Writers at Work: Making and Connected Learning

Written by The Current
July 10, 2013

In July 2013, the National Writing Project hosted a series of webinars and twitter chats at Connected Learning TV called Writers at Work.

In that series, we tapped into a variety of ways that Connected Learning principles provide a powerful framework for innovating practice in and across a range of learning environments and are being explored and embodied in schools, after-school programs, and informal learning situations.

Writing as Making/Making as Writing When we think of the current Maker Movement, we often picture robotics, crafts, or digital fabrication. What happens when we push ourselves to think about writing, media-making, and the arts too?

What Does “Interest-Driven” Look Like? How can educators—in school and out—support youth to pursue and document the ideas that matter to them, while simultaneously helping them to use a critical lens?

Learning Pathways What do learning pathways look like as young people move across learning contexts in pursuit of their interests in school, at home, in libraries, community centers and online?

From Expression to Impact: Youth Civic Engagement Enacted How are educators fostering civic engagement in Connected Learning environments? How are principles of youth organizing adapting to the new literacies of connected learning?

We invite you to continue to participate in these conversations and have uploaded the webinar archives to a “video dialogue” tool called Vialogues to support you in doing so.

Writing as Making/Making as Writing

When we think of the current Maker Movement, we often picture robotics, crafts, or digital fabrication. What happens when we push ourselves to think about writing, media-making, and the arts too?

Below is an interactive version of the webinar (thanks to Vialogues), which allows you to add your own comments to the conversation. Feel free to jump in here and/or browse the various related resources below.

Note: Play the video in the browser below and/or click on “Discuss in Vialogues” to add comments directly.

List of Hangout Participants

Elyse Eidman-Aadahl – National Writing Project
Nichole Pinkard – Digital Youth Network
Bud Hunt – Colorado State University Writing Project
Andrew Sliwinski – DIY.org
Jeff Brazil (Moderator/Host) – Digital Media and Learning Research Hub

What Does “Interest-Driven” Look Like?

How can educators—in school and out—support youth to pursue and document the ideas that matter to them, while simultaneously helping them to use a critical lens?

Note: Play the video in the browser below and/or click on “Discuss in Vialogues” to add comments directly.

List of Hangout Participants

Paul Allison – New York City Writing Project
Mimi Ito – Digital Media and Learning Research Hub
Nicole Mirra – UCLA Writing Project
Stephanie West-Puckett – Tar River Writing Project
Paul Oh (Moderator/Host) – National Writing Project

Learning Pathways

What do learning pathways look like as young people move across learning contexts in pursuit of their interests in school, at home, in libraries, community centers, and online?

Note: Play the video in the browser below and/or click on “Discuss in Vialogues” to add comments directly.

List of Hangout Participants

Kris Gutierrez – University of Colorado at Boulder
Anna Smith – New York University
Paul Allison – New York City Writing Project/YouthVoices.net
Vanessa Gennarelli – Peer 2 Peer University (P2PU)
Elyse Eidman-Aadahl (Moderator/Host) – National Writing Project

From Expression to Impact: Youth Civic Engagement Enacted

How are educators fostering civic engagement in connected learning environments? How are principles of youth organizing adapting to the new literacies of connected learning?

Note: Play the video in the browser below and/or click on “Discuss in Vialogues” to add comments directly.

List of Hangout Participants