Dakota Writing Project

by Anne Moege, Mitchell Middle School 

Six South Dakota educators recently wrapped up participation in the Dakota Writing Project 2006-07 Electronic Writing Marathon (E-Marathon).  Michelle Rogge Gannon (University of South Dakota) and Greg Dyer (University of Sioux Falls) co-facilitated the E-Marathon, guiding this year’s participants in their exploration of several forms of technology.  Educators involved in the ’06-’07 E-Marathon included Annie Christain (University of South Dakota), Dawn Lewis (Burke School District), Anne Moege (Mitchell Middle School), Deb Harrison (Wall School District), Reva Potter (Belle Fourche Middle School), and Karen Rahn (Rutland School District).

Michelle Rogge Gannon explained, "Teachers from around the state were able to participate in this electronic writing marathon from the comfort of their own homes, exploring and writing in several digital environments. It was an opportunity for them to examine together how they might use these digital environments for writing and learning in their own classrooms."

For three weeks in July 2006, participants began an exploration of several online spaces—Tapped In (an online community for educators), Nicenet (an Internet classroom assistant), Chain Reading (a social space for book recommendations), and LiveJournal (a space for creating weblogs)—while focusing on writing across the curriculum.  This past January, the group followed up with three more weeks of writing and investigation by tackling the technology tools of Google.docs (a space for sharing documents for collaboration), podcasting (producing and publishing audio files through the Internet), and digital storytelling (creating electronic stories with images and sound).  During their Google.docs sessions, participants collaborated on various documents by adding stanzas to poems, adding suggestions to brainstorming lists, and making comments on pieces of writing.  The experimentation with podcasting and digital storytelling produced a variety of final products based on the educators’ classroom and personal experiences.

To conclude the marathon, several participants developed inquiry questions based on one or more of the forms of technology used during the marathon. The participants then implemented the technology within their classrooms for various periods of time, taking note of both struggles and successes. Finally, on May 14, the group shared their projects through one final online "showcase" conversation in Tapped In. Annie and Karen shared their students’ experiences with Google.docs, Reva described her students’ work with digital storytelling, and Anne discussed the weblogs her students created. In addition, Karen, Reva, and Anne were able to share their inquiry projects at the South Dakota Council of Teachers of English spring conference held in March. Annie Christain also facilitated a workshop on podcasting for teachers in the Wagner Open Institute (DWP-Wagner partnership).

In their final, showcase session in May, participants voiced positive feedback about the marathon, praising the value of the technology information and classroom ideas their online conversations produced.

Teachers who participated in last year's marathon included Heather Gayken, Tammy Maeschen, Lil Manthei, Anne Moege, and Lindsay Sorben. Some of the teachers who participated in one or both of the marathons also attended or will attend this summer the NWP Writing-and-Technology Writers' Retreat at Lied Lodge in Nebraska, including Dawn Lewis, Lil Manthei, Anne Moege, Reva Potter, and Lindsay Sorben. The retreat focuses on professional writing involving technology, providing the DWP E-Marathon participants with an opportunity to write about their inquiry projects. Two articles from the 2006 retreat by DWP E-Marathon participants are available online:

• "What a Wonderful World? A Middle School Teacher's 1:1 Reflections" by Anne Moege
• "Take Chances with Writing and Technology" by Lindsay Sorben.