NWP
Teachers Teaching Teachers #191 - Katherine Schulten and the Learning Network AND "...making the case for the NWP - 03.10.10
Submitted by Paul Allison on Fri, 2010-03-12 03:06In the first half of th
is weeks episode of Teachers Teaching Teachers, we had an inspiring conversation with Katherine Schulten editor of The Learning Network at the New York Times. Our theme for this week's Teachers Teaching Teachers was about increasing teacher voice in public debates. Katherine suggested how we might use The Learning Network for that.
In addition, we were joined by:
- Elyse Eidman-Aadahl, director of National Programs and Site Development at the National Writing Project, University of California, Berkeley
- and Andrea Zellner a leader at the Red Cedar Writing Project, Michigan State University's site of the NWP.
Andrea and many o
thers in the chat room during the webcast gave witness to why we want to maintain federal funding for the NWP to continue -- an example of a time wh
en we need to get our voices to be heard!
"It's been a heady week for teaching and learning discussion on the Times site," writes Katherine Schulten, our first guest on this podcast. One of Katherine's jobs as an editor of the New York Times Learning Network is to moderate the comments that come in on education-related articles.
- By this last weekend (3/7/2010), the article, "Building a Better Teacher, had 313 comments on it, and had been one of the top most-emailed on the Times site after it went online last Wednesday.
- For several days the article about Diane Ravitch's about-face on NCLB was right up there too.
- And this article, "Darwin Foes Add Warming to Targets," which is about teaching Darwin and Global Warming got over 1000 comments.
A Student Opinion post from earlier this week, "Where Do You Stand on Unconcealed Handguns? "received many lively responses from "students 13 and older," who "are invited [to the Learning Network] to comment on questions about issues in the news."
If you just clicked on those links, your head is probably spinning: so many issues so little time! That's what it feels like to have a conversation with Katherine Schulten, who before she became an editor for the Learning Network was a NYC teacher and a consultant for the New York City Writing Project. Katherine was worried that she was talking too much, because she is so excited about managing the Learning Network.
We'll turned Katherine loose, then we interrupted her with a few questions. We think you'l learn a lot about the New York Times Learning Network on this podcast:
Currently, they are offering these features:
- Lesson Plans — Daily lesson plans based on New York Times content.
- Student Opinion — News-related questions that invite response from students age 13 and older.
- Word of the Day — Vocabulary words in the context of recent Times articles.
- 6 Q’s About the Newss — An activity in which students answer basic questions (Who, What, Where, When, Why and How) about an article.
- News Quiz — Interactive daily news quizzes on current top stories.
- Student Crossword — Topical puzzles geared toward teens.
The award-winning Learning Network was created in the fall of 1998. In October 2009, they re-launched it as a Times blog.
Click Read more to see a copy of the chat that was happening during the webcast.
67:03 minutes (15.35 MB)
Teachers Teaching Teachers #185 - Did Educon 2.2 Make Us Smarter? - 02.03.10
Submitted by Paul Allison on Sat, 2010-02-20 21:03On this podcast a few of us who attended Educon 2.2 reflect on our learning there. Appropriately enough, we were guided in this reflective conversation by:
- Hannah, a student from The Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia
- her history teacher Diana Laufenberg
- their Principal, Chris Lehmann
On this podcast you'll hear what four teachers, three of us from different Writing Projects, had to say just a few days after ther conference. You'll hear from:
- Paul Allison, New York City Writing Project
- Joe Conroy, NWP at Rutgers University Writing Project (Don't miss Joe's video, below.)
- Gail Desler, Area 3 Writing Project in Northern California
- Dolores Gende, Academic Technology Coordinator and Physics teacher from Dallas, Texas
If you were at Educon, we hope you'll be able to compare notes with us. If you were not able to make it, perhaps this podcast can suggest why there's so much interest in Educon!
Here's how the organizers of EduCon 2.2 describe the conference:
What is Educon?
EduCon 2.2 is both a conversation and a conference.
And it is not a technology conference. It is an education conference. It is, hopefully, an innovation conference where we can come together, both in person and virtually, to discuss the future of schools. Every session will be an opportunity to discuss and debate ideas — from the very practical to the big dreams.
The Axioms
Guiding Principles of EduCon 2.2
- Our schools must be inquiry-driven, thoughtful and empowering for all members
- Our schools must be about co-creating — together with our students — the 21st Century Citizen
- Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around
- Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate and collaborate
- Learning can — and must — be networked
Enjoy Joe Conroy's Video!
Watch What is EduCon? in Educational & How-To | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com
Click Read more to see a copy of the chat that was happening during the webcast.
64:48 minutes (14.83 MB)
Teachers Teaching Teachers #177 Reflections on the National Writing Project's 2009 Annual Meeting at a Seminal Moment - 12.02.09
Submitted by Paul Allison on Sun, 2009-12-13 22:55Before the Thanksgiving turkey there was…
- “Digital Is…” Conference
- National Writing Project’s Annual Meeting
- National Council Teachers of English Conference
After coming home from these conferences in Philadelphia, we invited a few friends from a recent show —
— to join us again, this time to reflect on the workshops, presentations, meetings, and conversations in the hallway that might still have been fresh in their memories. We wanted to find out what they had learned at the NWP's Annual Meeting this year, and what they were planning to do with all of the connections and ideas they had brought home with them.
This podcast, co-sponsored by the New York City Writing Project and the NWP Technology Liaisons Network, featured:
- Robert Rivera-Amezola, Philadelphia Writing Project http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/nwp_amsession/1584
- Joe Conroy, NWP at Rutgers University Writing Project http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/nwp_amsession/1607
- Chuck Jurich, High Desert Writing Project (New Mexico) http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/nwp_amsession/1608
- Paul Oh, the coordinator of the technology liaison program for the National Writing Project http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/nwp_au/1102
- Seth Mitchell, Maine Writing Project, http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/nwp_amsession/1582
Click Read more to see a transcript of a chat that was happening during the webcast.
59:35 minutes (13.64 MB)










