Can we harness the power of social media to provide students with a vehicle for exploring and creating original content? WA Mash (Worcester Academy Mashup) is an online magazine where the power of social media is captured to provide creative writing students with a platform for exploring ideas and fostering and contributing to the larger global conversation. By exploring the possibilities offered by the use of social media tools, we explore how one teacher is defining the New Humanities at the secondary school level. Built off the work of Richard E. Miller at Rutgers University, students blog in a timely fashion about a wide variety of cultural, political and economic issues. Most importantly, it is about creating original content and redefining the role of student and teacher. They compliment their work with audio, video, photos and micro-blogging by integrating social media tools like YouTube and Vimeo, Twitter and Flickr. Think Slate or Salon for high school. The conversation will explore the nature and role of the New Humanities in education. How do we define it? What does it look it? What role does it play? And how do we move forward with implementation?

2. So how do we educate our students for success
in the Web 2.0 world?

3. Old School Creative Writing
• Genre based instruction
• Anthology of work as primary
text/resource
• Student work not published
• Blogging/Journaling
• Assessments were traditional,
rubric based
• Mostly fiction, poetry etc.
• Workshop style with peer edit,
peer review process
• In depth study of literary
elements and terms as vehicle
for creation

4. And then......

6. What do you want to communicate?

7. To whom do you
want to
communicate that
message to?

8. How best do we communicate that
message?

9. Can we harness the power of social media to provide
students with a vehicle for exploring and creating original
content?

10. What is the basis for thinking about the New Humanities?

11. A Personal Paradigm Shift
• Rutgers University Center for the New Humanities & work of Richard E. Miller
• “Possible for people to communicate instantly and globally through
technology. English is a discipline that excels at human expression and the
study of human culture related to expression.”
• “We (humanities teachers) should be the place that’s at the very cutting edge
of education for students in these areas.”
• “Multimedia composition; not only is it important for students to be able to
excel in the use of verbal and written language as a means for
communicating ideas, but they must also be able to excel in the use and
manipulation of visual images. That is what it NOW means to compos

12. Why should schools rethink they way they teach
traditional humanities subjects?

13. MIT TechTV New Media Literacies
http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/newmedialiteracies

14. MIT TechTV New Media Literacies
http://techtv.mit.edu/collections/newmedialiteracies

15. What is the purpose of school? EduCon 2.1
• Creativity, Collaboration and Courage
• Schools should be a place where students generate ideas rather than just
regurgitate them.
• Ability to try out new ideas and test creative ideas.
• Fostering new humanities rich environments where teachers can help
“capture and harness student energy in order to shape it.”
• Provide opportunities for students to convey concepts and original ideas
through thoughtful, technology rich collaboration opportunities.
• “Schools should be about communication.”

16. WHAT IS THE WA MASH?

17. WHAT IS THE WA MASH?
The Worcester Academy Mashup

18. Explore The WA Mash
http://wamash.antonioviva.com

19. The Birth of The WA Mash

21. Our Process Was Organic
• Sir Ken Robinson “Are Schools
Killing Creativity?”
• KSU “Vision of Student Today”
• Modeled after Salon.com and
Slate.com, Huffington Post
• We did not stick to any specific
game plan or prescribed syllabus
• Did not use a traditional text book

22. Our Primary Publishing Tools
wamash.com
MashTube
MashPics
MicroMash
FacebookMash

23. MashTube

24. Three Words to the World

25. Three Words to the World

26. YouTube Hits Since September 2008

27. YouTube Hits Since September 2008

28. YouTube Hits Since September 2008

29. YouTube Hits Since September 2008

30. YouTube Hits Since September 2008

31. YouTube Hits Since September 2008
1387

32. Video Essay on “Poverty”

33. Video Essay on “Poverty”

34. MashPics

35. MicroMash

36. FacebookMash

37. MixedInk - A new experiment in collaborative writing
www.mixedink.com

39. Stay Connected!!
Antonio Viva
Associate Head of School
Email – antonioviva@me.com or antonio.viva@worcesteracademy.org
Twitter – twitter.com/antonioviva
Skype – antonioviva
iChat – antonioviva@mac.com
LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com/in/antonioviva
del.ici.ous – delicious.com/antonioviva
Facebook – profile.to/antonioviva/
Blog – antonioviva.com
EDSocialMedia Contributor – www.edsocialmedia.com
Student Work – wamash.com