I had some memorable moments on this trip --- some that didn't have much to do with the conferences.  I flew the final leg of the journey, from Detroit to Lansing, in a Saab 340.  Besides being the smallest plane I have ever flown in (a total of 33 seats), it was also the loudest and had a constant rumble that made me a bit nervous.

Another exciting moment was at the Top of the Rock.

I went to the top of the Rockefeller Center at night (so the above picture is not mine...it's from some blog I found).  It was amazing up there on the 69th floor, some 850 feet above New York City.  NBC had invited about 75 teachers to witness the launching of their new website; at HotChalk.com (I'll get you a password soon), you'll find their entire video archive for free (until Jan. 31).  We heard and saw Brian Williams, the new anchor, talking about the influence of his parents and teachers in his life and about how rich of an archive of video footage HotChalk can be for students.

I took this one. Brian Williams

I enjoyed hearing Amy Tan speak, also.  She spoke to over 6,000 English teachers and mangaged a calm, humorous, intelligent tone.  Tan's message revolved around the influence of her mother on her writing.  She spoke of her mother's wisdom, as well as her odd habits and strange behavior.  These experiences ended up being fodder for her writing; looking back, she is even able to even laugh at some of the tough times.

 

Here's an overview of the sessions I attended (besides the two I already wrote about on Nov. 15):  

• The National Writing Project General Session
• Designing Writing and Technology Summer Camps for Youth
• The New York City Writing Marathon
• Using I-Movie to motivate students
  
• A three-way split-session
  •  about Using Wikibooks:  Dr. Richard Beach from the University of Minnesota, shared his online book called Engaging Students in Digital Writing .  Chapter 4, in the right sidebar of that link, has information about wikibooks.  I've been using a wiki in class this year and I am curious about how I can expand on my class wiki.  I'll be checking out that site in detail in my free time.
  • a Blog2Learn project
  • a primer on Podcasting.

In-between there somewhere, I was a co-presenter in a session called "Examining the Purposes and Processes of Digital Storytelling."  About 45 people attended the session and it seemed to go pretty well.  I talked about how I used Movie Maker to teach Biographies last year:  what I expected of the students, how I went about teaching it, and how I graded their digital stories.  I also assisted my colleague, Melissa, a bit, as she spoke about our Technology Summer Camp for 5th-7th grade students last summer.

This is Danilo, one of the co-presenters of our session.

I also put some photos on our wiki.

Thursday, Nov. 15:  Well, here's the deal.  We've had a tough time finding free internet access here in the city that never sleeps.  It's pretty frustrating, when we are trying to keep a blog going (check it out) and share what were doing with people (students, colleagues, family, friends...potentially, the world :).   I'm in a Starbucks on 8th Avenue and I'm not sure how long I'll have access.  It feels like I'm in the dark ages...meaning 5 years ago...when wireless internet was rare.  Sure, I could pay $16 a day and use it in my hotel room, but I'm cheap, what can I say. 

Anyway, today was a good day at the National Writing Project sessions.  Troy and I went to a session on Site Leadership.  Basically, that means we learned some ways to keep the MSU Red Cedar Writing Project(that's the local group that paid for part of the cost of me coming to NYC) alive and well.  We met in small groups with Writing Project leaders from around the country and picked their brains for ideas that work well for them; then, we spent some time trying to apply/tweak those ideas to our situation.  Later, I attended a session on how to build community in my classroom, especially as it relates to African American students.  I was able to share things that I'm doing like the wiki and letter-writing, but learned how others are empowering students to speak from the heart and write with honest voices.  I was reminded that we are thinking about starting a  MacDonald Middle School Creative Writing Club after school and how that may accomplish some of these goals.

We went for dinner at La Bonne Soup (The Good Soup...or something like that) and I had Quiche Lorraine in honor of my band, the B-52s. 

I spent some time playing with my new camera on the median of Times Square.  Sometime soon, you'll see some photos and maybe a video link here.  For right now, use your vivid imagination.  :)  

Tuesday, Nov. 13:  I often ask my students to tell me what they know about something (the topic of a story, for example) before we begin it. So here are some of my thoughts and expectations about the upcoming weekend. 

New York City is like an old friend to me.  I know quite a bit about it, but I'm sure it's changed in the nearly ten years since I've seen it last.  I'll want to explore the city probably more than I'll have time to explore.  I need to find time to wander through Central Park on a clear day, walk down Times Square, explore a few bookstores, and try to see a show (despite the stage worker's strike).  More than likely, I'll spend most of my time at the Javits Convention Center and the Marriot Marquis, which is where both conferences are being held. I'm looking forward to hearing the opening remarks of author, Amy Tan at NCTE; I have enjoyed reading her books and I wonder how she will keep the attention and interest of the nearly 7,000 English teachers that will be there to hear her.  I'm also looking forward to helping with a presentation on Digital Storytelling on Friday at NWP.