This summer, with the HVWP Tech Team established and meeting monthly,  my own blogging experience under my belt and my collaborative work on the web with Kevin Hodgson, Karen McComas,Troy Hicks and others, I was motivated to pushed for more precious SI time for collective web work with the new TC’s. Many  interviewees talked about their interest in exploring technology. As usual, I presented my digital stories and and this year, a returning fellow worked on a piece he has been comitted to creating with software that I suggested.

As a group, though, we included 5 sessions during the SI for a new Tech Literacy Strand durng the SI schedule. During the first session we had participants create a personal blog as a place to share their drafts with the rest of the SI community for feedback. In addition, the community shared responses with the entire community on our SI blog that was linked to participant blogs and websites and blogs that I thought might be useful and helpful to the community in the future.

Once the individual blog was created, I moved them to register for the E-Anthology and take a look at what the anthology could offer them as they began to create drafts for our SI anthology. Some participants jumped right in, but many  moved  more slowly, concerned at first ,about the public issues of sharing on the net. Some were confused about the personal blog, the home blog, the E-Anthology. In the future it would be better to create one and then the other on a separate session.

I also pushed them to put something on the net by the end of the first week. Was that too soon? Most participants, in their reflections felt it was important to be pushed, even though it was tough to start. I think that participants needed a sheet to keep track of all their user names and passwords and a basic set of paper directions as well. I think it was great to have tech support provided by a returning fellow and participants that jumped in to help. As the Si moved along more participants, confident with the process, were able to support their community as well.

By the end of the SI, everyone had been using the E-Anthology to post pieces for feedback and read other pieces, especially from a sister site experiment with Western Mass and people were using their blogs and commenting and posting on our SI blog.

Sure it’s not the same as face-to-face feedback, but more sessions for writing groups were provided, There the problem was that some groups used writing group time to write. Can we find more time to write?

As the SI ended I collected anthology pieces and created an online anthology and a new blog to allow for comfortable threaded discussions.  I’m thinking that maybe a site like CLassroom 2.0 might be a better social networking blog to offer in addition to the E-Anthology.  I have to get in touch with the Facilitator of Western Mass to debrief as well.

I don’t have answers, but Thank G_d I’m not ending a more traditional workshop experience where it’s just a week and a real ending…I am not good with endings…I am not good with endings…

Today it will be easier and harder. Tuvia will force me back to our world: a hair cut at 11am, dinner with the Rosenberg clan,my birthday on Tuesday and crusing plans with my parents…all wonderful events to celebrate, but this experience as we know it is ending…

What a wonderful morning: I wrote on this blog and shared it visually and reading it. Then many others shared a prompt: The Last Day of the Summer Institute. Melba had a great bingo on your feet game. Reminds me of my opening day at school. Then photos shared by Beverly and Odell, Scott’s TIW reflection and finally my DS with great sound from my recently purchased speakers and I so enjoyed watching it along with them. It’s exciting to watch with an audience at the back of a dark auditorium. I wonder if this is how a movie director feels. I remember watching my student productions but I think this is different for me. I am the voice and it’s my writing and my photos. There’s no middle man. Anyway I think the group felt it was a gift to them and I will have copies when we meet in October along with their anthology DS.

I am so excited that Kirk has created his first DS about his Iraq experience.  He has come so far with the HVWP.  What an amazing piece.  I remember our early conversations about creating it and here it is with the voice of his son and the a photo of he and his daughter to end it.  Wow.  Impressive.  And he’s joining the tech team.  How lucky can we/I get!

What a wonderful group and I love my role with them. I love this whole experience. Sure, it’s better to co-facilitate, but honestly, it’s easier to not and that’s not as powerful. You know, leadership should not be easy. You need to share and I hope Kirk and Kerri and Rebecca and Mary feel that their voices were respected, heard and then some…

We are all clicking away in the lab and that’s very peaceful. What’s everyone writing???

And as Beverly and Odell finish up in the lab and we all head over the Rebecca’s I wonder how we will deal the heat and how Tuvia will find his way and feel about being with the group.

We arrive and I realize that I am starved and I find my way to the dips and appetizers and some wine.  Rebecca has set her place up to be a perfect place to share for one last time, to end the summer.  I am eating without any guilt or control, not good.  That needs to stop. The food is lovely and creative and comes from the heart.

We smooze, as I watch the clock.  Melba’s family is with us and David will be playing guitar and singing with Madlyn and his daughter.  Perfect.  The kids are great and happy to listen to the reading.

The anthologies look great and as I push the group to eat and get to the books I realize that I am in that clock keeper position.  Terry helps me find an easy button to put my phone on vibrate so I can listen, document and watch out for Tuvia.  All the pieces come together. Tuvia arrives as Justine finishes her piece and Beverly stands and asks us to join her at the front to thank us for our time and effort with lovely momentoes.  What a wonderful surprise and something too, for Scott.  Perfect.

TUvia is blown away by Madlyn’s Amazing Grace and as we all move in for a group photo it’s hard to say good bye to everyone.

What happened to the tshirt plan?  I have to ask Kerri..

So where do we go from here?

BK

What a treat today, Julie’s Log with her guitar. Wonderful! And I have it on tape!

Today we had one last TIW, the TIW conversation. I’m glad that Rebecca remembered to list everyone’s TIW, so that we could have people refer specifically, to the work of others and they identified things they learned and might still have lingering questions about. The responses were again, powerful. What I remember most is Julie’s comment about creating workshop threads for elementary, ms and hs. Love that.

Scott arrived late after a long night creating the anthologies, and preparing for his TIW. I hope he’s okay tonight and can be with us tomorrow. This morning we used the writing time to write from the reading articles, selecting a passage as a jumping off point. I wil never forget Madlyn’s reading from it. We saved it for the afternoon and wow, it was so good for us to move out of the computer lab and back to the room to share this. Bravo, Kerri!

Scott presented a powerful strategy that needs some refocusing for audience and stance and time spaces for writing and sharing. I hope he can join us tomorrow to bask in his anthology work. The books are officially ready at the printers. YES!

We were in the lab. I worried a bit about presenting CLassroom 2.0 and Kirk was such a big help. He’s always a strong support even if he doesn’t talk a lot. He is one great, lm, guy! So glad he’s been with us the last two summers.

I hope people don’t see me as a “boss”. I want to be popular and that’s hard when you are leading, but I being where I am and comfortable with what I do, most of the time.

It was great to have my DS piece completed last night although I did have to trade out the phone of my “real” first SI, for the first one I loved with TOm and Mary.

Tomorrow night with Tuvia with the Gunks outside our window. I am ready for being with him for a night in New Paltz.

When will I start missing SI’07? We have a good day planned for tomorrow. I hope it’s not too hot and not too much for Rebecca.

And I could go to bed at any moment now.

PS The Panels came down and I loved hearing the ahhhs from Madlyn. What a passionate force she is a she plays in the group.

We are done and I can’t imagine driving home but somehow, with the help of Jackie on the phone and Tuvia on the way to meet me, I am okay on the Thurway but I”m wondering how I will finish my DS and read for tomorrow.  But I am home and pleased with the place, as usual.  I turn on the AC to cool down the humdity and when Tuvia arrives we are off to the Golden Mushroom for Chinese and I eat too much and am axious to get home and finish my work.    I put on what I have, sure that there’s a lot to edit and NO it was just very late when I finally quit but there was more there than I realized.

Tuvia was very patient.  He was so up for a walk and that happened.  Our walk inside the complex and then back home but I was Done.  Just needed to fix the resolution by creating the piece in full quality: 1.4 gigs and that’s okay.

And I read Kathy’s piece.  Wonderful and I remember Kathy reading it when we scrawled in the city with Tom  a few years ago.  It was in an early stage.  Now. wow, nice, beautiful voice and details and characters and organization. Nice. Really Nice.

And tomorrow is Wednesday and we are back in the lab.

Sheherazde’s workshop was so musical to my ears.  I love to listen and watch her grace, a lovely bird and she presented such a  caring way.  Yes, she was nervous sharing her work outside her island, but her love and pride in her student work was inspiring.

I was dying to get to my DS, curious to move it along and I knew I had to wait.  The afternoon was for the end of our reading group as Mary and I raced back from lunch realizing that we got our meals at the exact moment we had to be back with our group.  We had to get there and I didn’t want to leave.  I didn’t even get to that last chapter and I forgot that I was supposed to facilitate the discussion.  I didn’t really have to, the rest of the group was doing it.  YES!  But it was cool that I saw a great way to present the book from what I was listening from the in the group.  I think this is a good book, probably the best one I’ve ever read in these reading groups. But I just couldn’t stay focused with for now.  I am juggling too many other balls.

I love the book presentations at the end of the day, but I didn’t like the slam on Sheridan.  Maybe I was too sensitive and maybe I like Rebecca’s idea of one book for the SI to read together with some articles….just a thought.

I wonder what other SI’s do?  I have to ask that again?

We just keep having very rich conversations.  I am relaxed enough that I do have a chance to chat with fellows.  I can’t do the writing group thing or even the coaching focus, but I don’t think I need to.  What about felows using writing group time to write?  How do we find more air space? Long SI?

Home, with lots of energy.  How did that happen?  I house is warm, I am not eating a dinner.  I don’t need to eat.  Just watermelon and diet Dr. Pepper and my work on my DS and conversations with Marla, Aunt Sally, Rebecca who feels MUCH BETTER!, Mary and Jackie on email and TUVIA until he turned for the light, exhausted.

I worked on my piece until I got to its end.  But I am not finished,but getting closer.  Too many photos, too many words?  I’m not sure here.  I’m liking part of it, the idea of the piece.

Did I get the sleep?  Even though it was midnight, I did have to play a bit with my new computer.  How could I not?

So I am in the writing zone. I am now always writing it, in front of this screen, in the shower, riding in the car, in a conversation. I am writing a bit, moving to something else, coming back, looking/thinking about photos and video and recorded voice pieces I have and then back again. THat’s how I’ve become comfortable with this creating. I wanted to use Girl from Ipanema for the music or a piece by my Asad brothers and the crazy violinist they teamed up with a few years ago… Can’t decide yet. I won’t know until I have enough to put this on the computer. And I have a new mic to use for this one…

And I just found out my major computer has arrived. It’s waiting for me in the Dean’s Office. My hands are shaking. Two new computers, am I a tech pig???

Back to writing first hand. What fun!

Tuvia is joining me next Thursday for a sleep over at the Minnewaska Lodge and for the end of the celebratory reading at Rebecca’s.

I am writing my DS piece slowly and steadily. It’s now always with me and I am no longer uptight about not staying with it from start to finish. I take it in the rhythm that seems comfortable.

I have been buidling my piece, and finally as I near the end I read it aloud to Tuvia and to myself.  I like it.  He got it and I could hear where it needs to be tighter and clearer.

I can’t wait to begin the voice-over to see what I need to do with it and I selected lots of photos to choose from after I have the VO moving.  I know the music I want. I hope it works.

Today was the opportunity for our new SI to connect with the greater HVWP community and the NWP world beyond with the help of Melba and her workshop. She took us to her work with ELL’s in Texas and while many of us have worked with Ell’s her work was uniquely her own and not here.

It was powerful, from prompt on.. we took a text walk, shared quotes, at tea party. The SI07 opened to the HVWP visitors in the 1907 room. A powerful experience as Melba read a student piece and we took a break.

A powerful experience followed by the panel sharing from returning fellows seeped in challenging projects.. Beyond SI’07 has teeth as we move into the week #4.

A great lunch with lots of people to reconnect with. So good to have Devon join us. And Bob M. And great food from The Bakery and Rebecca is back for the day. Can’t forget that good news.

Mary has Martin along with her and there’s room for everyone.

Let’s see if I can list every visitor:

Steve and Kristen Masson/

Denise, Kathy Y., Diane, Rob, Eric, Anne, Brandt, Dottie, Shari, Muriel, Sharon E. Jackie D and Sophia.

Bob M, Devon, (the woman who knows She)

An afternoon for reading groups and then a final reflection and so many people are feeling overwhelmed by the gift of the writing project. We are overwhelmed by them. Melba should be walking on air. David will be playing guitar for us at our final celebration, I’m not up for it. I wish I was.

And I am moving now on my DS piece….

All good, but exhaustion. It’s good to have Tuvia support my work passions.

Where am I this summer? Now as the SI has taken off, just the way you would want it to, we have solid groups, yes? Writing groups, TIW groups, Reading groups, the larger community and tech is flowing. It’s probably time for me to be reading on our blog, fellows blogs…Eanthology…but as I read last night, I wondered what I should be reading, what’s the latest…that’s what I want to read, the latest.

I still need a piece… My search for community, that’s what I keep beginning and then stopping and starting again…I plan out in the my head that the HVWP provided community for me and yes, I found community with the HVWP, but I always felt a part of a school community even if it wasn’t my department, and for a time I did feel that there was a department community, but we didn’t share much…

Community what is it and why does it obsess me so?

Still no story for the SI’07 Anthology but I have moved my efforts to a SI’07 DS and for that I have photos to stare at and insights to be provided by the team.  I am playing around with my words, but so far, I am not satisfied, but I have a clear focus for a writing project.

Today Rebecca was talking with me on the phone from her bed and it was totally impossible for her to consider getting up and joining us.  So for a second day Rebecca had to stay away and that was driving her crazy as we spoke on my way up to New Paltz and then again, on my way home.  I loved the company but for Rebecca it was not as satisfying.  There was no choice here and everyone felt her absence.

As for the tempo and tone of the SI?  It’s great.  The writing groups are bonding, the reading groups and nearing their conclusions, the TIW’s are offering us powerful opportunities to talk about how they would work in classrooms.  And I am able to breathe, play on the computer and laugh with Odell and play with Scott in the afternoon.

And today I have my prompts ready, Madlyn was going to present..

And now I am home and the day is over and it was good for me to leave a bit earlier as we set our lunch on Thursday, I checked in with Jackie and Rebecca had to leave early with a back spasm.  I hope that she doesn’t push herself beyond what’s humanly possible.

Madlyn was great.  I loved her workshop although, I was distracted hoping that the small role of tech would be smooth and it was.

NOTE for 08: Create a form with websites and room for passwords and logins for participants.

I have some reading to do and writing…I am feeling the guilt of writing….