Digital resource...thus far...

Hi Everyone,

I have posted what I have so far of my digital resource on my blog. If you have a couple of minutes, please post any and all (somewhat kind but honest) feedback.

The first section is "done" (yes, now I sound like my students). It's obviously not done, but it's at least written. The last part is just the outline and some notes about what will come later.

Thank you in advance for the help!

Kaili

Really cool digital is entry

I found this really cool video composition on the digital is site - go to http://digitalis.nwp.org/resource/675 - if that doesn't work, search for

Illuminated text: a student exemplar

January Authors

Hello all,

I checked the calendar this morning, and yup, it is already the beginning of January! My students are writing up a storm; wild and blustery, but writing nonetheless. While the range of mastery is wide, the one constant recently is the motivation caused by our inquiry project. Seth and I have literally jumped into this project with a "yee hah" and a prayer, troubleshooting as we go, solving a variety of SKYPE snafus that have to do with audio and/or video, flurries of emails, blog barriers as simple as how the heck do you post and label, and the occasional frantic cell phone call at 10:18 a.m. while students all over the classroom yell into their mikes: "Can you hear me?"

Through it all, the students have embraced each other as they build this unlikely community of writers: hesitate 3rd graders who have an assortment of writing challenges including phonetic spelling and the proverbial "I'm all done", and AP English students who are working hard to draw the stories out of these young writers.

You can find our work at: aronsonauthors.blogspot.com

When you click on the student author's names you'll see a variety of writing they've done to date: personal narratives, and non fiction pieces with a focus on the Winter Solstice. You'll be able to read the Ap English students "praise and polish", and then in red text, the 3rd grade author's attempt at revision using their writing partners feedback.

A few comments overheard while the students were SKYPING:

"I just read the story about your little sister. I absolutely love how you went from talking about memories from the past with all of the dialogue (talking), to the future. That flowed really nice."

"Mr. Mitchell, I'm so proud of my partner!" ( She was impressed by her kiddo's revisions (Caleb) and felt so happy to be part of that growth.

" If I could have said one more thing to my Uncle before he died I would have said "I love you."

"I think that you could help the reader understand more about how you feel about your dog by mentioning what you like to do with your dog."

"My writing partner (Cassie) has a great laugh".

"I think you should try combining sentences because you have a lot of short sentences clumped together. For example, instead of saying “She lives with our fish, Swimy. He has a lot of energy.” You could say, “She lives with our fish, Swimy, and he has a lot of energy.” The sentences flow better that way, so try combing some more like that."

"I’m sorry your gram died, but maybe you could describe what she was like before she died."

Pretty amazing stuff, don't you think? Up next, realistic fiction and then onto In Pictures and in Words: an Illustration Study.

See you all in February! MICHELE

How to Copy and Paste Text from Word

I wrote several pages of text for my resource and was able to begin creating it, but...I am not able to load my text so it is in the correct format. I have tried all the options: 1) Copied and pasted in the text box. 2) Copied, pasted, then chose disable rich text. 3) Copied and pasted into the "paste from word" box. 4) Copied and pasted into the "paste from word" box, then chose disable rich text.
None of these will make my text go from left to right-I get a line with one word, then the next line might have 5, so on and so forth.
Any help would be great so I don't have to retype all of my text.
I also tried to load an imovie. It says it has to be in a format other than what I have (.m4v). I don't know how to change to the format they want. My movie is also more than 50 MB, is there a way to compress it? Thanks for helping!

Happy New Year - an update

Happy New Year, everyone. I have been busy on Google Docs, but have not written much lately from my notes. I've had a very nice vacation which included family events during Christmas and a milestone birthday for me on the 30th - I turned 50! My 17-year-old son. Logan, got to ride Sunday River's Zip Line on the 27th and after my birthday lunch my dad took him on a plane ride in an antique plane. Dad and my brother are both pilots as their company does a lot of bridge and dam work. On New Year's Eve I celebrated my 50 years with a gal pal whose birthday was the day before mine. We had a great party at my house, along with many family and friends.

But there is sadness, too. A student, Andria Damon, who suffered from Muscular Dystrophy, passed away on the 27th. Andria taught me a lot about not judging a book by its cover. When I first met her I thought, "I can't possibly know how to teach this child." She had been home schooled for two years, was wheel-chair bound and not even able to go to the bathroom by herself. She was in constant pain, fed through a tube, and the smallest cough was excruciating for her, so she missed a lot of school. Still, she was very social, loved to read, and especially loved her history course. While at home with a tutor, she completed more work than my ever present healthy students.

We have been studying mythology and while at home sick for a time she read nearly the entire book that we use, Heroes, Monsters and Gods of Greek Mythology. Just last week, before vacation, she wheeled over to me and showed me that she was reading The Lightning Thief, the first book in the Percy Jackson series, a sort of modern day mythology, for her personal weekly requirement. She had a sharp wit and it amazed me to watch her type on her Netbook by making use of her long fingernails and the eraser end of a pencil. She never said, "I can't" and wanted desperately to be like others. She even admitted to playing with Barbie dolls, not because she was immature, but because they made her think about what her life might have been like. Andi had dreams of one day getting her license and later living on her own. We knew that her dreams would not be possible, but somehow, if she had survived, I think she might have achieved those goals.

Last week she completed an essay on Google Docs for me on the hero archetype and how it was evident in the myths that we have read about - Theseus, Perseus and Orpheus. I went over it using the comment and editing tools and she submitted her revision just before vacation. I've spent more time in reading and responding to the other essays from her classmates, but I keep thinking of Andria, who has become a hero to me.

Monday is going to be a different kind of day as my colleagues and I face her classmates, share the news and reactions, and then attend her funeral. I wrote this on her online remembrance page:

Andi, You were an amazing young woman, a modern day hero who faced many challenges bravely. As your teacher, it was I who learned from you. You will be very much missed by your Team 1 teachers and classmates. Orpheus is playing a special song for you on this hero's journey. Say hello to Eurydice for us in the Isles of the Blessed and may you later gain Elysium!
Ms. Bancroft

I will print out all of the documents that Andi has created on Google Docs and share them, with all the revisions, with her family.

More on my inquiry project soon and I look forward to seeing all of you in February.

Kristi