Workshop Schedule

• Exercise: 6-word short-stories: go to digitalteachers.net/BLC11 and create 6-word short stories in the widget in the right sidebar. Reflections? (10)

The end goal of any writing assignment should be: How do we get the best work to a larger audience? In the case of six-word stories, YWP has done several things:

• 6x6x6 We had a contest for 6-word stories, 2,500 submissions, chose 20 and worked with the Vermont Midi Project to have a 15-year-old student write one-minute orchestral interpretations of 6 stories that were then performed by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra (5)
• Vermont, Jan. 1, 2110 We had students, again, submit 6-word lines about what Vermont would look like in January 1, 2110. We then had 8 students (one was a college student who served as editor) create an interwoven performance piece, hired a drama coach and had the kids perform four shows at First Night. (5)

My Story Exercise, Part I (15)

• Exercise: Create a blog entry; Give it a title and choose the TAG -- My Story. In 7 minutes jot down memorable moments in your life. Don't edit. Don't think about it too much, these are intended as lists, as reminders. This is brainstorming. When you are done, read the list of the person next to you and comment on what interests you most.

Magical Mystery Tour #1 (15)

• Exploration in science
• First sentences: examples ... A teacher's guide
• A phrase prompt: If only I had taken the bus
• Responses to literature
• Reflections from H.S. Teachers. Some examples from one of those teachers.

A major way audience is solidified, community building grows and learning deepens is with commenting. Some examples of some remarkable communities of writers.

• Hartford Middle School -- using 'extra' tag, permitting organic and more directed commenting, changing curriculum, supporting with discussion, journal books, etc. 
• Peoples Academy
• Shelburne Community School

Discussion and report back -- Break up in groups of 4 to talk about how you create audience and build communities of writers in your classrooms. Group discussion (15)

My Story Exercise Part II (25)

• Excercise: Pair up with the person next to you and discuss each other's list and comments. Help each other focus on ONE story to focus on. ... After 10 minutes, return to your My Story blog, which will be the list; click edit and in the body, but ABOVE, your list, write the story of one of those memorable events. Tell it so that we learn something about you. Write fast; don't worry about being perfect. You will have 15 minutes.

Reflections and discussion (5)

BREAK (10)

• Excercise: Writing from images.This is a progressive exercise; any single part could be done by itself.

• 1. Flickr show – As the photos appear in the slideshow, write down (pencil and paper) the words that immediately come to mind; do NOT edit, just write. We'll go through the slideshow twice. Reflections? (5)
• 2. Five Card Flickr Instructions ...Activity (10)
• Photo prompt with instructions. Look at the photos, choose one, write about it. Then comment on one person. (15)

As reference, you are welcome to use any of our photo collections:

Magical Mystery Tour #3 (10)

• Ah, peanut butter
• I am nobody
• Homework
• Who do you think you are?
• Asperger:
• This I believe
• Frank Glazer

• Exercise: Podcast your My Story piece. You have several options. (20)
  • Record directly to your computer, using Audacity or another sound program. Conver it, if necessary, to an .mp3 file. Instructions.
  • Record to a digital recorder and upload as .mp3. (We have several to borrow if you'd like during the workshop.)
  • Use ipadio.com To do this you will need a phone (all phones, except a rotary dial phone, will work) AND easy access to your email. Go to ipadio.com, create an account (our country code is 1, so whatever number you put in there will be  +1[areacode][phone number] ... you'll then need to confirm the account via email which will give you the NUMBER you call to create an ipadio podcast and the PIN number. Once you've dialed in, recorded yourself and hung up, you can go to ipadio.com, log in and download your "phonecast." Then upload it to your blog.

If you have another photo of yourself you'd like to load with the story, upload it in the Images section.

• Newspaper Series -- We have, frankly, lost accurate count of how many submissions we have received in 5 years but we know that it is more than 25,000. Each school year we work with kids and teachers to develop prompts and then schedule them: Here's an example:  http://youngwritersproject.org/node/52713 We receive anywhere from 100 to 400 in a given week. We will be publishing in 11 newspaper, Vermont Public Radio and Vermont Public Television next year. An index of what we published this year http://youngwritersproject.org/taxonomy/term/18624
• Vermont Public Radio -- We have begun to publish a weekly piece and podcast (when available) on vpr.net with the idea that we will get back to regular student radio pieces on air. An example: http://www.vpr.net/episode/51364/
• Performance pieces: One of our Monthly Poetry Slams   or  our Vermont 2110 Performance
• Special projects have include a student orchestra's performing tour of China that included a live blog, a two-part radio series, a magazine article and a television documentary.
• YWP has ongoing "publication" of student work as news or events warrant, such as the death of Osama Bin Laden which resulted in postings, debate and publication of excerpts on an entire newspaper editorial page.
• Our Anthology. We assemble the very best of the best each year. We also created an e-zine version using scribd.com

Some other thoughts to get you going:

A movie created with a phone

And just about the best little digital story I've ever seen by a kid

YWP's next horizons?

• In schools where there are classrooms with communities of digital writers, how can we help the teachers expand the sharing schoolwide and then to the community by creating spaces where community members and students can write together?
• How can we establish partner schools to write with Vermont students? We are exploring pairings with schools in Bogata, Columbia; Uganda, India and Indonesia. Perhaps some of you would like to join in.
• How can we help teachers create e-zines, anthologies and the like to have a more permanent record of fine work to share? How can we help them "publish" by making best work public and on the front page of their digital classrooms, repost on the school Web site, sent out by email, hold public readings/slams?

What are your ideas? (15)

6. IMPACT -- Movie and discussion: What next? (20)

• Excercise (or tonight in your hotel room): Create a blog and use the tag "plans" and jot down what ideas you've heard today that you'd like to explore. What steps can you take to create a community of writers that are sharing their work and finding new ways to publish their ideas and creations?

We hope you got a chance to do this. If you didn't, try it out tonight:

Exercise: -- Sound Prompt instructions. Create a blog, give it a title, choose "Sound Prompt" as a tag. I'll play you a piece of music -- it's 8 minutes long -- and create a story, an essay, a poem, whatever. At the end, you'll comment on another while the music plays. Reflections? (20)