Writing With Technology

I was scheduled to present writing and digital publishing I Am From poems at PLWP graduate class, Writing With Technology, last night.  But, I got snow bound (at home) 50 miles north of St. Joseph. Dr. Jane Frick, PLWP director and instructor, and I scrambled throught email and phone calls so that the class could go on. Weather 50 miles south was not good, but most of the teachers taking the class were present.  Most of the resources and materials are stored here.  Writing into the evening was Day In a Sentence. Participants were concerned about posting their sentence on this blog so I got them via email.  I also received their reflections of Pierce’s article via email.  I have permission to post them here.  It seems tough to be a cheerleader for blog responding from 50 miles away.  I truly enjoyed the evening of emails from those at the class.  It also gave me a chance to respond to their sentences, reflections and drafts of poems.  If you haven’t read Pierce’s article about using I Am From poems to teach multicultural lessons it is a short read.  See post on this blog.

Now that I have posted information for this class I realize it is in a backward order.

Go to the Feb 8th Post and follow the information there.

Writing into the day/night.  Do the Day in a Sentence post. Respond to this post using the comment feature.  If no one has comment you will see No Comment below the post.

Follow this by the other information found in the Feb 8th post.

Sometime during the evening read Kathryn Pierce’s information and respond to that post using the comment feature.

I am not happy with the format of the poem below, but that seems to be the nature of this post.

I Am From

I’m from the Millers of Sweden, Wiederholts of Germany,

Farnans and Bradys of Ireland.

From the farm near Conception Abbey,

Still in the family since 1895.

From family values, hard work, and strong faith.

I’m from Miller’s hill.

Perfect for sledding except for submerged glacial erratics.
Wildcat creek bridged with whispering weeping willows.
A dirt road of fine silky loses soil for bike riding.

Clamp on roller skates on a maple tree root bumpy sidewalk.

I am from bare-toes rain-dancing in squishy mud.
Tanned freckled skin.
Open window air conditioning.
No electricity before 1948.
No boredom–“Get a hoe or pickup rocks”.

I am from quiet walks at twilight.

Serenades from mama cows and bullfrogs.
Predicting rain by moon rings.
Green pastures, long corn rows, velvety leafed soybean fields.
“It’s purdy green” in the hay field to “Let’s get this baled before dark.”

I am from wood heat–you cut it, carry it and burn it.
Home grown, processed green beans, tomatoes, corn, and beef.
Fun times on a dead tree log or a refrigerator box.
Kittens in the boot box and baby calves with wet curly hair.
Cell phones and PDAs in tractors.
GPS system for planting, and harvesting.

Giant electricity generating windmills.

Follow the link http://www.learner.org/workshops/tml/workshop4/teaching2.html to Kathryn Mitchell Pierce’ discussion about using I Am From poems.  Use the comment feature for this post to write your response and reflections.

How/why does Pierce use the I am from poem first in her classroom?

In getting students to realize specific characters and their place in a book, how does Pierce use revisiting textural evidence in a book?

Could you see yourself using this in your classroom? How and what book would you use?

Boil down your week or your day into one sentence. Use the comment feature on this post to write your sentence.

Below is my sentence.

My glazed glance lingers longingly on the solidified snow drift wondering if my savory salad garden will get planted before June.

Here is the latest collection of a day in a sentence from NWP teachers. 

http://prezi.com/pzrkahz0ygns/ Day in a sentence.

Snow has me stranded 50 miles north of MWSU.  We will try to do this class via this blog and the PLWP wiki at http://plwp.wetpaint.com/page/PowerPoint+How+To+Version+2003+and+2007

 Day in A Sentence prompt. See Day In A Sentence Post.

Boil down your day or week into a sentence and use the comment feature on the blog to write your day in a sentence.

Read the wwt I am from poem prompt on the blog. 

Follow the link to George Ella Lyon’s web site.  Read her poem.

Read the information from Jane’s handout below other resources from Writing to Change the World.

Fill in the Brain Storming Ideas document I have attached. Find it on the blog also.  It is difficult to read on the blog.

Collect 5 to 7 images that may go with your Brain Storming ideas.  These may be from any of the image resource sites found in Writing With Technology Feb. 8^th at http://writingwithtechnology.edublogs.org or photos you may have taken yourself.  Be sure to cite the images you collect from the Internet sites.

Look at Michele’s poem at http://www.missouriwestern.edu/plwp/wtca/examples.htm

Look at the piece by Addie’s piece called Did You Ever? At http://www.missouriwestern.edu/plwp/wtca/examples.htm

The parts of this blog we will be using for the Feb. 8th class are towards the end of the list of pages with the prefex wwt.  You may want to read the page with the Feb. 8th date before class.  I really hope the snow that is predicted will not materilize becasue I am looking forward to the class. And I am tired of snow. 

See our snow drifts at http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=snow&w=98051105%40N00

Mary Lee

How do you feel about the information regarding peeps use of the web?  Should future employers use the web to check out a new possible hire?  Should we as teachers be more aware of our own use of Web 2.0 opportunities?  Is it our job to remind students that their footprints on the web are kind of permanent?  Should we be teaching them more academic ways to use their digital native born talents?

Just a reminder that you will need to email me your reflection paper or you unit lesson plan.

Take a moment to reflect.  What did I learn today?  Is there a way to use it in my classroom?  OR Do I just know a little bit more about what my students seems to get excited about?  Please type your first name at the end of your comment.