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WRITERS’

WORKSHOP

Using technology to tell their stories

By Ray VoleyKenny Lake School

Table of ContentsIntroduction and Keys to Success..................................................................... Page 3How Writers’ Workshop addresses Core, ITSE, and NETS standards.............. Page 4Summer Teacher Academy...................................................................... .......... Page 5Rationale for Summer Academy Approach....................................................... Page 6Summer Academy Itinerary............................................................................... Pages 7-8Budget and Budget Narrative............................................................................ Pages 9-11Academy Timeline............................................................................................ Page 12Appendix.................................................................. ........................................ Pages 13-27Writers’ Workshop: A Loop Approach.............................................................. Page 14Student comments............................................................................................. Page 15Teacher comments............................................................................................. Page 16-17Hawknews.org screenshots............................................................................... Pages 18-22Core, ISTE and NETS Standards...................................................................... 3-25Raymond Voley Resume................................................................................... Page 26Editorial: “Let’s Use the film subsidy to gamble on our youth”....................... Page 27Alaska Humanities Forum Article..................................................................... Page 28Letters of Support.............................................................................................. Pages 29-33

Page 2

Statewide Writers’ Workshop Proposal Introduction

Alaska occupies an exceptional place in history, culture, and geography. Superlatives invari-ably miss the mark when attempting to describe our state’s magnificent country, exceptional people, and intriguing stories. Writers’ Workshop encourages students to tell Alaska’s pe-culiar stories, addressing what is often overlooked by a canned approach to writing instruc-

tion. Students work as a team to produce their very best writing by learning to edit, revise, and critique each other’s work. Their stories are published on a community website in a variety of media formats: video, audio/podcast and written (see hawknews.org). This approach will challenge the very best writers, as well as those who struggle with the written word. Writers’ Workshop naturally and seamlessly promotes a differentiated approach to writing instruction.

Keys to SuccessA Writers’ Workshop class does not follow a linear route to writing instruction. The best model to de-

scribe the approach would be a loop. (See Page 14). The Writers’ Workshop model is built on collaboration, technology, and authenticity. It requires the development of at least seven key factors:

1) Students develop and write on topics that are personally intriguing. (Relevancy ensures engagement)2) Students work together as teams to revise and critique each other’s work. 3) Vocabulary, grammar and evaluation are embedded in authentic writing assignments.4) Students produce a digital magazine for a website, and receive feedback not only from their peers,

but from community members, relatives, and friends across the globe. (The hawknews.org website receives from 200-700 hits a day, which means that it reaches well beyond the school community).

5) Students have access to technology tools such as digital cameras, camcorders, mp3 recorders, and microphones, which they are free to take to the source of their stories.

6) All students are challenged because of the open-ended format of the Writers’ Workshop approach. A proficient writer can serve as managing editor. Struggling writers find easy access points from which they develop their skills and move forward.

7) Students can reference exemplars of quality student work, and follow a process (brainstorming, story mapping, draft writing, revising, publishing), that promotes the highest quality writing.

“How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”

-- Henry David Thoreau

Core and ISTE and NETS Standards

The Core and ISTE and NETS standards permeate the Writers’ Workshop approach. Students write every single day. The 2011-2012 students in Kenny Lake School’s Writers’ Workshop class produced an average of nine stories, and 10 blog entries by the end of the year. Each of these stories required

students to brainstorm, outline, collaborate, and revise multiple drafts. Students wrote on a wide range of sub-jects: science, political, opinion, how-to, biographical, radio plays, poetry, essay, book reviews, etc. The Core Standards require informative, explanatory, and opinion (argument) writing. They also require students to revise and develop their writing to make it more precise and coherent. Students develop grammar and vocabulary skills that are embedded in a genuine writing experiece. All of these outcomes are key components of the Writ-ers’ Workshop approach. Students pursue topics that are personally relevant, and learn to work with their peers to produce their very best work. It is an organic approach that is completely consistent with the Writing Core Standards.

To use a very inelegant simile, the Writers’ Workshop approach covers the ISTE and NETS standards like an oil slick. Student writing is showcased in a variety of media formats, i.e. video, audio/podcast, or written, This approach requires students to develop and polish technology skills related to audio and video. Students receive feedback on their work from across the globe, which promotes the understanding that writing has an impact beyond the classroom. This concept of audience intrinsically motivates students. Think about it: Under which conditions would a student strive to produce their very best work: In an sealed environment where only the classroom teacher comments on the student work; or in an environment where peers, family, community respond to the student’s story?

While not specifically addressing the Reading and Math Core Standards, and the Alaska Cultural Standards, this approach bolsters all of the above. Students who learn how to write opinion and historical inquiry stories must develop the highest form of reading skills. Students who learn how to write and communicate clearly can apply these same skills to math reasoning.

Vision for Scaling Up Writers’ Workshop

My goal is to teach passionate and motivated Alaska teachers and students all the skills to develop a Writers’ Workshop class in which students produce written, audio/podcast, and video stories that reflect the cultural, historical, and geographical environments in which they live. Teachers will

learn how to develop and maintain a website modeled on hawknews.org that showcases student work for the community and the world. Each teacher will bring one student who will provide assistance once the two return to their schools.

Teachers will receive the following technology tools: 1 Pelican box loaded with four portable camcorders, two hero head cameras, four mp3 recorders, four digital still cameras, six microphones, and 4 mini tri-pods. Ap-proximate cost for each kit is $2500.00. At this point, I believe the teachers should also be provided with a copy of Adobe Premiere essentials. There are actually several in-the-cloud video editing services, such as jaycut.com,, but they can be cumbersome to use. Teachers will also receive a one year subscription to Weebly’s profes-sional, and a domain name, to publish their Writers’ Workshop website.

Teachers will learn how to use the digital tools in their kit, how to create a website using Weebly, and how to organize a class using the Writers’ Workshop approach during a five-day workshop at Kenny Lake School. It is important to attract motivated and passionate teachers who are willing to try a new approach with their students. Teachers would be expected to teach at least one Writers’ Workshop class during the upcoming year in their district. The academy will be held prior to the start of each teacher’s writers’ class, which will allow them to “hit the ground running.” Teachers and students will be taught how to use storyboards, exemplars, web resources, revision and evaluation tools, and receive at least 10 “field-tested,” Core Standards-based, lesson plans that can be adapted to their particular environment. They will also receive ongoing support from their cadre of teachers and from me. At the end of the year, teachers will earn a stipend if they fulfill the requirements of the class. (See Page 11)

Rationale for this Approach

During my 20 years of teaching, I have seen many well-intentioned initiatives shot like arrows into the wind, never to be seen again. I don’t want this proposal to be one of them. My goal of creating 12 functional, student-driven websites devoted to creative expression can only be achieved if teach-

ers and students are given the right tools, at the right time, with the right support. This requires that we learn from mistakes, and emulate success. Listed below are the key ingrediants that will make this vision a success.

a) Create an application system that identifies and selects passionate, creative teachers who are knowledge-able, committed, and driven.

b) Treat these teachers like professionals by creating an experience that is engaging, meaningful, and pro-motes individual creativity for both the students and teachers alike.

c) District support. Each district should ensure that the participating teacher will have one Writers’ Work-shop on their upcoming schedule, and access to computers during this time. The district should also provide a $300.00 budget for incidentals related to this class.

d) Place the technology tools into the hands of teachers and students, and offer training in their use immedi-ately prior to the start of the school year.

e) Provide ongoing support, and keep the teachers connected with their academy peers.f) Create an incentive for the teachers to produce a finished website with a minimum of 12 audio stories, 12

video stories, 12 written stories, and at least eight entries in each student’s blog. g) Create one central web location where all the writers’ websites can be accessed. Once a variety of exem-

plars are online, my expectation is that other teachers across Alaska will seek to duplicate the success of this initiative, and then we can move onto the next phase. It will also provide students the chance to learn about the culture and lifestyle of their peers living in different Alaska regions and to connect with them. In effect it will create a digital habitat similiar to the Alaska Humanties Forum’s Rose Rural Urban Exchange Program.

General Itinerary for Writers Workshop AcademyDay 1Session 1: (Teachers) Overview of the Academy, website: Set up homepage, using themes. Organizing the main catego-ries, Add blog page, text, pictures, links, more pages, Set up sub directories, edit headers. Writing Strand: Writing Territo-ries, blog entry 1. Session 1: (Students) Writing Territories, Where I’m from Poem. Revise in teams using insert notes. Collect photos.Session 2: Tech Skills (All) Identify 12 unique stories peculiar to your region, people and resources. Using an mp3 re-corder. Interviewing. Capturing an interview, but the sounds as well. Intro to Audacity. Writing Expedition (All) Interview a teacher or student. Trip to the Tonsina bluff to capture person and experience. Re-cord with mp3 recorder. Homework: Write first blog entry.

Day 2Session 1: (Teachers) Setting up a schooltube channel. How to turn off comments (recommended); using buttons, embed-ding video, and audio, forms, surveys. Website work on sections, adding pages, etc. Session 1: (Students) Drama and Film. Retelling a Native Legend. Groups of 3-4. Prepare script/storyboard, revise and edit in groups, find costumes and rehearse. Session 2: Tech Skills (All) Produce interview stories in teams or solo depending on competence level of participants. Us-ing Podcast storyboards, editing groups, the production. Show how grammar and vocab can be embedded into the process. Writing Expedition (All) Introduction to videography techniques. Adventure story. Trip to Liberty Falls for video story using camcorders and Hero head cameras to capture a story.

Day 3Session 1 (Teachers) Galleries, forms, moving stories to new pages, Using Statistics. Web page work. Upload an audio file. Review digital resources, i.e. akhistorycourse.org, digital sandbox, Alaska Digital Archives. Develop adventure story using storyboard, peer revision techniques. Session 1 (Students) Drama and Film. Retelling a Native Legend. Groups of 3-4. Filming. Session 2: Tech Skills (All) Basic video editing #1. Project folders, setting up a timeline with bins; importing audio, video, transitions, titles, etc. Work on Adventure story and Native Legend editing in teams or solo depending on the competence level of participants. Session 3: Writing Expedition (All) Interviewing an elder. Capture with muiltiple methods. Understanding the art of the interview and how to ask open ended questions.

Day 4Session 1 (Teachers) Core Standards and Writers’ Workshop , enjoyable activities, mystery person, bluff the student, advice section. Website building continued. Session 1 (Students) Continue film editing. Create a video poem using “Where I’m From” poem. Session 2: Tech Skills (All) Basic Film Editing #1. Adding music and special effects, using a greenscreen. Exporting and compression techniques. Session 3:Copper River fishwheels. Writing about place. Capturing sounds, sights of place.

Day 5Session 1: (Teachers) How to embed vocabulary and conventions instruction, syllabus and class flow. How to organize first quarter. Create a yearly plan. 10 lesson plans to help you move in the right direction. Review audio conference sched-ule; Google Group. Identify six unique stories in your region. Session 2: Students work on video poem and or native legend video. Showcase: Teachers and students share posted projects. Send comments via website. Lunch: Depart for Anchorage.

Days 8:00 to 9:00 9:00 to 11:45

11:45 to 12:30

12:30 to 2:00

2:00 to 6:00 6:00 -7:00

Evening

Day 1 Breakfast Teachers: Website, class development. Students: Hands-on film or audio activity.

Lunch All: Technical Skills Train-ing

Story expedi-tion. All

Dinner Students: Basketball




Dinner Students: Flag Football




Dinner Students: Baseball




Dinner Students: Ul-timate Frisbee



Budget (Tentative) This budget reflects my intent to make this initiative a success. The short term goal is to improve student writing and engagement by creating a sustainable writing project in 12 Alaska schools. To achieve this result requires a number of critical financial components: 1) District support. Districts must support these teachers who are developing the Writers’ Workshop project for their schools. These teachers need access to computers, and a schedule that allows them to instruct one Writers’ Workshop class. 2) Selection of committed and passionate teachers who have the ability to follow through on an un-known. 3) Technology tools put into the hands of teachers and students so they can teach their students to use these tools for the greatest possible benefits. 4) Quality professional development, including technology training and writing methodology that can be immediately applied to the classroom. 5) Treating teachers as professionals, and shaping an experience that honors their importance and val-ues their time. Providing an incentive that rewards a completed website. 6) Ongoing technology and classroom support.

Writers’ Workshop Academy Budget

12345678910111213141516171819

$86,800

Budget NarrativePersonnel Expenses: Total $16,500

Line Item 1: This expense covers the cost of organizing, recruitment, logistics, and instruction for the sum-mer academy. It also includes the cost of providing teacher support until May 2014, and the development of a central website that links to all of the finished class websites. I expect to devote a minimum of 200 hours to this enterprise. Line Item: 2: An assistant teacher will help present technology and writing lessons to the teachers, as well as leading a variety of discussions. The assistant teacher will also help out with driving during the fall academy. Line Item 3: This expense covers the cost of a cook to provide healthy meals to the teachers. Line Item 4: This expense covers the cost of a student tech aide who would work during the summer academy to help teachers learn the audio editing, video editing, and website design program introduced during the class. This person will also provide support during the field trips. Line Item 5: This expense covers the cost of providing two adult chaperones for the students during the eve-ning and night hours.

Operating expenses: $70,300Line Item 7: This is the approximate cost to supply teachers with an individual technology kit. Each kit will include four camcorders, four mp3 recorder, 4 digital cameras, 6 microphones, 2 digital Hero head cameras. All of the items will come in a waterproof and shockproof Pelican case, and each of the digital tools will be placed in soft cases. Line Item 8: Teachers will be transported from UAA and back. Line Item 9: Housing: During the academy, teachers will reside in the following B@Bs and motels: The Golden Spruce, The Copper Moose B&B, Wellwood B&B, and Pippin Lake B@B, as necessary. Teachers will be transported each day to Kenny Lake School for breakfast.Line Item 10: This line item covers the costs of the following field trips: Liberty Falls Hike, Fish Wheel Tour, and Interview of an elder. Line Item 11: Meals will be prepared for the teachers at Kenny Lake School. This will cover the cost of the meals. Line Item 12: Three hours of college credit will be offered to the teachers as an incentive to publish a viable student writers’ website. Line Item 13: Teacher Stipends. Teachers will also be awarded a $1,000 stipend upon meeting the requirements of producing a viable website. Line Item 14: Teachers will be provided with a one-year subscription to Weebly professional web authoring services, and a domain name specific to their school. Line Item 15: Stipends for guest speakers. Line Item 16: Cost for paperwork to recruit passionate and committed Alaska teachers. Line Item 17: Supplies for teachers. Each teacher will receive a three ring binder that includes the following: Model lesson plans, instructions on how to embed grammar and vocabulary instruction in the writers’ workshop model, flashdrive and DVD with lesson plans, and exemplars to use in the classroom. Line Item 18: Postage. Cost for correspondence with teachers.Line Item 19: CRSD differential. This is the usual cost for districts to manage the grant monies.

Academy Project Timeline • January, 2013: Secure funding commitments. • February, 2013: ASTE Conference Presentation and Secure lodging in Copper Basin. • March-April, 2013: Recruit Alaska teachers. Contact districts to ensure support for upcoming school year. Hire teacher assistant, and aide. • May, 2013: Technology Purchases, Set up Weebly Ac-counts/Domain Names for Teachers. • July, 2013: Complete presentation book and flash drive with resources. Order food, hire cook. • Late July, early August, 2013. Writers’ Academy.

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Student Comments from hawknews.org Student impression on Day I of Writers’ Workshop class.

Hey, I’m Deanna Knutson; this is my first official blog, as opposed to being unofficial. I always feel that the first of everything should be a little special, so, starting with the very beginning of these blogs, I’ll be featur-ing an “Ever Wonder” comment at the end of each post. Obviously this isn’t the end so hold your horses. As the weeks of summer began narrowing down to nearly nothing, I started dreading the thought of school, homework, and other atrocities. It’s only been the fourth day and I’ve already brought the wrong book to class, forgot homework at school, had a battle with my locker, and had a physical disability. No, not mental. But on that first day I woke up too early to function, I went to school and listened to endless instructions and rules, not saying there’s anything wrong with them. I was just about done for when I heard there would be a Root Beer Float at the end of the day! All I had to do was live through two more periods and ROOT BEER!!! So, yes, I had to live through math…but when I walked through Mr. Voley’s door for the third time that day, I suddenly got a sense of excitement, thrill, creativ-ity, and a sore hand! This could be fun, I thought. And I was so right! Someone recently told me that the last period was supposed to fun, and I totally agree! Unfortunately that same person was in the writing class… Each day when I wake up I’ll be looking forward to one class! The very own Writer’s Workshop!!! And if there’s root beer floats at the end of each day, I think there’d be a tie for first. Do you ever wonder why the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune???

Impression from a student one year later Hello from down south! I would much rather say “Hello from the far north” But oh well. So far I guess you could say I am liking it here in Oklahoma. It is way too flat though! However I do like the thunder and lightning storms we get passing through often. I miss home dearly and frequently wish that I could retreat back to high school! College is very different, and I think that I like high school better so far. I feel as if Kenny Lake School prepared me in many ways for college, but in many ways did not. The biggest, being that I feel like there was too much help just readily available. At college you can’t just stay after class and ask a bunch of questions or come in early. It is much dif-ferent and at a very fast pace. I am currently taking a reading and writing literature class, which I am not fond of, but at least I get to write. I miss writing for your writers’ workshop class! Now that I look back on it that was probably my favorite class senior year (although don’t tell Mr. Friendshuh that!) It gave me the chance to express my feeling about topics, and the best part was is that I did not have to follow any certain pattern or try to believe someone else’s opinion and try to write a paper on it. The topics were mine, I got the chance to be original; I was the creator of my “art”! I just wanted you to know that I highly appreciate what you have done for me and for the opportunity to take part in your classes. Every one of them holds a fond memory! I would love to write more, but I have to get ready for class!

Comments from Teacher who Attended Writers’ Workshop Presentation in 2012 Posted by Taryn Stein on March 20, 2012 at 1:30pm in *Special Interest Group (SIG): Creativity and Col-laboration I loved Ray Voley’s Hawk News website out of Kenny Lake. To me, this is what creativity and collaboration is all about. His students in English and Creative Writing participate in various assigned projects throughout the semester and then Ray posts them to the website which is designed in Weebly. The website provides an opportunity for peer editing, inspiration, and multiple formats of writing, including scripts for podcasts and videos, editorial writing, journal writing, and essays. It also connects the student work to the community and those around the world, as well as prepares students for the types of skills they will need in college and the workplace. Ray is the ultimate moderator the website, viewing all comments and posts before they are put online. I look forward to seeing more. Check it out here: http://www.hawknews.org/ Replies to This Discussion Permalink Reply by Jason B on March 22, 2012 at 12:47pm I just checked out Ray’s site! It is great. Thanks for the tip Taryn. I went to the weekly site and checked out the features. There are so many choices for creating a web presence that it is hard to choose one! And I would like to keep all my web life in as few places as possible. Now I have stuff in ASD Moodle, ASD Google Docs, Personal Google Sites, etc... ASD is rolling out a new content management system over the next few years and I hope that will fill my need for posting info. Since I posted my reaction to students and social media I have decided to help a classroom teacher get start-ed with Edmodo! I made plans to visit a teacher in the ASD that is currently using Edmodo and then will go to another school and help a teacher set up an account in the ASD Edmodo domain. I just finished helping my son do his science fair project entirely online. The only thing on his science fair board was a QR code that took people with QR readers to his site. It is high time we abandoned the cardboard mountain of old science fair projects and went online!Permalink Reply by Eileen Mock on March 23, 2012 at 11:15am And think of the trees we’ll save!

Permalink Reply by Tammy Morris on March 26, 2012 at 11:13am Yes! When I moved from Ketchikan to Juneau a few years ago, I removed those big Science Fair displays from their safe out-of-the-way resting place and took pictures of them so I didn’t have to move them. A Science Fair project website is even better!

Permalink Reply by Courtney Pfannenstein on March 23, 2012 at 3:13pm What a great site! I’m so glad you shared this Taryn. This is an incredible way to share what kids are doing and learn-ing in school. I also love the variety of ways to publish (podcast, written essay, editorial letters, video, etc.). What a great way to empower kids too! It must feel pretty good to see your hard work being celebrated on a website like this. I really liked that way certain stories linked to other opportunities. For example, I went to an article about food and a pizza mak-ing workshop the students were having. I think they made pizzas and delivered them as a community service project or perhaps a fund raiser...not sure. People had written thank you notes, the kids had pictures of pizza making on the page, and at the bottom was an order form if one was interested in purchasing pizzas! I have often thought of ways to simplify fund raisers such as this, by allowing customers to place orders on-line. It would make for a much more efficient process. This is super, thanks again for sharing!

Permalink Reply by Laura brager on March 23, 2012 at 6:46pm I am lucky to be able to work with Ray. He is truly inspiring. I have been working on my own class website. It has been a project for the last few years. I appreciate using Ray’s website as a guide for my own. Some of the writing he has gotten from his students is so inspiring. I enjoy watching their progress throughout the year. In creating my own class website, there are some huge challenges. I have struggled with finding the time to upload all of the information to keep it up to date. The content management can be quite challenging. Also, it makes me nervous putting student creations and content on the Internet. There are so many positives that outweigh the challenges, however until I have a stronger grasp of set-tings, limitations and guidelines I just don’t feel comfortable posting my own website. Any suggestions or tips would be welcome!

Permalink Reply by Rachel McNeil on March 24, 2012 at 9:13am Ray’s website is amazing! It is also very inspiring as it has so many different forms of student work represented. I too am very wary of what content is posted on my classroom site. I try to never include a student’s last name on any of their work that is posted. It is difficult with how easy and positive it can be to share things on the internet to remember that it is hard to ever truly delete your internet footprints. Student’s receive such benefits from having their work dis-played publicly and I think that a class website is a great resource for that. It would be nice if it could be done within a district shell, so others could not view it, but then parents and family members would end up excluded and that would defeat much of the purpose. It is an interesting challenge.I love his “Mystery Person” quizzes. Those would be really fun for a beginning of the year activity. And since Google makes it so easy to imbed GoogleForms into their websites, it would not be hard to create.

Permalink Reply by Akela Silkman on March 24, 2012 at 3:59pm I also attended Ray Voley’s session on the Hawk News and was in awe of the incredible work that he’s done with his students. The student projects that he shared with us were powerful! Wow! I can tell that he has had a signifi-cant impact on his students and has been effective in opening up an authentic avenue for writing and communication that wouldn’t otherwise be realized. Unlike, Ray, I don’t work with high school students but was inspired by his work with students and have considered how to create opportunities for authentic writing experiences for my first graders. Technology integration in writing is an incredible tool for creating these opportunities more quickly and easily than ever before. Instead of the time and cost of producing a class or school newspaper, Ray has done essentially the same thing but through a forum that is not only more accessible to produce but can also be shared outside of the classroom, the school, and even the community!Permalink Reply by Tammy Morris on March 26, 2012 at 11:18am I believe that sharing student work (safely, of course) is essential to a successful community and society. It is easy to be-come disengaged with our family, friends, and others these days with technology, but fortunately, with technology it’s also easy to become more engaged.

Permalink Reply by Shawn Sidelinger on March 24, 2012 at 4:28pm I was so lucky to have chosen Ray Voley’s presentation: Writer’s Workshop using Technology. I was an ASTE rookie, thus a bit lost in the whole conference thing and walked in on my first presentation Sunday morn, an ASTE con-tributing sponsor presentation, and was disappointed. I thought, “Oh my goodness. Two full days like this?!” But then, my colleague and I went to Ray’s presentation. He’s a rather quiet and unassuming person. We soon learned that he is a teacher himself and quickly realized that this hour is going to be totally worth it. He knows his audience is just like him-self: does not want to sold anything (we don’t control the money anyway), does not want to be treated like students (which caused me to reflect on how I treat my own students), and talk in a “techy” language at a level most of us understand.It does seem incredible what he is doing and what he has already accomplished with his class. His class website http://www.hawknews.org/ is so impressive. The amount of student work, presented in a variety of technological genres, is an example of a fantastic product from a TRULY “highly qualified” teacher. He didn’t purport to be spending hours before and after school or entire weekends to accomplish these results. I admired how he admittedly didn’t know all about every-thing he does. He just tries to find the easiest forms of technology to implement the highest quality results. The Weebly websites, the use of youtube (and how to make it kid friendly: turn off the comments), and the use of Podcasting to broad-cast book reviews and original student works, are all forms most of us could also manage.After attending another ASTE sponsored presentation immediately following Ray’s, my colleague and I swore ourselves off anymore sales pitches (perceived or otherwise). Thank you Ray Voley and your hawknews.org students for setting me straight on effective teaching and learning using technology, and what to avoid in the conference schedule.Permalink Reply by Pam Darnell on March 25, 2012 at 8:10pm

Shawn, I wish I would have attended this class! It really sounds like it was a good one. I just went and checked out Ray’s website and could literally spend hours exploring it! One of my goals is to work on our school webpage for our individual classes. One more thing to add to my list, but it would be a great place to post some student work using different tech. styles like Ray has his students choose from. (It looks like I will have a busy summer trying to work on a lot of new proj-ects!) I think we also need to plan some of our professional development days to work on the things we have learned from ASTE, and give us a chance, as teachers, to work on some of this stuff together! See you at school tomorrow! Hopefully, we won’t have any more moose issues on the playground! lol

Creativity and InnovationStudents demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students: a. apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.b. create original works as a means of personal or group expression.c. use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.d. identify trends and forecast possibilities.

Communication and CollaborationStudents use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. Students: a. interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.b. communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.c. develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.d. contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems.

Research and Information FluencyStudents apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. Students: a. plan strategies to guide inquiry.b. locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.c. evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.d. process data and report results.

Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision MakingStudents use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. Students:a. identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation.b. plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.c. collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions.d. use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.

Digital CitizenshipStudents understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Students:a. advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology.b. exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.c. demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.d. exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

Technology Operations and ConceptsStudents demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations. Students:a. understand and use technology systems.b. select and use applications effectively and productively.c. troubleshoot systems and applications.d. transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies.

ISTE and NETS Standards

Raymond Joseph VoleyBox 135, Copper Center, AK 99573

[email protected]

Profile • 20 years teaching experience. •Ability to connect with difficult students. • Goal-oriented and results driven. • Innovative, organized, highly motivated, and detail-directed problem solver. • Endorsements and Highly Qualified: History, Social Studies, Language Arts, Government, Secondary Special Education, Geography, and Economics.

Education • M.A.T, University of Alaska Anchorage • B.A. History; B.A. Political Science, University of Utah

Relevant Experience & Accomplishments • Managed production of three 90-minute documentaries on the history of the Kennecott Mine, the 1898 Valdez Gold Rush, and the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. • Developed a Writers’ Workshop class that included the website hawknews.org, which included student produced written stories, blogs, podcasts and videos. • Produced school yearbooks and video yearbooks for 17 years. • Managed classroom publishing projects including videos and newspapers. • Directed and organized Shakespearean plays, and student-written history plays. • Developed many lesson plans on Alaska History for akhistorycourse.org • Helped organize summer Alaska Studies institutes for five years, and served as a master teacher. • Organized and taught inservices on desktop publishing and video production. • Presenter for four years at the Alaska Society for Technology in Education conferences. • Proficient in use of Adobe Photoshop, Indesign, Premiere, and knowledgeable Smartboard user.

Employment • High School Teacher , Kenny Lake School, Alaska • Provide instruction in technology, U.S. History, World History, English, Health, Economics, Government, Geography, Wood Drama, Graphics, Geography, Writers’ Workshop, Documentary filmmaking. 2000-present. • Special Education Teacher, Nenana Cyberlynx program. • Directed special education services for 30-plus students enrolled in correspondence program. 1999-2000. • Teacher, Scammon Bay, Lower Yukon School District. Provided instruction in reading, writing, math, drama and journalism to fifth- through 12th-graders. 1993-1999. • Metro Slot/Copy Editor, Anchorage Times. Edited, laid out, and wrote headlines for Metro section of newspaper. 1990-1992’ Community Involvement • Kenny Lake School, Little Dribblers Basketball Coach for 10 years; Coached Native Youth Olympics for three years • Kenny Lake Community, Firewood for Elders • NEA, CRSD local vice president • Alaska Historical Society, Member • Alaska Society for Technology in Education, Member

Honors & Awards • 2012: Presented innovative classroom projects to Alaska Association of School Administrators Fall Conference. • 2012 Winner of two grant awards totaling $10,000 to design multi-media Alaska Studies lesson plans for the Alaska Learning Network and the Iditarod School District. • Alaska Society for Technology in Education presenter at ASTE 2012 conference. Session featured the Writers’ Workshop class developed at Kenny Lake School. • 2011 Organized a 20 person raft trip/filming expedition down the Copper River by working together with the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Park Service to provide an outdoor opportunity for 11 students. • Established and organized Entrepreneurs Day competitions at Kenny Lake School that attracted Alyeska Pipeline Service Company as a corporate sponsor. Students write and present business plans at this competition. • 2011 Winner of two Artifacts for Alaskans awards which brought $38,000 in grants for Kenny Lake School. • January 2009: Organized and delivered an Alaska Studies inservice for Matanuska-Susitna Borough history teachers. • Served as a keynote speaker for the Alaska Society for Technology in Education (ASTE) 2009 conference. • 2008 Alaska Teacher of the Year. Traveled to Washington D.C. to be honored by President George W. Bush. Participated in Teacher of the Year activities in Dallas, Texas, Washington D.C., Princeton, New Jersey, and New York during 2008. • 2008 Alaska History and Cultural Studies Teacher of the Year • Keynote speaker at 2008 NEA Delegate Assembly, 2008 State of Alaska Winter Conference (NCLB), Alaska Association of School Boards Conference, Copper River School District inservices, and 2008 commencement address at Kenny Lake School. • Students have received more than 20 awards for short films, including five first place awards for documentaries submitted to Alaska History Day. The 90-minute documentary Bonanza! received a Spirit of Youth Award, and our 2012 documentary, Iron Rails: The Story of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway received best documentary award from ASTE. Documentaries were also broadcast on KTOO and KACN-TV. • Presenter at Alaska Geographic Alliance conference in 2007. • Directed a number of plays at Kenny Lake School that have received high recognition including Much Ado About Nothing, Twelfth Night, A Midsum mer Night’s Dream and The Tempest. • Essay on historical literacy published in book Alaska at 50. • Two book reviews published in Alaska History. • Winner of seven journalism awards during years working as a journalist prior to entering the teaching profession.

Let’s use film subsidy to gamble on our youthBy Ray Voley

I was sitting in the Golden Spruce restaurant in Kenny Lake enjoying a fine lunch with my wife when I was ac-costed by a scout working for a New York film company that desired a location for a new reality TV show about a family that moves to the wilderness. This scout asked me if I knew some “real” Alaskans she could interview. I was torn between screaming and running – my indignation further fueled by news of a TV reality show about cage fighting in Anchorage, and the Taco Bell airdrop – two schemes whose producers hope to win reimbursement from the state under the film sub-sidy program begun in 2009.

Big film studios get to pedal their skewed image of Alaska and we get the bill. So far, our state has spent more than $30 million on this program that doesn’t make sense from an economic, or common sense perspective. I think it’s time for us to think differently and invest in Alaska’s potential, instead of enriching a multitude of digital carpet-baggers from California and New York.

How about setting aside $250,000 a year and allow Alaska high school and college film programs to apply for $25,000 grants to tell the story of Alaska. I can think of a dozen stories about our history that Hollywood would not touch because the subject matter does not pander to the viewing public’s base instincts, and might actually require some depth, some sense of Alaska to produce. Why not give our students the financial support to produce stories about Project Chariot, the Allen Expedition, The Barrow Duck-in, or the story of Samme Gallaher as told in her book Sisters? Imagine our own filmmakers telling stories about an Inupiat whale hunt, the Pebble Mine project, Jim Crow in Alaska, or give them the resources to turn a powerful Native legend into a modern day parable. I know the local cable and public television stations would love to air these programs that would be both fascinating and substantive.

The History Channel has proven that America has an appetite for meaningful stories, and Alaska with its rich col-orful collisions and cultures, offers plenty to engage viewers across the nation and the world. No one can predict how our economy will shape up in the years ahead, but Alaska’s mystique – its ability to inspire, captivate, and educate the viewing public will not be diminished. Our rugged beauty and lifestyle have given us what economists call a “comparative advan-tage.” Why not allow Alaskans to exploit this advantage? Are we too feeble-minded or burdened by an inferiority complex to believe that Alaskans are incapable to producing meaningful films about their own state and people? As an educator, I believe we have the most creative students on earth who would rise to the challenge.

Alaska history is full of outside corporations exerting control over our resources beginning with the Russian promyslenniki through the Seattle fish canneries and the Morgan Guggenheim Syndicate all the way to today with Big Oil. Why can’t we take back our own stories and invest in the creativity of our own people who understand the nuances of this great land and its people? Let’s direct a sliver of the film incentive program toward our students and see what they come up with. If we can support Taco Bell or cage fighters, why can’t we believe in our own people? Giving our students the opportunity to write scripts, shoot video, and produce their own films will have more of an enduring impact than the current subsidy program.

Let’s take a chance on the creative potential of our youth. Let’s give them the finances to start telling their own stories, and let’s start growing our film industry from the ground up – not through wishful trickle down thinking – the hope that Hollywood and New York can be trusted to tell our stories, and through some kind of economic osmosis provide the impetus for a homegrown filming industry, that in reality, leaves us holding little more than a bag full of old tacos.

Ray Voley is a high school social studies and English teacher at Kenny Lake School. His students have produced three award-winning documentaries about the history of Kennecott, the 1898 Valdez Gold Rush, and the construction of the Copper River and Northwestern Railway. He was the 2008 Alaska Teacher of the Year and the Alaska History and Cultural Studies Teacher of the Year in 2008.

Recently Published Editorial

Alaska Humanities Forum Article

Letters of Support

Office of the Superintendent PO Box 108 Glennallen, AK 99588 (907) 822-3234 ext. 223 fax (907) 822-3949

November 20, 2012 To Whom It May Concern: In today’s evolving curricular and instructional landscape, clarity and focus is a much needed commodity. Ray Voley has demonstrated both qualities in his classroom at Kenny Lake School. The awards and recognitions that have recognized his instructional skills is evidence of Mr. Voley’s educational innovations. Examples of Mr. Voley’s innovation include three student produced and directed documentaries and hawknews.org, a website of student produced writing, film and audio. Students are led through the creative process while learning core subject learning standards. Alaska’s exceptional nature is incorporated into the instruction and creative process so that students are able to appreciate the privilege of living in America’s last frontier. Another testament to Mr. Voley’s innovation is his willingness to share his strategies with other educators and students. His vision to develop and host a Writers’ Workshop fills a timely need for creative instructional strategies that incorporate the clear learning objectives based on the Common Core Standards. His proposal includes a strong technological component. Teachers and students will receive technology and learn how to use creatively to produce writings and other media to tell Alaska’s stories. As we have observed in the past, times of transition in education require clarity and focus to prevent fashion from shadowing achievement. Mr. Voley has the vision and experience to provide teachers and students the tools necessary to achieve the learning necessary to excel in the 21st century. It is with confidence in Mr. Voley and a commitment to his vision that I ask you to support his funding request. Your participation in the Writers’ Workshop will help provide a solid educational foundation for teachers and students. Respectfully, Michael Johnson, Ph.D. Superintendent

LOWER YUKON SCHOOL DISTRICT

P.O. Box 32089 ¥ Mountain Village, Alaska 99632

Phone: (907) 591-2411 ext. 2003 Fax: (907) 591-2449

CHILDREN FIRST Alakanuk Emmonak Hooper Bay Kotlik Marshall Mt. Village Pilot Station Pitkas Point Russian Mission Scammon Bay Sheldon Point

TO: Mr. Ray Voley

Kenny Lake School

Copper River School District

HC 60, Box 224

Copper Center, AK 99573

FROM: Alex Russin, Assistant Superintendent

DATE: November 21, 2012

SUBJ: Letter of Support

Dear Mr. Voley:

On behalf of our Regional School Board and the students and staff of the Lower Yukon School District, it

is my pleasure to support your efforts in offering a Statewide Writer’s Workshop for both students and

teachers, alike. We realize that this letter of support does not directly commit LYSD to your future efforts

through grant partnerships, but we would be willing to support interested staff members through

scholarship contributions.

The emphasis in the workshop on teaching methodology and technology as a means to produce

multimedia projects such as documentaries, audio and video recordings, in addition to written work, is

exciting and has the potential to expand teachers’ instructional practices to engage students in new and

meaningful ways. This year our district has made a concerted effort to use technology in the classroom;

your workshop proposal would support and elevate that effort at the site level and, eventually, district-

wide.

We are interested in continuing to support your vision to inspire teachers and students around the state,

particularly since you have a connection with our district as a former teacher. Furthermore, we believe

that being involved in productive partnerships with other Alaskan educators, including school districts

and the university systems, can only produce excellent outcomes for our staff and students.

Thank you for your continued time and efforts in moving this proposal forward to fruition.

Sincerely,

Alex Russin, Assistant Superintendent

w using technology r to tell their stories i t e r s’ w o r ... to brainstorm, outline,...

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