Taking, and Sharing, Pictures

I've had some folks ask me about how they can share pictures they take during the Summer Institute. The answer, it turns out, is very simple. All you need to do is to host your photos via Flickr, a free photo hosting site. Once you've gotten your photos online via Flickr, you've got two options for sharing them with everyone. The first, and easiest, is to tag each photo you take with the tag "csuwp". I know, very creative, huh?
Once your photos are tagged, then you'll automatically see them in the badge on the right side of the blog main page. Click on them to see them in full size.
Also, once your photos are in Flickr and you're registered as a blogger on this blog, you can click the "blog this" tab above your individual photos from Flickr. Then, you can write a blog post and put a particular picture right into the post, as I did with the "Trouble" post below.
This stuff, once you get the hang of it, is all really quite easy. I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures.

3 days down, the rest of our lives to go

Now that demos have begun (Tami was everything I expected -- again, creative and inappropriate thinkers, assume what you will), the WP takes on a new life. Every year, the first 2 days are full of awkward fumbling and cautious testing of the surroundings, kind of like a newborn, or 2 teenagers in the backseat of a car. Now that the 3rd day has passed, we are hitting our stride. We are becoming a family, with all of the goods and bads that come with it. Words are being heard, voices are being renewed, and kids, in the end, will be affected.

We had a little bit of home cookin' from Trudy, a dose of lesson learnin' from Tami, and hopefully there will be a lot of story publishin' for Colleen (or Stan if you prefer) in the future. Her first reading is poster-ready, a fitting partner piece to "Everything I need to know, I learned in Kindergarten". Her second was again, a great example of hilarious reality, of the Jackie Sp8 mold.

Another fantastic day focused on writing and sharing. Soon, the demos pick up and, although all else remains, the pace changes. Put your head up and arms out and get ready for liftoff.

hearty pat on the back

Thanks to Tami for getting us off to a roaring start with her demo this morning. She got me thinking about my practice as a writing teacher so I eagerly awaiting each new idea: Linds tomorrow and the next one and the next after that. Also thanks to all for fostering such a positive environment where we can take risks and share pieces we may not have shared in other circumstances.

The Wonderful World of Poetry

So many people have something similar to post-tramatic (or dramatic) stress disorder with things they've experienced (public speaking, doing math on the board in front of a large group of people), one of which being poetry. They hate poetry. They find it stupid, pointless, or just throw their hands up in the air caliming they don't get it--like poetry is something to get like a diploma or a driver's license. Bad experiences leading to closed-off thinking.

This morning, Tami presented a Rockstar demo. on critucal reading and writing, using poetry as a vehicle to get to this important thinking. Well-paced, great activities, wonderful personality and chrisma, and great experiences. We shared and built upon each other's thinking, we shared ideas, explained wy we thougth what we thought, we were allowed to act like 7th graders--always a plus, I took advantage of this by poking my neighbor in the ribs--and we all felt validated through specific feedback from the teacher, and candy, and we were building something very important: we were feeling successful through the positive experiences we were having.

"A mind is like a parachute. It works best when it is open."

Tami's Calming Effect

We walk in this morning, and I expect there to be candles, a masseuse, and incense. Tami has already affected the WP... I wouldn't call her calm but she makes the room feel that way, at least this morning, her demo day. I'm sure it is a good balance for her high energy (she rarely blinks, and speaks faster than me). I have no doubt she is about to set the bar high for the rest of the group. This is the beginning of this quaint cold room below engineers and math geniuses becoming home for the next 4 weeks.

Trouble

DSC03228
Originally uploaded by Bud the Teacher.

Doesn't this look like trouble? Two enthusiastic teachers, two computers, and knowledge about blogging? I think so . . .

It was sure a pleasure working with all y'all today. I certainly hope that you found the time useful. Don't hesitate to ask if you have further questions or need help.

I'm looking forward to seeing the amazing things that you do. So are lots of others -- make sure to use this blog and the other tools at your disposal to share your good work.

It has begun

Well... I'm the first to post on our e-Anthology, so put your toes in the water, wade in slowly, or jump from the highdive, doesn't matter.

Just help build our work on-line... start posting.

Be Good.

Thanks for today

It was great working with all of you today. I hope that Bud and I were able to give you enough information to feel confident about exploring the NWP's E-anthology and to continue blogging here on the CSU blog. Blogging is a great way to find an audience and feed your muse. It can really help you build momentum for yourselves (and your students) as writers.

Tami asked if I would share the electronic files in the packets handed out today. If you email me, I will happily send them to you.

The summer institute is a great place to take risks and try new things. I hope you'll take advantage of the opportunity to set some personal and professional goals for yourselves. You won't find a more supportive or inspiring environment in which grow.

Have a great month!

Cold and Spicy

Well... it seems that every class, this now being my 3rd to be involved with, has their lingo, inside jokes, words that get said WAY too much. It was once "piggyback" which seems to rear its ugly head on an annual basis, consistently causing me to wince and throw up in my mouth a little bit, which is a good segue to this year...

It seems that the word "spicy" has taken on a special meaning this year, also potentially leading to unwanted bodily functions. From my personal relations with the owner of a local Asian restaurant (take it as you will) to a possible theme for the upcoming anthology... as long as everyone agrees (good luck with that), "spicy" is the first word to penetrate our daily vernacular. I am just glad that I can provide a muse (or a victim) for the class to get ammo from. I'm sure others, people and words, will soon get the chance.

Anyways, the 2nd day has ended. Nancy gave me reason to believe that her storytelling would put me to sleep (in the best way possible). Beautiful, comforting, and compelling. Thanks for sharing with us all. As for Jackie, I know her all too well and saw the voice, humor, and imaginative storytelling coming from miles away. She is living proof that truth is always funnier than fiction. Keep writing Jackie, many need your voice. And both of you need to podcast. Your voice behind your words are what make them yours. Others deserve the experience of hearing it.

Thank you all for making over 6 hours a day in a cold basement room during my 2 months off something I would never consider missing.

Ha Ha

I did it! I did it! I think I might actually be motivated to be a tech chick now! When will we be blogging again?

So glad to be here!

Hi everyone, and welcome to CSUWP Summer Institute 2006! I'm glad to be back and working with y'all.

I hope everyone takes the opportunity to use the NWP E-Anthology. I love the "bless, press, address" protocol. It's risky posting your stuff, but it's worth it. Enjoy all the feedback you get, and give a little, too.

Day Two

Our second day of Writing Institute. Blogging information has been great! Ready to read and post more writing in the future.

A note to Tami

We begin again... very few hiccups the first day. We now are beginning the technical stuff... Blogging w/Bud and Megan. And now Tami wants to know how to do all of this stuff... So Tami... listen up, it's time to learn.

It has begun...

Another fantastic class of random writers, collaborators, thinkers, artists, and believers... in something. First day down... many more to go. Posts coming soon.

Links from the 2006 Summer Institute Blogging Introduction

Good Morning. This post is a handy online referral and link catch-all for the links that Megan and I will be referring you to during this mornig's presentation. Some of these links you'll find quite interesting and useful. A few, frankly, you won't care for much at all. But they're here, anyway. If we missed any, simply leave a comment and we'll correct the post.

CSU Writing Project Website
CSUWP Blog
NWP Website (Click on Member Login to access the E-Anthology)
Blogging & Aggregator Tutorial (Follow the steps, ignore the time suggestions)
2005 CSUWP Summer Institute Podcasts
Megan's Poetry Blog
The Wednesday Afternoon Poetry Club
Bud's blog (Look on the right side of the main page for the links to educational blogs that Bud reads regularly).
OldeSchoolNews.com

A Beginning

The 2006 Colorado State University Writing Project Summer Institute kicked off its first day today -- I'm sure that it was a full day of fun, surprises, hard work, and amazing educators doing wonderful things. I'm interested in seeing what this talented group of folks comes up with, both collectively and individually. Tomorrow, Megan Freeman and I will be facilitating an introduction to blogging. Hopefully, that introduction will lead to some thorough reports and records of the events that transpire over the next four weeks.

Tell your stories, CSUWP 2006 Fellows, both personal and professional. The world needs to hear them.

pictures - finally

Sorry about the delay. I haven't moved into the world of high speed wireless yet. And using the old-fashioned dial up takes forever (no matter how I fiddle with image quality, etc.) But here is the one photo from our retreat I know everyone has been waiting for.

Need a Summer Course? Let Us Help

If you're a teacher looking for some handy ways to earn some graduate credit while getting in some writing time, the CSUWP has a couple of options you should consider.

• Finding the Writer in the Teacher is a week long workshop (June 19-23) on developing yourself as a writer in order to improve your teaching of writing. Here's a copy of the registration form with all the info you'll need.
• Writing in the Content Areas is a week long workshop (June 26-30) focusing on integrating writing into the work that you're already doing in the classroom. Participants will use some of their own curricular materials and will leave with some writing ideas they can take immediately back into their classroom. Click here for a registration form.

If you'd like more information, feel free to comment here and we'll forward your needs to the appropriate person.

2006 Writing Retreat

The 2006 Writing Retreat proved to be similar in the previous two in that it was eventful. My morning started differently, feeling sick (no matter how many times I move students around, I seem to move the soon-to-be sick one nearer me) but shook it off after a few phone calls—people thought that I was hung over. I also didn’t want to miss spending time with writing project teachers, time being one thing we are always short on.
I made the drive up 287, over roads carved between powder red ridges of rock, and through the trees of the foothills. I had to resist the urge to stop at a few places, walk the sides of the roads and write, but I was already late and didn’t want to miss any of the conversations and writing ideas I knew they were already sharing. I stopped in a restaurant much like any small town restaurant you’d come across in the mountains: the air thick with the smell of fat and grease from cooking food, the smell of wood smoke, and the wind blowing the scent of mountain soil, pine trees down into my face before I walked in. I ate quickly, took note that there was but one beer on draft, paid and left.
I made my way over dirt roads, some damp, some powdery, to the cabin. I was greeted by several teachers, with things that I can’t repeat, when I finally made it.
Now, to protect the innocent, and not so innocent, I will use nicknames for all involved.
After bringing in all of my things, I, known as Token, joined Apple Pie, Light Switch, Brickhouse, Weekend, Uniquely Beautiful and Blue Eyes at the hot tub. We enjoyed each other’s company, a writing prompt, and took time to share. It took quite a long time to share, with all the bathroom breaks and stories.
With the prompt of, Write about a word you or your parents used that was not really a word, Brickhouse had me in tears with, “I think someone burped a Sami, because it sure smells like Job-ee.”
Blue Eyes with her gorgeous rhythm, her incredibly smart prose, read a story about how people in her family who didn’t use the correct alternative language.
Weekend, among the many stories she told, read a story about boys, their propensity of getting naked in their youth, and the many other strange things they do.
Light Switch, a nickname earned after drinking one particular beverage, ten of them, and then changing, and also feeling that change as quick as a light switch, read about the foolish things parents do and don’t say to their children.
I unfortunately can’t remember what everyone read—I too was a little…distracted—but remember laughing until my face and stomach hurt before moving inside. We ate, went back to the hot tub, and told more stories, read some poetry, and talked some more.
When the cold finally chased us inside, we made a fire, laughed at how foolish we all have been in our youth, told stories about our loved ones, and crawled into sleep. We all started in the loft, packed in, giggling like children, before we realized we wouldn’t get to sleep this way. Brickhouse went to another bed, and Apple Pie went to another one as well, her fear of heights getting the better of her. Uniquely Beautiful and Light Switch slept near me, and I, being the token male, had to make a crack after coming back from the bathroom if someone burped a sami, cause it smelled like Job-ee, and grabbed a few small laughs.
We woke with the smell of smoke still in the air, some of us not feeling very well, before cleaning up, trading big hugs and driving home.
I hope you can all make it next year. It’s like summer camp for big, dysfunctional kids.

Retreating Writers...

On Saturday, several of us enjoyed a leisurely breakfast at The Back Porch before heading in to the mountains for the writing retreat. Many thanks to Kim P. for organizing and finding such a beautiful location. Hopefully Jen will share some pictures here soon.

It was wonderful to catch up with everyone and to spend some time writing in such a gorgeous setting. We weren't there long before a certain TC's bra was flying from the flagpole and we were writing about all the skeletons in our closets. Who knew that teachers had such sordid pasts?

I'm working on revising a couple of the things I wrote and I'll post them here if everyone else will share, too. (Apple pie, please please post your confession...?) And by the way, Sue, that poem you were looking for on my blog is now posted there, just for you. I'm glad you remember it almost a year later.

Anyone interested in meeting to write together over the summer?