Carolyn Foote wrote this week about the new Pew study on the effects of technology on teen writing. An article about the study in eSchool News (free subscription – well worth it – required) pulls out a few details that for me, at least, suggest some weird thinking. The “news” that [t]eens who communicate frequently [...]

First, a mini-photo essay on my own point of view about privileging writing over speaking when grading in the collaborative, networking, multimedia century: Three weeks after the Diigo stampede, I’ve been concerned that the new trend of putting Diigo annotations on posts instead of leaving comments in the thread was a negative thing. Only Diigo [...]

If I’ve learned anything in this year of blogging, it’s that good ideas need ritual repetition before they gain traction, find support, and become realities. So here goes (and the second point is far more important than the first): Scott McLeod just wrote a very nice post about the launch, and the future, of Students [...]

If you haven’t read Ryan Bretag‘s and Steve Hargadon‘s posts on TechLearning about Students 2.0, they’re worth a read. And Steve’s podcast interview with Kevin, Sean, and Lindsey shows them at their wonderful best, in terms of both intelligence and personality. I haven’t really written any reflections here since launching Students 2.0 back on December [...]

Lesson learned: if you start a digital video, finish it quickly. I started this months ago as part of the “Visionary Student Blogging” project for my AP Literature seniors. Some crazy introductory idea that I hoped would help them see how blogging could be an escape from school-as-usual. I didn’t finish it the way I [...]

Scroll to bottom to listen to the podcast. [Update 3 August 2008: If you want a written version of the same story, I did my best here.] [Update 2: I've copied Stephen Downes' comments about this post, and my own response to them, in the comments, if anybody is interested.] [Update: I've added the podcast [...]

Graham Wegner tweeted about her a couple of weeks ago. I followed. And now, I am snared. I can’t get the vamp out of my mind. Who is . . . “Taylor the Teacher”? I can’t help but suspect that, like the Yes Men I wrote about a while back, those fantastic satirists and impersonators [...]

Sometimes you just want to give up. Instead, I’ll go transparent and see what ideas, counsels, or commiserations come from sharing. It’s about the “Visionary Student Blogging” connective writing project. The problem? Little vision, little connective writing. It’s partly senioritis, I think. College applications, SAT’s, too many commitments to too many extra-curricular activities (got to [...]

It just occurred to me I’ve been using my Twitterverse to solicit student blogger recommendations for the upcoming student edublog launch on December 1. See this post and especially the conversation thread below it for an idea how this project is taking shape. Some very exciting contributors have already signed on, but if you know [...]

I’ve wanted to help this happen for the last five months. And I need your help to launch it with quality and good aim. Just a thoughtful comment consisting of a short list is all we ask. First, a recap. Why re-write what was already obsessively written since May? So: What would happen if we [...]