Copy of slideshow to Essex iddle School

1. The Digital ClassroomYoung Writers Project Essex Middle School Edge Academy August 25th, 2010

3. A Community of Writers “It has changed how my students communicate.”– Sandra Baker, Essex Middle School

4. Digital Opportunities Student blogs shared with each other Commenting with a purpose No moderation – we trust you will be civil Easy integration of audio and slides Full multimedia integration – slideshows, video, video commenting Web applications easily embedded

5. Real Writers Doing Real Writing Engage: The technology draws students in and gives them purpose – an audience of peers. Connect: Students gain understanding and respect for each other through a supportive “peer-to-peer” learning environment. Learn: Through regular feedback – given and received – students learn from each other.

6. Reading Like a Writer Civil constructive response: What you were thinking, feeling when you red the piece – your reaction to the piece. No assessment, just what you experienced What about the piece connected with your reader? What confused you? Learn to do this in a civil way – honestly and frankly – and another skill will be learned.

7. Exercises, not Assignments In creating community, students need to feel an ownership of the space. “Exercise” instead of an “assignment.” Regular, frequent writing and commenting. Collaborative projects. Risk-taking and greater student control. Incentive to post additional, voluntary pieces. Strong peer-to-peer support

8. The Art of Revision Are my ideas communicated effectively? What are the gaps? Does the reader understand what I wanted to convey? Does my structure work? Have I enough details? Is it compelling?

9. The Art of Polish Is my tone consistent? What are the grammar issues? Did I check the spelling? Punctuation? Did it engage me?

10. Teachers Succeed if: You lose control Your students write more than you can keep up with You rely on student leaders to help You introduce things you don’t fully understand Your students introduce things to you and the class that you don’t understand at all

11. Don’t Lose Sleep There are safety measures within the site. YWP will help you learn and use the site effectively. So will peers at this school. So will your students.

12. End Goal Your learning community will prepare students for the responsibility to be civil in the digital world. EMS & Edge Academy are on the frontier of a transformation of schools. It will happen You already have many demands, “go digital.” This opportunity will provide training, mentoring and support to help EMS and Edge Academy grow as an adaptive learning community.