Teachers Teaching Teachers #129 - Writing in the Digital Age - A special National Writing Project show - 11.12.08

On this special episode of Teachers Teaching Teachers, Paul Allison and Susan Ettenheim -- with Alice Barr, a technology teacher in Yarmouth, Maine -- welcomed to the show a couple of teachers, a couple of Writing Project Directors, and a researcher of Writing Projects. These folks (along with James Shiroff from the Denver Writing Project) will be presenting and facilitating a 2-hour session at the National Writing Project's 2008 Annual Meeting this week. The name of their featured presenation, "Writing in the Digital Age," identifies some of the issues discussed on this podcast.

• Seth Mitchell, high school teacher and Tech Liaison for the Maine Writing Project (University of Maine)
• Sarah Hunt-Barron, middle school teacher, teacher consultant of the Upstate Writing Project in South Carolina and doctoral student at Clemson University
• Rebecca Kaminski, Director Upstate Writing Project in South Carolina and professor at Clemson University, SC
• Felicia George, Associate Director of the New York City Writing Project at Lehman College, NY
• Laura Stokes, Inverness Research in California

We think you'll enjoy this conversation whether or not you are planning to join these folks at the National Writing Project’s Annual Meeting in San Antonio November 20 and 21.

These Writing Project teachers and their colleagues also shared stories about how they support their fellow teachers to further their development in teaching writing in a digital environment. Many interesting ideas about the students’ enthusiasm for writing to real audiences and generating more writing were discussed along with issues that local programs face when offering professional development services to teachers in their area.

Click Read more to see a transcript of the chat that was happening at the same time as the webcast.

20:41:58 SusanEttenheim: hi christina hi paulap
20:44:47 Christina: Hi Susan
20:46:31 paulap: Hi all
20:46:34 SusanEttenheim: hi janice welcome
20:46:40 SusanEttenheim: hi laura welcome!
20:48:00 Janice B: Hi - I am newbie here. How do I hear when they start talking?
20:50:01 Janice B: I am not hearing anything. is there something that I need to do to get sound?
20:50:52 Janice B: can you hear anything?
20:51:01 paulap: Not yet.
20:51:44 Janice B: I am trying to hear the audicons and I cannot hear them play.
20:53:58 Felicia: Hi everyone.  I'm on Skype but I don't hear anyone else.
20:54:11 Janice B: My little speaker was turned off - once I clicked on it, I could hear sounds.
20:54:20 Christina: Janice, usually this streams on Edtechtalk-A
20:54:56 Janice B: Thanks, Christina. Do we need to have the audio in the chat room off?
20:55:10 Christina: I'm not hearing anything either tho
20:55:27 Bill O'Neal: NO stream yet I suppose..
20:55:29 PeggyG: No audio yet
20:55:35 Christina: got it.
20:55:36 Janice B: Is your audio off?
20:55:41 Christina: thanks all! :)
20:56:34 PeggyG: great to see all of you!
20:56:37 Gail Desler: Hi Susan
20:56:45 Gail Desler: Hello PeggyG
20:56:49 RebeccaK: Hi Gail!
20:56:52 Bill O'Neal: Hi All!
20:56:54 SusanEttenheim: hi everyone we'll be broadcasting soon
20:57:06 Gail Desler: Hey there, Bill
20:57:23 PeggyG: Those reassuring words Susan :-) Now we know it's not our audio problem :-)
20:57:46 Bill O'Neal: HI Gail
20:58:10 PeggyG: I can hear you fine :-)
20:59:02 PeggyG: Your voice is louder than all the rest Susan
20:59:06 SusanEttenheim: thanks peggy
20:59:57 Christina: Now I can hear ... can you Janice?
21:00:09 Janice B:  I am sorry to be dense - but all I hear is welcome everytime someone enters.
21:00:16 PeggyG: Susan your voice is perfect. The others are still a bit soft for me.
21:00:35 Janice B: I cannot hear anything else.  Did I leave a step out?
21:00:43 Christina: It's complicated so ... let's figure it out.
21:00:56 PeggyG: @Janice B did you click on the icon for EdTechTalk-A?
21:01:06 Christina: Did  you get an audio player to open?
21:01:09 Janice B: Ok - got it.
21:01:36 Christina: yeah!!
21:01:38 SusanEttenheim: welcome maureen
21:01:47 SusanEttenheim: great everyone! who needs help?
21:01:53 SusanEttenheim: hi lynne welcome
21:02:03 Gail Desler: No sound yet on my end
21:02:09 SusanEttenheim: felicia are you there?
21:02:16 SusanEttenheim: gail is your stream on?
21:02:19 PeggyG: I'm excited tonight. I'm listening to the show and sipping coffee from my new EdTechTalk coffee mug with the wordle on it :-)
21:02:23 Janice B: you have to click on the real audio button
21:02:26 SusanEttenheim: hi ryan welcome
21:02:35 Janice B: or the windows media button
21:02:36 ryanbretag: Hi Susan -- thanks
21:02:44 SusanEttenheim: hi lynne welcome
21:03:00 Lynne: sorry...I got distracted.
21:03:01 SusanEttenheim: gail can you hear now?
21:03:05 SusanEttenheim: hi sher wleocme
21:03:09 SusanEttenheim: sheri
21:03:12 paulap: I'm having a hard time hearing.
21:03:24 Sheri: hello from Sheri
21:03:27 Gail Desler: NO.  I'll ge back in and check my settings
21:03:37 SusanEttenheim: paulap can you turn your volume up? is it too quiet for anyone else?
21:03:57 paulap: I've got the  speaker volume as high as it will go.
21:03:59 PeggyG: What an awesome group of people tonight!
21:04:17 PeggyG: I have my volume up all the way too and it's still a bit soft.
21:04:36 Bill O'Neal: Ooh. I'm attending Writing in the Digital Age. Wow a sneak preview...
21:05:37 Gail Desler: Ah, I've got audio :)
21:05:39 SusanEttenheim: hi sarah welcome!
21:05:47 Sarah S: Hello!
21:06:26 Felicia: Hi I'm on now but my Skype hadn't rung at first. 
21:06:59 paulap: echoing.
21:07:24 SusanEttenheim: felicia you're good you're in the call and whenever you want to speak I'll take you off hold
21:07:25 Gail Desler: Awesome to hear Laura Stokes (who used to be with A3WP)
21:07:53 laura: Hi Gail!
21:07:59 Christina: Hi Joye, Hi Kate!
21:08:00 Gail Desler: HI Laura
21:08:10 Gail Desler: Hey Christina
21:08:19 Christina: Hey Gail, hi Laura
21:08:28 PeggyG: What is the writing project all about?
21:08:29 Gail Desler: HI to Felicia too
21:08:33 kate.leuschke: Hi everyone!
21:09:30 Gail Desler: Hello Joy
21:09:34 PeggyG: Is the use of technology one of the components of the writing project?
21:10:00 Gail Desler: @PeggyG - Definite yes to that question!
21:10:12 Lynne: Peggy, I think writers are always driven to seek out technology.
21:10:17 PeggyG: What happens at the workshops?
21:10:53 Gail Desler: @PeggyG Laura is explaining the WP very well:-)
21:11:00 PeggyG: Is the project based on the premise that teachers need to be writers first before they teach writing?
21:11:01 Lynne: Teachers write and writers teach.
21:11:18 Gail Desler: @PeggyG I've benefitted directly from the NWP Tech Initiative
21:11:24 SusanEttenheim: everyone I've been busy behind the scenes - would you please introduce yourself?
21:11:33 SusanEttenheim: I'm Susan - high school, NYC
21:11:49 Christina: yes, the mission of the writing project ...
21:11:53 PeggyG: Would love to hear some of the personal stories about how people have benefitted from the project. :-)
21:11:54 Lynne: I'm Lynne--high school, Northridge, CA
21:11:58 Gail Desler: Hi I'm Gail Desler from California - Area 3 Writing Project and Elk Grove School Dist
21:12:15 Gail Desler: @Lynne Culp is that you?
21:12:15 paulap: Hi Gail. Paula, from Sabal Palms
21:12:17 PeggyG: I'm a retired elementary principal and university instructor in teacher education
21:12:24 Sheri: Letters to the President!  wowser project for students and tech
21:12:25 PeggyG: Phoenix AZ
21:12:27 Sarah S: Sarah - High School, Maine - Art and Tech Integration
21:12:37 Lynne: ...oh, and I have a 20 year relationship with UCLA Writing Project.
21:12:49 Lynne: Hello, Gail.
21:12:51 Maureen/bcdtech: Doesn't @dogtrax do one of the writing projects in western mass?
21:13:01 PeggyG: good point Alice-more tech people should be lookng at the writing project :-)
21:13:20 PeggyG: @Felics-love your last name! same as mine :-)
21:13:23 Sarah S: @Maureen I think you are right about @dogtrax
21:13:36 Janice B: yes
21:13:39 PeggyG: Felica-can't seem to type tonight
21:13:44 paulap: yes
21:13:51 Lynne: dogtrax is Kevin Holdges. He is very active in the NWP
21:14:15 PeggyG: yes! what IS digital writing? tell us some stories
21:14:25 Felicia: @ Peggy, I'm having trouble multi-tasking being on the broadcast and I seem to have a slow computer
21:14:57 PeggyG: @Felica-I can definitely relate to that! Multi-tasking is such a challenge!
21:15:08 Felicia: There are too many things to manage while your broadcasting.
21:15:26 PeggyG: do you have to deal with blocked tools for writing collaboration?
21:16:02 Sheri: Wiki -- online writing and revising; collaboration with peers; always available for revision 24/7; easy feedback from peers and teacher
21:16:10 Lynne: Yes. We tried to upload videos to a PBS program and it blocked YouTube...limited the participation
21:16:36 Christina: nwp.org -- click on About to read a bit more about the NWP mission (I'm sorry, I can't seem to cut/paste)
21:16:46 Sheri: blocked tools -- a real problem, as is tech availability
21:17:16 PeggyG: @Christina-click and drag the icon by the url to get it into the chat box
21:17:23 Gail Desler: @Lynne Think about uploading videos to the www.k12hsn.org/edzone - great free tool for Calif teachers - supported by CDE - therefore districts cannot block.
21:18:00 SusanEttenheim: christina you can often highlight and then just drag and drop the text in this box even when you can't copy paste
21:18:12 Christina: ah!
21:18:20 PeggyG: is EdZone only for California teachers?
21:18:22 Lynne: Well, it was a collaborative project like Letters2 president...had to use their tools. 
21:18:53 Gail Desler: "composing" vs. "writing" to broaden literacy - I like that!
21:18:55 SusanEttenheim: hi momcginn welcome! please introduce yourself - where and what do you teach?
21:18:57 PeggyG: who teaches the students to use the tools like Google docs?
21:19:02 SusanEttenheim: hi guest! welcome
21:19:11 SusanEttenheim: I do I do Peggy
21:19:25 momcginn: Hi I teach leadership in global corporations
21:19:27 PeggyG: wondered how that happened. :-)
21:19:41 Felicia: t-cs in NYC were working with students and teachers to use google docs for composing
21:19:43 Lynne: Google docs is a huge hit, but Letters2Pres made it so.
21:19:47 Sarah S: I teach them to use them, but we don't do as much collaboratively with them as we could
21:19:52 Sheri: gotta get tech department to agree to use google docs; love google docs;
21:19:57 momcginn: Is there audio on this broadcast?
21:20:05 Felicia: @Lynne, I agree
21:20:15 SusanEttenheim: yes momcginn click on the volume icon
21:20:20 Christina: audio is on edtechtalk
21:20:28 PeggyG: @momcginn-click on the icon for ETT-A
21:20:34 SusanEttenheim: sheri - get your school to become a google apps school
21:20:36 Gail Desler: "Economy of Expression" - another great term
21:20:37 Christina: oops, edtechtalk-A
21:20:41 Felicia: Yes, click on the blue icon under EdTech Talk A in the upper right hand space.
21:20:53 PeggyG: do all of you use Youth Voices for your student writing?
21:20:58 alicebarr: Hi Sarah S :)
21:20:59 Sheri: i'm working on it but tech department is not a teacher; talking to principal
21:21:00 SusanEttenheim: welcome back momcginn
21:21:15 Lynne: I'm using google-docs with my AP Language & Comp class. I want to get the kids on Youth Voices.
21:21:22 SusanEttenheim: it makes everything so easy sheri
21:21:30 Sheri: just found youth voices
21:21:31 SusanEttenheim: yes lynne!
21:21:35 Gail Desler: @PeggyG - I'm supporting a classroom teacher who is bringing his students on board with YouthVoices
21:22:05 SusanEttenheim: hi sue welcome! where and what do you teach?
21:22:09 PeggyG: @Gail-that's great! I'm seeing some great writing by the students on Youth Voices!
21:22:14 Sheri: i'm just starting my students on blogging ;  we use pbwiki now
21:22:15 Gail Desler: @Lynne - would be great to have another CA site involved
21:22:29 Sarah S: Hi Alice - multitasking. Glad to hear you on there.
21:22:31 Sheri: age for youth voices?
21:22:44 Gail Desler: @PeggyG - I'm seeing students posting and responding beyond the school day
21:22:50 SusanEttenheim: sheri - many high school but also some middle and even elementary
21:23:00 Paul Allison: I tell my students there are 2nd graders on Youth Voices.
21:23:04 PeggyG: How do you deal with keeping the writing motivation going when they are limited by access to the computers?
21:23:07 SusanEttenheim: gail any specific examples?
21:23:13 Sarah S: I'm getting lots of posting late at night from home on the individual blogs we're doing.
21:23:17 Sheri: i'm middle school; my students want to compose on the computer on the net to share with the world
21:23:19 Lynne: I've taken first step, but need to sign them up. Looking forward to it
21:23:30 PeggyG: I've noticed those late night posts too. Very impressive!
21:23:31 SusanEttenheim: url sarah?
21:23:50 Sarah S: mssutter.edublogs.org  is the class blog - has all the kid links in the side bar.
21:23:58 Gail Desler: @Susan E - I'll start noting specific examples, but I always checkout the date and time of posts/comments
21:24:16 SusanEttenheim: ahh I see gail
21:24:24 PeggyG: I think some of the guiding questions for the writing really have helped to improve the quality of the blog posts and comments.
21:24:41 Sarah S: I've added the feed for the clas blog to my Youth Voices - I'm going to try to figure out the individual blog feeds for the kids so they don't have to post twice to post to Youth Voices.
21:24:54 SusanEttenheim: yes I love all the response guidelines. - paul has done an amazing job of getting them all together
21:25:03 Gail Desler: @SarahS - Just took a peek at your blog - looks great - will explore in depth a little later
21:25:24 PeggyG: absolutely!! there has been a steady improvement in the quality of the writing
21:25:33 Sarah S: It's a fledgling attempt - definitely a work in progress.
21:25:43 SusanEttenheim: welcome mrslachance
21:25:46 alicebarr: Sarah: Nice job on the blog!
21:25:51 SusanEttenheim: where and what do you teach?
21:25:53 Paul Allison: Sarah we can talk...
21:25:59 Paul Allison: later
21:26:10 mrslachance: Hi.  I'm a technology facilitator in Cabarrus County, NC
21:26:15 Sarah S: @Paul  Sure.
21:26:16 PeggyG: such a good point about keeping the testing off the computers! you'd never get on them!
21:26:30 Felicia: It's been very different for adults.  They are really hesitant about writing in public spaces.
21:26:32 Lynne: Has anyone  really done a quantitative look at kids' writing...
21:27:04 PeggyG: what is a "quantitative" look at kids' writing? what would you quantify?
21:27:30 Gail Desler: @Rebecca - I've been interviewing kids about where they are learning their tech skills ... probably won't be a big surprise, but it's NOT at school
21:27:30 ryanbretag: PEW study shows many students prefering to compose on paper and pen. Is their choice for students to compose in traditional forms before using the technology?
21:27:33 Lynne: Compare how much they write...and the quality with and without computers...
21:27:35 Sue L.: Hi I'm an EdTech freelancer in N.Ontario Canada
21:27:55 Gail Desler: Hello Ryanbretag
21:27:57 PeggyG: @Gail-that is so true!!
21:28:05 ryanbretag: Hi @Gail
21:28:22 Sheri: Instead of blocking kids from the Net, we need to guide them in responsible and ethical use of what is already integral to their lives
21:28:28 PeggyG: @Lynne-that sounds like qualitative rather than quantitative
21:28:29 Lynne: I don't agree that kids know oh-so-much more than adults. They don't know lots and lots about technology.
21:28:49 ryanbretag: @Lynne not quantitative but you can see some results here: http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_Writing_Report_FINAL3.pdf
21:28:49 Gail Desler: Students are telling me that school = MS Office - pretty much nothing to do with their personal connections to technology
21:29:07 PeggyG: kids know how to IM and text but not so much about using collaborative writing tools like Google docs
21:29:27 Sheri: @gail -- so true, the kids use so many online tools as well as texting
21:29:33 alicebarr: Hi ryan bretag. Just saw you here!
21:29:42 ryanbretag: Hi @alice :-)
21:30:11 SusanEttenheim: hi woody!!
21:30:12 momcginn: We have done a warm up exercise with kids and adults like "sudden fiction" done on paper.
21:30:14 Lynne: Kids don't know much about using Microsoft Office. They don't know keyboard commands; they don't know how to format tables or do many of the things that make the program useful. 
21:30:16 Woody Woodgate: Hello
21:30:17 Sheri: Kids live in a public world and have no fear of it.
21:30:23 Gail Desler: "Publishing online to the world daily" - too bad that's not the case in so many classrooms
21:30:27 PeggyG: how do you help the kids transition from text language to "school language" in their writing?
21:30:53 Maureen/bcdtech: @Peggy G I talk to them about audience. It's getting harder tho!
21:30:54 ryanbretag: I think part of the issue with digital writing in school is that much of this talk centers on the teacher or course. Students need their space where there work can grow. This blog for a course and then lose it kills a lot of potential.
21:30:55 Gail Desler: @Woody - All the way from Alaska, no, Woody?
21:31:00 Lynne: Big question....text to school.  It's code-switching.
21:31:08 Sarah S: @Peggy G Set the expectation and accept nothing less - the writing is for academic purposes, so it needs to reflect that style.
21:31:10 momcginn: Then after a few rounds of collaborative writing they move more easily on to google docs and can write collaboratively
21:31:18 Sue L.: Many teachers like to keep the doors closed on their classrooms - their own domain - not open
21:31:27 Sarah S: The kids get the difference between IM and writing for reflective purposes.
21:31:30 RebeccaK: unfortunately, many teachers also do not know how to use Microsoft Office for collaborative writing, etc/
21:31:39 SusanEttenheim: woody please introduce yourself!
21:31:51 Felicia: i guess some of it has to do with the concern for correctness.  Teachers are more concerned about making an error and being judged.  Kids will use short hand, ignore punctuation, etc.
21:31:52 Sheri: I talk to kids about "Leet" (gaming language) that even the gamers consider it impolite to use Leet to those not Leet friendly or in ohter venues as in blogs, etc.
21:32:02 PeggyG: Computers have changed writing a LOT for me. I typed my doctoral dissertation on a typewriter! Ugh!
21:32:11 momcginn: In the corporate environment it is becoming essential to collaborate with remotely located team members.
21:32:15 Lynne: Good point, Rebecca. Things move so fast.
21:32:50 Felicia: school oriented tools as opposed to ???
21:32:58 momcginn: These tools are so very helpful for getting young people ready to create with others in other countries
21:32:59 alicebarr: @momcginn Good point. So students must be able to write well
21:33:01 woody: I am Woody, I live in Alaska,   I used to be a teacher, now I work for the Department of Education
21:33:11 PeggyG: it seems like some of the students you interviewed in the past talked about seeing their personal blogs and/or myspace as very different than their school blogs.
21:33:14 momcginn: Hey Woody!
21:33:25 woody: hi
21:33:36 momcginn: I worked at the Academy of Sciences in Siberia one summer
21:33:40 SusanEttenheim: so glad you're here Woody!!
21:33:44 alicebarr: @peggyG Very clear division between school work and personal stuff
21:33:45 momcginn: just over the pond
21:33:50 SusanEttenheim: what are you doing now?
21:34:07 woody: "I can see Russia"
21:34:11 momcginn: I am teaching conflict resolution at the IMF
21:34:12 woody: ;-)
21:34:17 momcginn: International Monetary Fund
21:34:19 PeggyG: @woody-that's hilarious!!
21:34:36 SusanEttenheim: Woody where are you now?
21:34:46 alicebarr: @momcginn What an interesting job!
21:34:53 momcginn: It is!
21:35:05 momcginn: and boy oh boy a busy one these days.
21:35:06 Felicia: It would be great to capture the questions that Laura is asking.
21:35:15 Gail Desler: @Wood - well no wonder you're now in government, Alaska style;-)
21:35:18 PeggyG: Obama has created a "wish list" for his presidency. Have any of your students contributed writing on that list?
21:35:43 alicebarr: @momcginn so it's between countries or employees?
21:35:53 woody: on the 10th floor in Anchorage preparing for the Alaska Educational Summit.  It is a pretty exciting time and technology is a whole strand for stakeholder discussion over the next two days.
21:35:59 Sue L.: how does school catch up to civil society... more collaboration among teachers more cross-curricular projects, more integrated tech projects
21:36:19 momcginn: It is for teams of economists to resolve conflict internally but of course the skills are universal
21:36:22 PeggyG: have the goals for teaching changed with the addition of technology?
21:36:36 Lynne: Wow. What Laura is saying is so true. How does school catch up. Do teachers have to be subversive?  My school says to use technology, but it really is "on your own" for teachers. My student teachers tell me they have learned from me...than the programs in teacher training. And I just incidentally share things...
21:37:07 Sue L.: how have the goals for teaching changed?... a question back has the assessment of learning changed?
21:37:08 momcginn: In Japan there are people who have published novels written on their cell phones.
21:37:15 Sarah S: Subversive, disruptive, inventive - you name it, we need to go there.
21:37:35 alicebarr: @momcginn. Very interesting! I'll bet every day is different!
21:37:50 Felicia: One difference is that school emphasizes correctness, doing it the right way.  Writing for social purposes doesn't require perfection (usually).
21:37:51 PeggyG: @Lynne-that's really interesting. The student teachers I taught were frustrated because they couldn't use the technology tools they learned about in their program. They knew more than their teachers.
21:38:00 woody: I was reading a great blog that identified that the goal of education has not changed (not the great paradigms atleast), but 2.0 are just new tools for teachers toolbox.
21:38:05 Sheri: My goal: to teach content in ways that include ethical and responsible use in this new very public world  http://askwhatelse.wordpress.com/2008/10/25/fire-it-up/
21:38:08 Gail Desler: @Paul Allison - Bob Levin is letting his students use cell phones (on the sneak) to access YouthVoices - It's been so difficult for him to provide computer access withing his English classes. Computer labs are totally booked for MS Office and drill programs.
21:38:13 momcginn: I don't teach there every day but every few months I am there for a few days
21:38:25 Lynne: One reason to listen here is that Paul and Susan and folks like them show new directions.
21:38:58 momcginn: My interest with this group is that I am helping start a 1 year college for young adults in recovery from addiction.
21:39:15 PeggyG: Liz Kolb offers a lot of suggestions for ways to use cell phones as assignments outside of the school day (because so many schools don't allow cell phones)
21:39:37 momcginn: Creative writing is critical for their ability to find their passion and discover their fire and their voice.
21:39:43 Sue L.: digital storytelling... amplifies a different proportion of the usual writing skills
21:39:46 Gail Desler: @PeggyG - do you have a URL for Liz K's blog/website?
21:39:55 Lynne: The form always changes. We are too much in it to see it very well
21:39:57 PeggyG: Yes-just a minute
21:40:45 PeggyG: http://www.cellphonesinlearning.com
21:40:46 momcginn: Storytelling is now on the list of top leadership skills
21:41:09 Gail Desler: @peggyg Thanks!
21:41:40 PeggyG: Liz also does a radio show every other week on Wed. afternoons where she shares tips and strategies and sites for using cell phones in instruction.
21:42:04 momcginn: The wisdom of crowds ..the group is wiser than the experts
21:42:31 Lynne: Daniel Pink's "A Whole New Mind" is really insightful on the way right brain skills are more effective for the 21st century.
21:42:32 woody: the strength of collaboration
21:43:05 Gail Desler: @Lynne - A agree, a worthwhile read!
21:43:24 PeggyG: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/elikeren  Liz's radio show and the archives are there for previous shows
21:44:20 PeggyG: that sounds like a great strategy, Susan!
21:44:36 momcginn: In our research on global teams (Forum.com) we found that it takes a little longer to get to productivity but the work of diverse teams is far more creative and innovative
21:44:36 PeggyG: think it through interview--great process
21:45:04 momcginn: this discussion on think it through is great..
21:45:19 woody: @Susan - Is this on YouthVoices
21:45:27 PeggyG: it would be fun for them to see their writing in a wordle to see how often they use certain words
21:46:10 PeggyG: I think the responding to other people's writing is definitely happening on Youth Voices
21:46:11 momcginn: go wide vs. go deep
21:46:20 Lynne: Aren't wordles the bomb?
21:46:41 PeggyG: will the presentation next week be streamed so we can tune in?
21:46:43 SusanEttenheim: yes- go to youthvoices.net - join and then go to and join the Youth Plans - you will see the Research under the wiki tab
21:46:49 Sheri: wide vs deep????
21:46:51 PeggyG: @Lynne-I love wordles!
21:47:04 SusanEttenheim: oh yes, I wish we could all join in
21:47:14 SusanEttenheim: next week's presentation
21:47:25 laura: what are wordles?
21:48:11 Sheri: see the world on the sidebar of the edtechtalk page
21:48:22 Gail Desler: @Laura - check out http://wordle.net
21:48:25 Sheri: see the wordle i mean
21:48:31 Sue L.: lost audio...ugh
21:48:32 SusanEttenheim: thank you gail!
21:49:01 Gail Desler: Great way for students to visually analyze a message, speech, etc
21:49:03 Lynne: Laura, there is a sample wordle on EDTech Talk's website. Go to wordle.net and see giant brainstorms...lots of uses. Very fun to make.
21:49:11 SusanEttenheim: sue do you have the sound back?|
21:49:29 PeggyG: there is an example of a wordle on the right side of this page for EdTechTalk
21:50:09 SusanEttenheim: peggy could a student make a wordle from his or her own writing?
21:50:26 alicebarr: http://bobsprankle.com/bitbybit_wordpress/?p=465
21:50:44 Sue L.: no...I
21:50:44 Felicia: What is a wordle?  I must have missed something.
21:50:51 alicebarr: Bob Sprankle's post on Wordle. Cool stuff
21:51:06 Sue L.: I'm getting a message can't connect to server
21:51:30 Sheri: a wordle can be created on any page with an rss f
21:51:36 SusanEttenheim: how are you trying to listen sue?
21:51:42 Lynne: Aah. The old found-poem conundrum, Susan. Can you make a "found poem" from your own writing? 
21:52:25 SusanEttenheim: ahh I have to go look sher thanks!
21:52:33 momcginn: sheri- I meant that sometimes we ask students ( ourselves)  to reach out for a broad harvest of ideas and sometimes we ask them to take one idea and dig down in to the idea by asking questions like what do we mean by X and what are the beliefs we hold about x . It builds mental flexibility and reflectivity.
21:52:34 SusanEttenheim: sheri
21:52:40 PeggyG: http://www.boxoftricks.net/?p=103  this is a neat HS lesson using wordle with newspaper articles for analyzing key points
21:53:02 momcginn: bow wow
21:53:09 alicebarr: @PeggyG Thanks!
21:53:19 Sheri: momcginn thanks
21:53:25 woody: It is possible to use Title II NCLB funds for high quality professional development
21:53:34 SusanEttenheim: speaking of networks, my students were so excieted to tell me that twitter was in the nytimes last week!
21:53:54 Gail Desler: @Thanks peggyG - I follow Jose on Twitter, but missed this lesson on his blog
21:53:59 Lynne: Twitter was in Doonesbury too!
21:53:59 momcginn: Yes it was! It made it onto Science Friday on NPR also
21:54:12 woody: So often, Tech Dirctors only consider eRate and general funds
21:54:18 SusanEttenheim: ohhh thanks lynne I'll have to look for that!
21:54:24 Gail Desler: Twittet in Doonsbury - no kidding?!
21:54:26 SusanEttenheim: hi bill! welcome back!
21:54:43 Sarah S: @woody  you are so right. Too bad, really.
21:54:49 Bill O'Neal: Thanks. Firmware update to a new DVD burner needed restart
21:55:02 SusanEttenheim: laura I was telling the students that it's how ants work!
21:55:20 woody: The speaker is so correct that it is important for the leadership traing
21:55:31 momcginn: There is a great TED.com presentation on how ants work
21:55:45 PeggyG: someone just created a group on Diigo for sharing teaching ideas using wordle  http://groups.diigo.com/groups/wordle
21:55:56 Sheri: love ted talks -- shown some to students
21:55:58 SusanEttenheim: ohh thanks momcginn I'll look!
21:56:31 Lynne: Is the TED with E.O. wilson?  Love TEDs too.
21:56:35 Gail Desler: @PeggyG - thanks for the Diigo resource!
21:56:59 SusanEttenheim: peggy you are an endless source of interesting tidbits!
21:57:03 momcginn: also for those of us who like data..the ted.com presentation by Hans Rosling shows how students created a software called gapminder for animating data
21:57:08 laura: Do you mean the thing that looks like a word-collage?
21:57:11 SusanEttenheim: but good tidbits!
21:57:13 PeggyG: blush-thanks
21:57:41 SusanEttenheim: welcome natalie please introduce yourself!
21:57:54 Sarah S: @momcginn I showed that ted talk to our social studies teacher and she loved it and included it in a lesson that week
21:57:56 PeggyG: that's such a great way to support the teachers!
21:58:16 natalie b: Thanks - Natalie Bernasconi of CCWP here.
21:58:39 momcginn: Yes! google bought gapminder and released it as a google gaget called moving charts
21:58:44 PeggyG: one of my tech director friends in AZ has started streaming her PD once a month so teachers can watch from their own schools or from home. It has been great and teachers love it!
21:58:49 Lynne: Have you seen the Ted with Robert Lang, the math-oregami guy? It's amazing.
21:59:14 momcginn: Lynne that sounds fantastic
21:59:19 Sarah S: @momcginn No Way! I'm so going to find that and play with it. Thanks!
21:59:34 PeggyG: using examples is such a great way to help teachers see the value/purpose of the tool
22:00:16 Lynne: He tells about open source software to design oregami.
22:00:22 Gail Desler: @SusanE - Hey, look what just came into Twitter - http://youthvoices.net/node/2953= posted at 5:58
22:00:33 Felicia: It was great how the Letters to the President coincided with our work with teachers with google docs.
22:00:45 momcginn: gapminder got renamed Trendalyzer for a while and there is still a Trendalyzer site where you can use there data to test the graphing capability
22:00:55 SusanEttenheim: uho gail... can't look while broadcasting.. what is it?
22:01:54 SusanEttenheim: yes yes alice!!
22:02:04 Lynne: Good night, all. It's been fun. I'll be back when I've gotten on Youth Voices!
22:02:10 PeggyG: that link said page not found-is something missing? youthvoices
22:02:16 Gail Desler: @SusuanE a student - one  yours I think, posting beyond the school day
22:02:16 SusanEttenheim: lynne please do!
22:02:33 SusanEttenheim: yikes... what's it about?
22:02:38 SusanEttenheim: ;)
22:02:40 momcginn: Right now companies all across the US are looking for ways to capture the knowledge that is in the heads of all the retiring baby boomers
22:03:00 Gail Desler: @SusanE - It's a poem:-)
22:03:07 SusanEttenheim: user name?
22:03:12 momcginn: Storytelling, writing, digital media are the ways to capture this knowledge
22:03:14 Sheri: I know stuff.   ~ Vet from tthe Postman
22:03:17 PeggyG: this has been so informative! great to hear the personal examples!
22:03:20 SusanEttenheim: my students are starting to get interesting in coming on our show
22:03:23 SusanEttenheim: one of these days
22:03:40 natalie b: so sorry I came late. Thanks for hosting this!!
22:03:43 Gail Desler: @Susan@ - ctai
22:03:53 SusanEttenheim: humm not mine..
22:04:04 PeggyG: what a great point Seth! it IS an exciting time to be a writing teacher!
22:04:07 momcginn: Thanks for this amazing conversation
22:04:10 Sheri: Thanks gotta go to another class chat; thanks for ideas and encouragement
22:04:13 SusanEttenheim: but hopefully soon!
22:04:19 Gail Desler: Ageeng with Seth: it is an exciting time to be a writing teacher
22:04:47 woody: thx Susan, Paul, and speakers.  It was great to be able to listen in again. 
22:04:56 PeggyG: you are all so inspiring! I wish I had teachers like you when I was in HS!
22:05:12 Bill O'Neal: See some of you next week. Remember the Alamo!
22:05:13 SusanEttenheim: we just did a conference a few weeks ago where we had live and online converstation at once just like this
22:05:18 SusanEttenheim: it was interesting
22:05:46 PeggyG: if you can't stream the session can someone do live blogging on CoverItLive?
22:06:14 Gail Desler: @PeggyG - I'll blog the sessions I attend
22:06:35 Felicia: This is a challenging format for sharing and learning - the chatting and live piece.
22:06:35 PeggyG: Thanks Gail. That would be wonderful. Be sure to tweet the link.
22:06:51 Gail Desler: @Peggy - but not live - no Internet connection at the NWP confernc
22:06:57 momcginn: They can discover their voices and their unique contribution ..how marvelous. Could this help students become more visable and more heard at the same time?
22:07:32 PeggyG: how sad! limited connection at conference
22:07:39 Sarah S: Cover It Live takes very little bandwidth.
22:07:56 Gail Desler: Night all
22:08:16 natalie b: Night Gail!
22:08:25 PeggyG: Yes Sarah. Even your students could tune in to the blogging :-)
22:08:32 Gail Desler: Ah, Natalie will I see you in SA?
22:08:41 Sarah S: I've been using it for in class backchannel and group notetaking.
22:08:42 natalie b: Yes!
22:08:44 SusanEttenheim: thanks everyone for joining us tonight
22:08:52 Gail Desler: Super-duper
22:08:53 PeggyG: sounds like a lot of fantastic collaboration!!!
22:08:59 SusanEttenheim: please come every week!
22:09:01 alicebarr: Thanks all! Great show!
22:09:01 Felicia: Another thing to consider, pod casting AM sessions.
22:09:09 Felicia: Good night, all
22:09:14 PeggyG: Wonderful show-thanks to EVERYONE!!
22:09:45 momcginn: g'night all
22:09:47 Sarah S: Great show - good night.
22:09:57 woody: g'night
22:10:06 PeggyG: If you want me to highlight this show in the ETT weekly newsleter this week, send me a short description. It would be awesome to share!
22:11:16 PeggyG: When do you think the show will be archived?
22:11:17 Felicia: I can send you the blurb from the program.  Where do I send it email me at [email protected] @ PeggyG
22:11:42 PeggyG: [email protected] would be GREAT!!! Thanks