Tech Tools to Foster Feedback and Collaboration

If you are using tools to support students' collaboration,  including peer review teams, or tools to support your own efficiency as a teacher, please feel free to post here!

Writing in the 21st Century: Welcome!

Writing in the 21st Century: Welcome!: "Tell us about yourself and who you are as writer!" test

My questions/comments for chapter two:

1. I agree with the quote, "we have the responsibility to teach students how to swim in the sea of information and media." I think we assume a lot as educators and one of the assumptions I have had in the past is that students know how to search their topics and understand the importance of keeping track of where they get information. Unfortunately, my assumptions were wrong and I quickly realized that "I" need to teach them to narrow their focus when using search engines and teach them how to cite their electronic sources. Remember: don't assume anything.
2. The word "organization" pops up in the text often and I don't think we spend enough time showing our students how to keep their digital lives organized. Maybe this should be a topic of conversation so that we have a common way to teach this crucial skill?
3. Question: On page 55 of the text, Valenza describes her thinking about the "personal information portal" and it made me think about what Scotty said today in regard to the electronic portfolio. If the electronic portfolio is where we are heading then we should encourage our students to be creative, organized, and utilize the correct technology. If this is the case for the future, should 8th graders create a personal iGoogle page in order to keep track of their writing topics, calendars, and to-do lists for all projects? Should we use google docs for editing and revision? We need to make some decisions and make sure to let all teachers know the preferred choice.

Welcome All.

Good morning, All. We're glad you're here with us!

Welcome!

Tell us about yourself and who you are as writer!