Teachers Teaching Teachers #260 - Connecting the Creative Cracks Created by the NWP Makes Project - 8.17.11

Post-Show description: 

On this episode of Teachers Teaching Teachers, we are joined by teachers involved with the NWP Makes Project:

  • Christina Cantrill who works at the National Writing Project as a Senior Program Associate for the NWP Technology Initiative and Digital Is project.
  • Judy Jester, Co-Director of the Pennsylvania Writing and Literature Project at West Chester University and an English teacher in the Kennett Consolidated School District
  • Fred Mindlin, a member of UCSC's Central California Writing Project and a teacher in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District.
  • Sam Reed, a teacher representative and city representative for Teachers’ Institute of Philadelphia (TIP), and Yale National Initiative (YNIT), respectively. He also serves on the advisory council for the Philadelphia Arts and Education Partnership; the Philadelphia Young Playwrights Literary Committee and I has served on the steering committee of the Philadelphia Writing Project

NWP Makes emerges from a partnership between the National Writing Project and Make Magazine and is part of the NWP's Digital Is program.

Many of us could probably find our approaches to learning in this definition from one of the more famous DIY projects, :

The DIY ethic (do it yourself ethic) refers to the ethic of being self-reliant by completing tasks oneself as opposed to having others who are more experienced or able complete them for you. It promotes the idea that an ordinary person can learn to do more than he or she thought was possible. Naturally, a DIY attitude requires that the adherent attain the knowledge required to complete a given task. Without this, DIY is not an effective dogma. The term can refer to "doing" anything at all, including home improvements and repairs, first aid, and creative endeavors. Central to the ethic is the empowerment of individuals and communities, encouraging the employment of alternative approaches when faced with bureaucratic or societal obstacles to achieving their objectives. Rather than belittling or showing disdain for knowledge or expertise, DIY champions the average individual seeking knowledge and expertise for him/herself. Instead of using the services of others who have expertise, a DIY oriented person would seek out the knowledge for him/herself.

Sounds like Teachers Teaching Teachers to us! Enjoy this podcast, and if you find yourself wanting to join these teachers on Youth Voices, please let us know. We would welcome you and your students.

Click Read more to see a copy of the chat that was happening during the webcast.

paulallison: Okay getting set up for tonight's TTT.
fmindlin: hi paul-
fmindlin: waiting for the invite...
SusanEttenheim: hi all
SusanEttenheim: ad -
SusanEttenheim: hi fred
fmindlin: hi susan
SusanEttenheim: my window says offline so I tried to close and open it - is that what you have?
fmindlin: yes, we're gathering in the hngout now
SusanEttenheim: ah ok great
SusanEttenheim: I'll just wait here then
SusanEttenheim: thanks
paulallison: Susan, can you see us?
paulallison: hear us?
SusanEttenheim: just got an ad
SusanEttenheim: o probably
SusanEttenheim: video just came on
SusanEttenheim: yes! looks good
SusanEttenheim: I can't hear but let me check my settings
SusanEttenheim: yes sound!
SusanEttenheim: perfect!
SusanEttenheim: yes can hear and see
SusanEttenheim: oops see and hear you but not the participants
SusanEttenheim: I can hear you paul but not the participants
SusanEttenheim: i see them talking to each other
SusanEttenheim: now I see your screen
SusanEttenheim: see your screen moving
SusanEttenheim: perfect!
SusanEttenheim: you fixed it
SusanEttenheim: I'm watching on the edtechtalk site and it looks and sounds great
SusanEttenheim: yes there's a little echo and feedback
SusanEttenheim: I'll try to listen to see if I can tell where it is
SusanEttenheim: yes Ithink it's better
SusanEttenheim: now
SusanEttenheim: who's outside? :)
SusanEttenheim: I think I may hear crickets?
SusanEttenheim: no you sound fine
SusanEttenheim: enjoying it for sure
Christina: Hi Susan.
SusanEttenheim: Hi Christina
SusanEttenheim: Christina - don't be scared but there's a large bug behind you :)
SusanEttenheim: haha Judy looks way too relaxed
SusanEttenheim: Where is Fred?
Christina: bug?
SusanEttenheim: on the wall ;)
Christina: oh that! Yes ... it's a nice bug :)
SusanEttenheim: ;)
SusanEttenheim: hi Fred
SusanEttenheim: where are you now Judy?
SusanEttenheim: hi darth!
SusanEttenheim: hi Sam
SusanEttenheim: cool
SusanEttenheim: I just got a wonderful book today! At Home with Handmade Books by Erin Zamrzla
fmindlin: sounds cool--Graciela and I are doing woven book covers as a Maker project
SusanEttenheim: Fred can you mute when you type?
SusanEttenheim: you must look at this book!
SusanEttenheim: Fred that's so interesting because one of the reasons I bought this book on bookmaking was to get the instructions!
SusanEttenheim: So helpful to see how others write instructions.
Christina: www.spiralq.org
Christina: Paul disappeared!
Judy: Hi Susan. I'm in Ocean City, NJ
paulallison: coming back soon
SusanEttenheim: wow those are huge beautiful puppets!
SusanEttenheim: It looks like a beautiful evening there Judy - slight breeze and I love the faint sound of the windchimes!
Christina: Paul is back!
SusanEttenheim: sound back
SusanEttenheim: video back
SusanEttenheim: good save
Christina: I'm so excited to hear about this project Sam!
SusanEttenheim: they are huge Sam!
SusanEttenheim: and colorful
SusanEttenheim: I couldn't hear either
SusanEttenheim: but it was short
SusanEttenheim: Are there two schools making the same thing?
SusanEttenheim: maybe they could write instructions and the other group could try it
SusanEttenheim: There were always great conversations when someone asked how someone else made something
Christina: http://makeprojects.com/
SusanEttenheim: christina a good example is the maker faire - how they shared each other's work
SusanEttenheim: Renegade Handmade
SusanEttenheim: let me get the url
SusanEttenheim: that's how I found this fabulous book
SusanEttenheim: I buy stuff at etsy! love etsy!
SusanEttenheim: http://www.renegadehandmade.com/
SusanEttenheim: Youth Voices showing images of the things made will be great
SusanEttenheim: then others will write and say - awesome - how did you make that?
SusanEttenheim: Fred - have your students "google" themselves and you will be shocked about what sports teams put online
SusanEttenheim: and no one questions that
SusanEttenheim: because they are proud of the sports
SusanEttenheim: so once they publish work to be proud, it may have context
SusanEttenheim: teachers network used to have grants then they also had adapter or was it adopter grants too
Christina: we lost Judy!
SusanEttenheim: oh this book has a way to make books from seed packages!!
paulallison: title again?
Judy: Somehow I got dropped from the hangout. I'm trying to get back in.
Christina: I love the chimes, Judy :)
Christina: I missed them when you dropped off.
Judy: They're great. Aren't they?
SusanEttenheim: sorry had to step away for a sec - phone
SusanEttenheim: the book is
SusanEttenheim: At Home with Handmade Books by Erin Zamrzla
SusanEttenheim: and I found out about it from an email from Renegade Handmade
Christina: (for transparency: I am on the board of Spiral Q so I'm pretty excited here I have to say! :)
SusanEttenheim: great website!
Christina: the transmedia work around this is really interesting
SusanEttenheim: ah The Jewish Museum in NYC does that too
SusanEttenheim: let me see if I can get a link for you
SusanEttenheim: nope don't see it but that makes sense
SusanEttenheim: I think Youth Voices would be better because they will see each others' projects
SusanEttenheim: When my students posted Flash movies a few years ago - even though it was just bouncing balls, other students wrote and asked how they did it
SusanEttenheim: showing pictures of the things are cool
SusanEttenheim: my old principal used to say you can't expect someone to want to make brownies unless you let them taste them first
SusanEttenheim: so they could share videos of making these things and that could generate interest
Judy: That's a great analogy, Susan.
SusanEttenheim: she was a master at those Judy - she also used to say I had to show students the brakes before I put them in the car and said drive :)
SusanEttenheim: Assign a student photographer and let one student interview another as they are working.
Judy: Good idea.
SusanEttenheim: Judy and Fred - do you have any video or image documentation. I think that would be really enticing
SusanEttenheim: Fred - my students would look at Chris Sloan's projects and they would say - yes, we'd like to do that too - even when I thought it wasn't for us...
SusanEttenheim: and then they felt like they "won" and we
SusanEttenheim: we'd do it and then share
Judy: I can put together some thing very rudimentary to try it out.
SusanEttenheim: and don't underestimate how students themselves will come up with adjustment idease
SusanEttenheim: ideas
Christina: here's a link: http://youthvoices.net/node/21653
SusanEttenheim: I think it could be like a cookbook
SusanEttenheim: you can look for a specific food or just ideas
Christina: ah, a cookbook!
SusanEttenheim: I love my cookbooks and sometimes I'm in the index and sometimes I'm browsing
Christina: the thing with a cookbook is that there are ingredients like in making anything.
SusanEttenheim: yes so sometimes you have the ingredients and sometimes you are interested in the recipe but have to make substitutions - also interesting :)
Tommy Buteau: Hi everyone. I was thinking of a project that might fit in with the nature photography mission you mentioned. Tommy Buteau
SusanEttenheim: hi tommy
SusanEttenheim: what project?
SusanEttenheim: That would be a great mission for the photography channel
Tommy Buteau: Basically doing a quick nature walk outside the building, and taking photos with phones of anything students feel a connection to.
Tommy Buteau: Then, they would connect that to Transcendentalism.
Tommy Buteau: Could use evernote to submit the photos by a text.
SusanEttenheim: congrats Paul!
Tommy Buteau: Thanks all.
SusanEttenheim: September!
SusanEttenheim: back at the Queens Museum
Christina: Thank you Susan!
Christina: Thank you Dave and Jeff too.
SusanEttenheim: oops night all
Christina: good night