The idea of “writing detox” really resonates with me because I see my students as being imprisoned by the notion that all writing has to fit a particular format and be done for a particular audience to be judged by a particular rubric.

To write just to write (even though one of the accepted stages of the writing process is incorrectly called “free-writing” is a concept that is totally foreign to kids today….and that’s sad.

One of the things I’ve found is that commenting on blogs and participating in Voicethread conversations have helped in the detox process for my kids. Perhaps it’s because this work is never graded….or self-selected….or short and approachable…..but my kids seem jazzed to read and respond to others in these settings.

Either way…thanks for a post that made me think.
Bill

Bill Ferriter’s last blog post..Imprisoned by Mentoring?

M. Walker’s last blog post..Student Blogging

Reading your comment made me think back to how I felt when I first started my blog. I really loved it, and became sort of addicted to writing about myself, my thoughts, etc (building my nest). It made me forget about the rest of the blogging world, and just focus on myself. After I became part of the Students 2.0 group, I was gently shoved into the other side of blogging, learning about the networking, and the conversation that goes on.

To me, that’s a key stone in the growth of blogging. Probably the main reason most people blog. My experience was backwards: I blogged to grow as a person, and then eventually stepped out into the world and grew my own little place in it. It was hard, because after my English class, I was alone. Eventually finding people who had the desire to learn, and propagate their ideas to change the world was were most of my personal growth took place.

Reading and commenting on other people’s blogs, and continuing the conversation seems like a good way of inspiring thought in student bloggers. It also serves the purpose of helping them find people who, with their writing, probe their ideas and oscillate the proverbial mixing stick.

@Diane

I agree. Why don’t students and teacher collaborate more often? To relate it to current events, it’s like the government leaders who don’t know anything about the people they govern and are elected by. Why not actually ask the people their questions? and more importantly, why not listen to their answers?

Lindsea’s last blog post..Recent Headlines in Hawaii

One of the most difficult exercises for me as a teacher is to gauge the appropriateness of activities for my audience, as I interact with students in grades K-12.

I can try to assess students’ interests and capabilities, but Lindsea IS a student (albeit a very articulate and gifted one). Teacher/student teams, should be the norm, not the exception. And the collaboration should begin in the planning stages and continue right on through the evaluation and feedback.

When I suggested a “discover and respond” activity in my previous comment, I was trying to articulate the need for students to have a large measure of independence within the structure of an assignment. To “discover” an issue (or blog) that captured their interest, then “respond” in their own “language”, be it a written comment, visual representation, musical interpretation, etc.

Lindsea speaks many “languages”: art, poetry, music, and she is a member of the generation that we are trying to engage in learning.

Do Chris and Lindsea want to keep this project student-based, or would they like to include other adults also. At the very least, it might be worthwhile for some of your other staff members to audit this, Clay. It could be very valuable as a professional development tool!

Love your posts and all of the comments. They certainly engage my mind.

diane

diane’s last blog post..Age of Aquarius

Chris Watson’s last blog post..Reflections On The First Days Of A New Semester With A New Group Of Students

@KAEILIE: No worries. We all help each other think in comments. That’s why blogging is such a great learning tool. We all think together and see more as a group than any individual can see alone.

@JETHRO Thanks for the link. Will check it out

Jethro’s last blog post..Educational Software Review: Planbook

Another quick thought about connectivism, linking, and learning in networks: These days in Life 1.0 when I’m working on an old-fashioned .doc, it doesn’t feel just anachronistic, it feels. . . lonely. That poor document is stuck in the hinterlands of my drive, with no chance to see and be seen and grow new layers of contextual meaning out in the wider world. Silly bit of anthropomorphism, I know, but for me it’s a gut check about how experiencing networked learning shifts my perceptions.

@Dina: Glad to have found you. Your feed went into my reader so fast it made my head spin.

@Clay: No silver bullet suggestions, just a natural extension of the comments-as-connective-writing idea, if it has merit. With the usual caveats about the schooliness of assigning any kind of writing, of course. The extension: equip students with cocomment or something similar/better to track their comment breadcrumb trail (suggestions?) and send them out to explore blogs per their passion du jour. The *assignment* would be simply to interact with those bloggers via comments: challenging, critiquing, supporting, reinforcing, etc. Perhaps, as is the case for most of us, some of those comments would end up back on their blogs in expanded form. Perhaps not. It may be easier for students to find an authentic-writing mindset if they can enter into an already-established conversation, if they don’t have to carry the water of hosting and moderating the whole shindig. That IS a lot to ask.

One value to this, I think, would be short-circuiting the blog-it-and-they-will-come mentality. Instead of learning the connectivity lesson at *home* on our own blog pages, start by getting out there commenting on a connectivism field trip. My own blogging odyssey began at home and gradually mapped out into the unknown. I probably would have learned more about network literacy sooner if I hadn’t been so busy building my own nest. Travel light while you’re young?

Scott Schwister’s last blog post..in PLN sight: envisioning the future of professional development