san antonio

i recently returned from a conference of big dorks and geeks in san antonio. each year, the national council of teachers of english hosts a convention on new research and best practice in the field. last year, the conference really turned me onto multiple literacies. the outgoing president strongly emphasized that we just plain don't read and write today like we used to. we read differently. we write differently. we write shorter or longer or more infomrally or with links instead of citations. and she really sharged us to bring digital literacies into our classroom.

last year, i tried to start a weblog for student writing, and we brought in heroes. . .

this year, i've brought in a radio documentary project, a performance art piece, and now we're starting to work on a film journalism project. wiki. weblog. . . we'll see. i think the larger question is: do students receive enough support for core literacies? if not, does increased engagement and commitment override a step short in formal writing?