Welcome to Writing in the Digital Classroom

Greetings Everyone!

I look forward to July 26 to meet each of you.  Writing in the Digital Classroom will be an immersion into learning, reading, and writing using the new world literacies. Even though we will be learning and using new digital tools, but there is a high expectation for us to be readers, writers, and thinkers throughout the course. The big project throughout the course is “living a life of an educational blogger.” For most of you this will be a new experience of sharing your writing and thinking using social media and publishing to the web.  Our supportive community will make this much easier.  Each day during the four-day immersion (July 26-29) we will write everyday and we will be using our writing to create digital stories, podcasts, and print media.

I will be using this website at http://wdcfall2010.blogspot.com/ to post classroom messages, agenda’s, and assignments. Please be in the habit of checking this website for messages and important announcements through out the course.  If you should have a question, leave a comment under the post or email me at wcgaskins.59@gmail.com.  I am usually a click away and will try to get back with you within 24 hours.

For July 26-29, you will need access to email.  You may use your district email or any other preferred email account as long as you have web access to that email.  You will be registering for new accounts with different web tools that are free and you will be sent confirmation email. You must be able to access that email.  Your HCSD email system might suffice your needs or I recommend a gmail account. It is free and easy to use.

We will begin at 9 AM, break for lunch around 11:45- 1:00 P.M., and finish shortly before 4 P.M. Please read the attendance policy in the syllabus and how it is related to your final grade.  Please read the syllabus carefully and be ready to address questions.

Things to bring for Monday-Thursday (July 26-29)

·      flash drive

·      headset with microphone- check Walmart or Target for your best deal

·      digital camera (and the chord for your camera to connect to the computer)

·      home internet access

Homework for Monday, July 26

·      Use your digital camera and take pictures of artifacts (objects, primary source items) that you hold dear to your heart and pictures of family and friends that hold a memory- (save pictures on your camera or flash drive)

o   you may include-

§  Photograph of objects, hobbies, people in your life, your garden

§  Your favorite book, your home, gift you bought yourself from a trip of a life time, something historical,

§  Any thing that holds a story………

·      Write a short introductory paragraph about yourself! Make it a short bio about you.  (around 50 words or so will suffice). Write this in MS Word and save to your flash drive.

Please make sure you completed the participant information form at https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dE1BQm5tVXlIYmpncUJHSkdKMGNXT2c6MQ#gid=0.  This information will be most helpful as I prepare for July 26.

I look forward to seeing you on July 26.

Bill

P.S.- We will be in room 109 at North Myrtle Beach Middle School.