National Writing Project

Teachers Teaching Teachers Focuses on Technology and Teaching Writing

Date: 2010

Summary: Through a weekly interactive webcast, New York City Writing Project teachers bring together teachers from across the country and the globe to discuss issues of classroom practice with new digital technology and to think through shared curriculum projects.

 

What began as an Internet phone-based meeting among technology-using teachers at the New York City Writing Project has emerged as a weekly webcast, chat, blog, and podcast called Teachers Teaching Teachers.

The show is appropriately titled because it's the perspectives of regular classroom teachers that makes the webcast special.

The live webcast, which happens every Wednesday evening beginning at 9 p.m. EST / 6 p.m. PST, brings together educators, students, and colleagues interested in discussing their teaching and learning practices.

Four teachers began this project in 2006: Paul Allison, Lee Baber, Susan Ettenheim, and Thomas Locke. Allison and Ettenheim, both teacher-consultants of the New York City Writing Project, continue to facilitate this work today.

Tell Us A Story About Your Classroom

"Keeping it real" is the show's mantra—meaning that the teacher-organizers are "searching for the most effective practices in technology, studying research, and improving our knowledge of new media by using it ourselves."

To keep it real, the show's favorite question is, "Can you tell us a story about that? Something that happened recently in your classroom?"

These weekly events have two main purposes: developing teacher knowledge and leadership in schools and districts, and putting this knowledge and leadership to work to improve student online reading and writing through the use of blogs, wikis, podcasts, and webcasts.

One participant, Peggy G., enthused, "Figuring it out together—very exciting!" on the October 1 show about a collaborative project between YouTube and the PBS News Hour called Video Your Vote .

Log In to Teachers Teaching Teachers

Teachers Teaching Teachers is webcast on EdTechTalk. You can log in through the Teachers Teaching Teachers or EdTechTalk websites and listen to the live webcasts as well as connect to other listeners via a real-time chat interface.

Download instructions for listening and chatting during a live show (PDF).

Guests on Teachers Teaching Teachers use an interactive voice-over-IP conferencing program called Skype to connect into the live conversation. The conversation is then archived as a podcast on the Teachers Teaching Teachers blog and is also available via iTunes.

Find Out More About Teachers Teaching Teachers

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