WMWP Summer Youth Writing Program 2020: Interactive Fiction
Some observations and reflections
https://sites.google.com/view/interactivefiction/home
Positives of shift to online
- Youth participants were all ready to write every day (opting in to a writing program)
- No geographic limitations for participation (one from China, with connection to local school)
- Opportunity for guest presenters (National Park Service Ranger Scott Gausen did a presentation on NPS that led into writing activity)
- Technology possibilities (different sites, platforms, collaboration, etc.)
- Combination of (offline) writing notebooks, Zoom chat, and other sites (and media)
- Mentor texts and tutorials seemed most helpful
- Lots of Icebreaker activities
- The theme of the program (Interactive Fiction) took advantage of technology and distance situation (lots of room for supported, but independent work)
- Regular email messaging (short information daily) with parents and youth writers together was seen as appreciated by families
Challenges of shift to online
- Not knowing kids beforehand, meeting only via video, was odd
- Technological hurdles (nothing we could not overcome) — but mobile vs computer, access/sharing links to sites, slow Internet speeds, helping a student work through an issue from afar (zoom), protected school Chromebooks, etc.
- Creating the right pacing (over-prepare) of writing activities
- Hard to read the Zoom room (some kept video off, for Internet reasons, or from typical camp shyness)
- Two hours each day seemed a lot (even with breaks and offline writing)
What I’d Do Different
- More use of Break Out Rooms for small group (or individual conferencing)
- More use of daily Exit Slips to get a sense of my pacing (too fast/too slow/just right)
- How to better encourage sharing of writing with people you don’t know
- Ask for student emails (with parent permission) during registration process to make setting up programs/sites easier
- Mail something (prompt or maybe even a Flat Stanley-ish thing) to each person beforehand with a fun activity to bring in on day one
Typical Day Format
- Icebreaker/Brainstorming activity
- Writing into the Day (prompts) and sharing
- Technology Lesson
- Playing around time with Tech
- Break
- Focus on a larger project (writing process)
- Sharing
- Writing out of the Day (if time)
Peace (reflecting to remember),
Kevin