Category: Writing
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What I’ve Done on Summer Vacation (So Far)
Over the past few weeks, I have had the good fortune of facilitating our 2013 Chippewa River Writing Project and participating in a number of Google Hangouts where I have talked about my new book, Crafting Digital Writing. I’ve gathered all those videos up and posted them on a page of the book’s companion wiki.…
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NWP Crafting Digital Writing Webinar
Thanks to my many friends and colleagues who joined in our conversation yesterday about my new book, Crafting Digital Writing, as well as the professional development experiences that they are creating this summer around the book. It is both exciting and humbling to know that so many other writing project sites are engaged in these…
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Digital Writing (ala Chromebook)
Over the past year or so, I have been asked more and more often about my opinion on Chromebooks, and I want to offer an informed opinion. I know that many educators have taken up the conversation on Chromebooks, especially Joe Wood. Also, so I have some base of knowledge from which to speak and because…
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Reflections on CMU’s High Impact Teaching Academy
Last fall, I joined CMU’s High Impact Teaching Academy with the specific goal of rethinking the approach to teaching my methods course, ENG 315: “Writing in the Elementary and Middle Schools.” While I am unable to present my final project in person this week, I did want to share three components of my refined approach:…
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Q/A from “Technology and Education” Session
A number of undergraduate students presented today at Central Michigan University’s first annual conference on English studies, “Movement, Mobility, and Migration.” One particular session at the end of the day had a great Q/A, and I tried to capture some notes here from the “Technology and Education” forum. A few of the ideas that we…
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Crafting Digital Writing
So pleased to announce that Crafting Digital Writing: Composing Texts Across Media and Genres was officially released today by Heinemann. Here is the text from the back cover: “We have an opportunity to help this generation define itself on its own terms. The question is no longer whether or not we should use technology to teach writing;…
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Preparing for IRA 2013
This week, I travel to San Antonio for the International Reading Association’s Annual Convention. This is my first trip to IRA, and I was fortunate enough to be invited by Julie Coiro to help facilitate the pre-conference institute entitled, “Using New Technologies to Engage Readers and Encourage Student Voices.” My portion of the institute will…
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Out Like a Lamb, On to the Showers
Well, March certainly treated me like a lion would — full of travel, committee obligations, teaching, and lots of writing for some upcoming chapters — and I’m happy to say that this final weekend was much more lamb-like. That said, tomorrow I jump into the April showers, and when it rains it pours. Here are…
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A Few Thoughts for Pre-Service Teachers on Standards and Standardized Tests
This week, a colleague invited me to share some brief thoughts about standards and standardized testing with her preservice teachers in a private discussion forum for her class. I composed this quickly, but I hope that it has something to say for those of us who are interested in teaching writing, authentic writing, and substantive…
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What Have We Learned from Digital Learning Day
The tweets have slowed to a trickle. The webcasts are all archived. And the proclamations about the power of digital learning are a distant memory in our multi-tasked lives. Digital Learning Day 2013 is in the books. The post that follows is, really, in two distinct parts. First, I summarize my cynical vision of what…