers of English
As a winner of the National Council of Teachers of English Affiliate Newsletter Award in 2004, I have worked as editor or co-editor of the Michigan English Teacher for the past five years. In the past year, I have transitioned the publication from print-only to a hybrid format where we send two print issues each year with monthly e-newsletters. In my current role, I am primarily responsible for design and distribution of the newsletter while my co-editor develops content and does copy-editing. Samples of our e-newsletter are shown here:
Top
Newsletter Items
Hicks, T. (2007). Joining the Tech Conversation. News & Views on Reading: A Michigan Reading Association Publication, 51(4), 17.
Hicks, T. (2007). Getting Started with Google for Educators. News & Views on Reading: A Michigan Reading Association Publication, ___.
Hicks, T. (2008). Google for Educators, Part II: Google Docs and Notebook. News & Views on Reading: A Michigan Reading Association Publication, ___.
In my role as Technology Chair for MRA, I write a quarterly column for the "News and Views" Newsletter. Each month, I share insights into current technology and literacy practices for an audience of over 3000 K-12 teachers.
Top
State Conference Presentations
Baker, W. D., Richmond, K. J., Hicks, T., Barrientes, S., Morden, K. J. P., & Tripp, E. (2007, October 5). Preparing and Inviting Teachers into Leadership and Scholarship. Presentation at the Michigan Council of Teachers of English Annual Conference, Lansing, MI.
This panel session offers information, strategies and personal experiences to teachers about becoming involved as leaders, teacher-researchers, and writers—particularly of articles designed for professional newsletters and journals. The focus will be on building ideas into action. The editors of Language Arts Journal of Michigan and one of the editors of The Michigan English Teacher will provide overviews of the opportunities and processes of publishing in these journals. Three new teachers will briefly discuss their recent experiences as conference presenters and writers. The session will conclude with opportunities for participants to discuss their ideas for possible conference presentations or articles.
Top
National Conference Presentations
Baylen, D. M., Brooks-Yip, M., Campbell, P., Conrad, J., Eade, C., Hicks, T., et al. (2007, November 16). Examining the Purposes and Processes for Digital Storytelling. Presentation at the National Writing Project Annual Meeting, New York, NY.
Writing project teachers and sites have engaged in digital storytelling for the past decade, and many of us have stories to tell about composing in this medium. Join this guided roundtable discussion where we will look at both individual and site work and then use reflective protocols to explore the many purposes and processes of digital storytelling as it is implemented in summer institutes and in professional development, continuity, and youth programs.
Top
Hicks, T. (Forthcoming, March 2008). Project Write (Writing, Reading, Inquiry, and Technology Education). Paper presented at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education, Las Vegas, NV.
Adolescents are not achieving the levels of literacy learning that teachers, parents, and policymakers believe they should despite the development of rigorous standards and teacher professional development. Integrating technology and newer literacies remains even more difficult. Because no compelling research on which to base additional curricular or pedagogical revisions to our practice exists, we have adopted an inquiry- and project-based, community-specific approach through a Title II professional development grant: Project WRITE (Writing, Reading, Inquiry, and Technology Education). Begun in October 2007, forty teachers have formed a learning community to closely examine student work with the intent of identifying pedagogies and materials that improve adolescent literacy and thoughtful integration of technology. Through professional development that models best practices in English language arts as well as uses of the read/write web, our project-in-process takes an inquiry-based approach to teaching adolescent literacy that, we believe, can lead to greater literacy gains.
Top
|
