In this day and age, no one can fathom being without access to a computer or the internet, especially in the schoolhouse! The computer not only serves as a direct link to the curriculum and its plethora of resources, but as a means for students to access information and then demonstrate their learning in a highly personalized way through the many exceptional applications in our LMS. Technology is central in our society and it is an integral part of instruction, learning, and daily life.
Recently, I discovered a way to use technology to connect students sitting in my classroom directly and intimately with the world around them. Although I use Twitter to share the many wonderful things happening at my school, I additionally use it daily for my own professional growth. I read articles, share educational ideas and best practices, attend Twitter chats, and network with other professionals. It is through this networking that I connected with many children’s authors who are passionate about their craft and more than willing to share the art of writing children’s books with others.
I took advantage of these new connections to invite several authors to Skype with my second grade Writing Club and they accepted! In order to become proficient in any craft one must learn from the successes of others. So, we read books by different authors, studied their crafts, determined which features we wanted to include in our own writing, and then enjoyed the opportunity to meet the authors LIVE through Skype and asked specific questions! What an amazing experience for these young authors to learn from the pros!
Our first Skype author was Jarrett Learner, author of Enginerds, a chapter book about boys and robots in a funny fast-paced novel for the middle grades. His advice to students was to read and read and write even more, and then do it all over again. He told them not to give up because authors have to persevere, as it can take years and many manuscripts before getting even one published.
Recently, I discovered a way to use technology to connect students sitting in my classroom directly and intimately with the world around them. Although I use Twitter to share the many wonderful things happening at my school, I additionally use it daily for my own professional growth. I read articles, share educational ideas and best practices, attend Twitter chats, and network with other professionals. It is through this networking that I connected with many children’s authors who are passionate about their craft and more than willing to share the art of writing children’s books with others.
I took advantage of these new connections to invite several authors to Skype with my second grade Writing Club and they accepted! In order to become proficient in any craft one must learn from the successes of others. So, we read books by different authors, studied their crafts, determined which features we wanted to include in our own writing, and then enjoyed the opportunity to meet the authors LIVE through Skype and asked specific questions! What an amazing experience for these young authors to learn from the pros!
Our first Skype author was Jarrett Learner, author of Enginerds, a chapter book about boys and robots in a funny fast-paced novel for the middle grades. His advice to students was to read and read and write even more, and then do it all over again. He told them not to give up because authors have to persevere, as it can take years and many manuscripts before getting even one published.
Our second author was Alastair Heim, author of picture books Love You, Too, No Tooting at Tea, The Great Puppy Invasion, and Hello Door. His message was the same - never give up! Write two ideas for possible stories each day and return to write about them at a later time. Stories are all around us every day and he shared how the ideas for each of his books came about.
The Writing Club has expanded to third grade and is now called the Young Author’s Club. We look forward to continuing our study of various author’s crafts and conferring with them through Skype.
Connecting students to others in the world with whom they otherwise might not have an opportunity to interact with, makes the world seem just a bit smaller and provides a powerful and meaningful experience that is certain to have a lasting effect on all those involved. As one inspired “young author” exclaimed, “This is so cool! I want to be an author like him one day and I know I will!”
Connecting students to others in the world with whom they otherwise might not have an opportunity to interact with, makes the world seem just a bit smaller and provides a powerful and meaningful experience that is certain to have a lasting effect on all those involved. As one inspired “young author” exclaimed, “This is so cool! I want to be an author like him one day and I know I will!”
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