Welcome

As the teacher-leader for our class, I am excited about beginning our process together. This is the sixth year I have taught the online institute. Each year the class has taken on a life of its own and offered revelations for me and for participants. This is by far the largest class I have every had in my years of online teaching, so I am sure there will be excitement and adjustments. I realize for some of you this is your first experience with a writing institute, while others will have taken some classes and workshops in the past. Either way the class is a completely unique offering, utilizing online discussions and including the reality of your daily instruction.

You are probably in the busiest part of your school year, so “Writing Matters” will allow you to make the best advantage of what you are currently doing in your classroom. You will have the opportunity to reflect upon and evaluate methods and strategies with your class. You will have the opportunity to discuss ideas with other teachers. Finally, you will have the opportunity to experiment with personal writing. We will be using a combination of audio conferencing, online discussion, and web-based instruction. Class official starts February 7.

Our text is Because Writing Matters: Improving Student Writing in Our Schools by the National Writing Project and Carl Nagin. Purchase a copy of the book at http://www.writingproject.org/Publications/books. The book is also available through Amazon. Please try to have the book by the first week of class. Several editions are available, but very little change has been made in the  text, so if you find a used edition that is fine.

For now, just get excited about the possibilities. I have scheduled an audio conference during the first week of the class Tuesday February 8 at 5 PM.  Stay tuned for the connection information which I will send to you as soon as our administrator receives the connection numbers  from UAF. 

I look forward to talking to all of you and “seeing” you online very soon.