Skype: brian.

kelley925

Email: bjk925@gmail.com

The Big Picture

Bringing mentors into your classroom through videoconferencing tools such as Skype, iChat, and Google+. Student anxiety is reduced when they come to understand that everyonestudents, teachers, professional writershas to work hard when they sit down to write. Kelly Gallagher

PAWLP Summer 2011 Check out this resource

http://education.skype.com
Skype in the classroom is a free global community where teachers from around the world post ideas or ads for lessons to share with another class. A great way to get your feet wet! Example 1: Every year my 8th grade communication arts class participates in the VFW Patriot's Pen essay and I thought it would be cool to have a skype discussion on this year's theme, "Are You Proud of Your Country?" Example 2: In my 12th Grade AP Literature and Dual-Enrolled English classes, I would like to set up student-led Socratic Seminars with other classrooms. My goal would be to read some common novels and then allow the students to discuss the novels classroom-to-classroom with the students generating the conversation.

Inviting Mentors In
Ive learned that there is great value in using video conferencing (Skype, iChat, and now Google+) to create an environment where mentors are accessible for students and you are no longer the best writer in the class. However, like any other teaching tool, we have to plan and our students have to writebefore, during, and after the experience. Today, I focus on Skype, yet new options always arise. On Friday, Twitter chatter arose questioning whether the new Google+ will quickly overtake and defeat Skype as the videoconferencing tool of choice. On page 2 I share student feedback from their experiences with videoconferencinga wide range of the highs and lows. A list of the specific questions my students asked the authors is included on page 3 to show you what was important to them. Conferring with authors through Skype has allowed for a mentoring mode with the depth and respect I could never simulate alone, but had hoped for from the beginning.

Plan Ahead with your Students

The most enjoyable and powerful experiences with video conferencing occurred when we brain-stormed a list of questions ahead of time, discussed some of the key issues found in our own questioning, and rehearsed our ideas through writing.

Blog: http://walkthewalkblog.blogspot.com/

Twitter: _briank_

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July 6, 2011

We are teaching more than writing.

Honest student feedback from their experiences with my experiment.
Skype helped because we were talking to an actual person instead of just reading a paper about writing we were hearing it from people who have actually experienced it themselves. I think these Skypes with the authors also raised my confidence. Skype affected my participation by helping me understand what real authors go through when they are out in the world, and not getting help from a teacher in a classroom. Suddenly a writer was there, like my friend. If I didn't know where to go with a story or what to do next I could easily think back and remember the author's advice. The chats made my writing easier because I could think back to them. I think that the interactive nature of Skype affected my participation in a negative way. Talking to an adult who seems to be so accomplished is a bit intimidating for me, because I am shy, and I did not ask questions. Personally, I was comfortable Skyping with the authors, but many of my friends were nervous. Lastly, they helped me want to write even more because their love of writing influenced me so much. I was not very active in participation. I just didn't feel comfortable with the idea of talking to a stranger in front of a class of students. In the back of my mind, something was going to go wrong. However, the interactive nature of Skype really got some questions that I had answered, that one of my fellow classmates had asked. I did notice a great impact on my writing from the great advice the authors offered. The interactive nature of Skype positively affected my participation because instead of being a shy boy like I am in class, I often asked a question. I daydreamed about being a writer.

Passion remains the most important quality the mentor has to offer. Ralph Fletcher
When I wrote my essays, I have often thought back to the author chats and the advice authors gave me. I don't think they ever really did [help]. I didn't listen that much cause after a while they just sort of all said the same thing and it was redundant. The author chats also inspired me to improve my work because we were talking to people who were so enthusiastic about what they were talking about. It also made it easier to retain the information because it was like having a conversation with somebody.

The advice given to us from the authors really made me realize that I have to be dedicated in my work and cant slack off.

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July 6, 2011

What mattered to my students

Our classrooms are filled with students desperate for adults who care about writing and books as much as they do. Ralph Fletcher

Do you use intentionally use image patterning (recurring images)if so, what effect are you hoping for when you do it? What happens when a subplot takes over a story? Do you let it? How difficult is it to shift Point of View in a story and still be clear and on track. Are you hesitant to write about any topicsare any off limits? Have you ever written anything that made you uncomfortablewhat did you do? Keep going? Stop? How do I allow my own writing style to come out if I have to follow a lot of rules of writing? How long does it take you to plan out a book? How do you plan? How you use journals or outlines? How do you create a villain or antagonist?

When you write through another person's eyes? Is there a technique, a frame of mind you have to be in? What helped you develop or find your style which some reviews describe as poetic? How can I find something to write about in a community like this? Nothing ever really happens. How often do you have to research something while you are writing? When do you know your character or any action is believable? Who helps you with your writing? Do you ever get discouraged? Are you ever emotionally affected by what you write, as you write? What do you when you are in the middle of a story and you don't know where to go with it? When incorporating personal experiences, is it all factual? do you elaborate?

Do you share your writing with others before it is donedo you have any advice for us when we share our writing with each other? How much rejection should we expect if we want to be writers? When do you know you are done editing?

The digital response is a face-to-face response. Troy Hicks

Do you have stories or essays youve written which you think are pretty good but no one else seems to? How realistic is it that someone can become an author?

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July 6, 2011

Mattered continued
Weve heard setting can help tell a storyhow aware are that you are using setting? Do you think selfpublishing online is a good idea for a teenager? If Id like to be a working writer someday, are there things I should be doing now and in high school? What does write to an audience really mean? How do I target an audience when I dont know where Im going? Are there any books out recently which you think are well-written? What is the best advice you ever received about writing? Do you belong to any writing groupsdo you think that works? Should I use my personal experiences in my essays? Can you share something you are working on now and a problem you have worked through? How many years did you write and fail before selling your first story or novel? How do you research? Do you travel to locations when you write about a particular place? Is there a writing exercise you can remember doing which you really enjoyed or found helpful? How important is it to write everyday, or write in the same place at the same time? Can you tell me an unusual place or circumstance that inspired an idea in you? What is something you would find difficult to write or read? Do you ever quit on your writing? What is a book that made you emotional? How should I spend some time this summer if I really truly want to be a writer? Have you ever needed to apologize to someone because of what you wrote?

they begin to understand the ways that other writers work, thereby adding to the strategies that they might be able to use on their own. Troy Hicks
Is there a book or person who influenced your life or your decision to tell stories? Weve heard that it is a writers job to be cruel to their character...what does that statement mean to you? What are you readingwhat should I be reading?

Technical and Pedagogical Considerations

Have you checked with your school or districts technology services specialists to ensure that your schools internet connection can successfully handle the demands of a synchronous videoconference? If you are planning on bringing a digital guest speaker into your classroom, have you checked with your principal and followed your school or districts policies for using guest speakers in a lesson? Have you created a Skype / iChat / or Google+ user account? Have you downloaded the application to the computer that you plan to use for videoconferencing? Have you installed a webcam on the computer that you plan to use for videoconferencing and tested your webcam for audio and video quality? Have you added your digital guests to your [Skype] contact list and run a short test call with them to ensure that your [Skype] connection will be free of bugs or glitches? If you are planning on presenting to your entire class, have you reserved a LCD projector so that your students will be able to easily see your digital guests? If you are planning on allowing small groups of students to conference with peers or experts, have you found a quiet location with an internet connection for Skype conversations to occur?

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July 6, 2011

Technical cont.
Are you planning on recording this video conference? If so, have you sought guidance and support from your school or districts technology services experts?

How to find authors

I sent a personal but brief email to many authors by Googling author names online. Be prepared, but many mainstream authors (J.K. Rowling) have not yet agreed to videoconference or personally responded to me. Many compassionate, successful, and highly decorated authors do videoconference and personally respondquickly! Sadly, in my experience, male authors were the most difficult to access and the least friendly to me. Many authors keep a website and often they list a contact email. In my email I am certain to include a specific goal for the videoconference (i.e. character development) and I asked what they would require for compensation. I also made it personal by explaining my passion for writing and working with young writers. Read the forward or afterward of authors you like. Often they thank people who helped them along the wayoften, other authors. I found several friendly and excellent resources by digging. Authors who worked with me in 2010 Jessica Burkhart Mitali Perkins Lizabeth Zindel Kathi Appelt Christina Gonzalez Gayle Forman Irene Latham Jacqueline Kelly Kimberly Willis Holt Megan Crewe Sarah Albee Pam Bachorz Christina Meldrum As an aside local author/journalist Mark Bowden visited our school in 2010 for a large assembly on writing.

Pedagogy

We must speak to our students with an honesty tempered by compassion: Our words will literally define the ways they perceive themselves as writers. --Ralph Fletcher

Do your students have enough background knowledge on the topic of your videoconference to be effective participants? Are the purpose and the desired outcome of your videoconference clear to your class? Have you created handouts to structure student thinking before, during and/or after your videoconference? Have you developed a plan for allowing students to debrief and to process what they have learned once your videoconference has ended? Do your students have the kinds of discussion skills necessary to participate in collaborative conversations? How will you handle shy students or students who want to dominate discussion? Have you given students the opportunity to practice engaging in collaborative conversations with one another? Do you have a plan for what you will do when technological disaster strikes which will make these unexpected moments less stressful? Will you ask students to take some guided notes during the chats? Do your students know to introduce themselves? Look and listen into the camera while their guest is speaking? Do they know to say thank you after their question is answered?

When the important people in our lives are readers, we tend to read. When our community talks books, we talk books. We want to be part of our group, and our ability to support others and explain our own stance secures our place in that community. Jane Hansen

Young writers want to be listened to. They also want honest, adult responses. -Nancie Atwell

An Important Perspective Regarding Videoconferencing Compensation

Numerous teachers have been asking for free online chats with authors, but it cant go on for long. Itll start taking authors away from their primary work of writing books, and doing a lot of work for no compensation will, in the long run, end online chats with authors. As a publicist, I have no problem with doing free publicity up to a point but, frankly, if it continues to the extent it has, I will be forced to advise my authors to stop doing them. Royalties associated with online chats is minimal. If we cant earn a living, theres just no point. My apologies for going on at length about this, but Im hoping you will impart this information to the teachers you are working with. Id hate to see something thats really affordable die out completely because everyone thinks it should be free. *note: sent to me in an email by a publicist

Resources
"Digitally Speaking/Videoconferencing." Digitally Speaking. PBworks, May 2011. Web. 30 Jun 2011. <http://digitallyspeaking.pbworks.com/w/page/17791583/Videoconferencing>. Fletcher, Ralph. What a Writer Needs. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 1993. Print. Gallagher, Kelly. Teaching Adolescent Writers. Stenhouse Pub, 2006. Print. Hansen, Jane. When writers read. Heinemann Educational Publishers, 1987. Print. Hicks, Troy. The Digital Writing Workshop. Heinemann Educational Books, 2009. Print Richardson, Will. Literacy in the Digital Age. Corwin Pr, 2007. Print. Varlas, Laura. "Teachers Show Their Skypes." Education Update: Role Models 53.7 (2011): n. pag. Web. 30 Jun 2011. <http://www.ascd.org/publications/newsletters/education-update/current-issue.aspx>. Wood, Katie. Study driven: a framework for planning units of study in the writing workshop. Heinemann Educational Books, 2006. Print. Writing, National, Dnielle Nicole, Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, and Troy Hicks. Because Digital Writing Matters: Improving Student Writing in Online and Multimedia Environments. Jossey-Bass, 2010. Print.