Listening to my students
There is nothing wrong with being skeptical about technological innovations- I have been skeptical of almost everything from cassette tapes to the internet.
However, that skepticism should be accompanied by an open mind. When I was editor of the Carthage Press, a small daily newspaper in southwest Missouri, in the 1990s, I wanted nothing to do with these new digital cameras. I thought we would lose the ability to archive our negatives in old cardboard boxes and be able to reuse them whenever story needs dictated.
It did not take me long to realize that not only was digital photography the wave of the future, but it offered advantages in saving photos (and making them easier to access) that I had never imagined.
When I moved from newspapers into teaching, I thought my writing days were over. After writing approximately 20,000 articles in 22 years as a reporter, I was not writing any more and I felt like my life was missing something.
As much joy as I was receiving from teaching creative writing to middle school students, I still wanted to put words to paper, and thanks to my students I soon received the opportunity.
The first step came when a student suggested that I start my own class website. I told him I didn't have the money to do that. "You can do it for free," he said.
Within 30 minutes, I had a rudimentary class website established on Homestead. It wasn't much, but from there I wandered onto Tripod, where I not only built a classroom website, but I decided to start a news website called The Turner Report.
In late 2003, I suggested to two of my talented eighth grade writers, Michelle and Alicia, that they should keep journals when they reached high school and write books about their high school experiences.
They loved the idea, but they did not wait until they got into high school. The next day, they rushed into my room and told me excitedly that they had started blogs.
"What's a blog?" I asked. I had never even heard of the word before.
After they explained it to me (and the best thing, yet again, it was free) I started my own blog that night and since that time I have kept my promise to my students. "If I am going to make you write every day, I will write every day, too."
It took me a couple of months to build the new blog, also named the Turner Report, to 35 daily visitors and from there it took off, reaching its height in the weeks and months following the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado, when it received thousands of unique visitors and tens of thousands of pageviews every day.
Students also introduced me to the uses of YouTube, IMovie, IPods, IPhones and many other technological innovations that I cannot imagine my life without.
I still remained skeptical of some technological innovations. There was one in particular that I kept avoiding that students continually recommended to me. I kept receiving invitations to use it and finally, I gave in, though it took me more than a year to do so.
I will never understand why I did not see the value Facebook has for writers. Sometimes, we oldtimers can be a bit too skeptical.
However, that skepticism should be accompanied by an open mind. When I was editor of the Carthage Press, a small daily newspaper in southwest Missouri, in the 1990s, I wanted nothing to do with these new digital cameras. I thought we would lose the ability to archive our negatives in old cardboard boxes and be able to reuse them whenever story needs dictated.
It did not take me long to realize that not only was digital photography the wave of the future, but it offered advantages in saving photos (and making them easier to access) that I had never imagined.
When I moved from newspapers into teaching, I thought my writing days were over. After writing approximately 20,000 articles in 22 years as a reporter, I was not writing any more and I felt like my life was missing something.
As much joy as I was receiving from teaching creative writing to middle school students, I still wanted to put words to paper, and thanks to my students I soon received the opportunity.
The first step came when a student suggested that I start my own class website. I told him I didn't have the money to do that. "You can do it for free," he said.
Within 30 minutes, I had a rudimentary class website established on Homestead. It wasn't much, but from there I wandered onto Tripod, where I not only built a classroom website, but I decided to start a news website called The Turner Report.
In late 2003, I suggested to two of my talented eighth grade writers, Michelle and Alicia, that they should keep journals when they reached high school and write books about their high school experiences.
They loved the idea, but they did not wait until they got into high school. The next day, they rushed into my room and told me excitedly that they had started blogs.
"What's a blog?" I asked. I had never even heard of the word before.
After they explained it to me (and the best thing, yet again, it was free) I started my own blog that night and since that time I have kept my promise to my students. "If I am going to make you write every day, I will write every day, too."
It took me a couple of months to build the new blog, also named the Turner Report, to 35 daily visitors and from there it took off, reaching its height in the weeks and months following the May 22, 2011, Joplin Tornado, when it received thousands of unique visitors and tens of thousands of pageviews every day.
Students also introduced me to the uses of YouTube, IMovie, IPods, IPhones and many other technological innovations that I cannot imagine my life without.
I still remained skeptical of some technological innovations. There was one in particular that I kept avoiding that students continually recommended to me. I kept receiving invitations to use it and finally, I gave in, though it took me more than a year to do so.
I will never understand why I did not see the value Facebook has for writers. Sometimes, we oldtimers can be a bit too skeptical.
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