Here are my initial ideas about what it might be possible to do with 101 students in a computer lab:
- work on invention strategies (mind-mapping software, etc.)
- incorporation of more multimedia content (podcasts, TED talks, LoC content, etc.)
- collaborative writing projects (via wiki or, for me this fall, mycomplab)
- online peer review
- all sorts of research stuff (finding and evaluating sources, annotating web pages, RefWorks maybe, or some robust source collecting/annotating program)
Thank you Holly for creating this space for us to "talk" about this project. I can already tell this is going to be a great way to share ideas especially since I will be executing the pilot in Attleboro, far from everyone else.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about the time in the lab with my students, my thoughts take me back to the QUEST Writing Lab. In a way, it was the success I had with students in the lab that made me want to go back to my "roots" with this pilot. I treasured the time I could offer my students to write in the classroom; the lab quickly became a physical place for my students, a community of writers, to be together to share ideas and to compose with me right there to guide them during this hands on practice. And practically speaking, lab time was often the place where some slow pokes actually got some work done. So with this in mind, I'd like to do all the things you suggest, but the focus for me is going to be to make sure they write during that time in the lab. Of course, I haven't figured out the details of how I am going to do this, but I'm hoping our "group think" will get me going with the specifics.
Great point, Farah! You've got me thinking about how best to get our students to write. I know that many students have a hard time getting started on their own, and for some a time, place, and room of writing peers would probably be a great help. At the same time, I know that for *me* it would be difficult to get anything done in that sort of environment, esp. if I hadn't had time to gather together some notes/thoughts ahead of time (though of course I could ask students to gather together some notes/ideas before class). It will be a challenge figuring out how to accommodate different writers' processes, I think, and to figure out what works best in terms of "catching them" (or as many as possible) at a point where they can productively use class lab time...
ReplyDeleteFor me that wouldn't be at the beginning stages, but I'm going to have to be careful not to try to impose my own preferred methods of working.