Exploring the New Website

On Saturday afternoon, people discussed the new WE LEARN website. Lots of good ideas were generated, and hopefully many of them can come to fruition. If you have thoughts about the new website you can post them below in the comment section.

 

 

Why does WE LEARN matter to you? (Follow up)

Here are some responses of participants:

Tiffani's Piece

This is dedicated to Kathryn and Dominic.

Bluff by Diane Francis

Here are Diane Francis and friends performing "Bluff, " which was written by Diane.

Using blogs to share our ideas & stories

The two main blogger platforms are blogger and wordpress.

The benefits of blogging are that you can express yourself. You can have access to the ideas in your head by processing your thoughts and putting them into words. Sometimes having other people read what you write adds a deeper dimension to your writing.

Stacie suggested that the WE LEARN Web site have a space for blogging on it.

The random conversations that happen...

As much as I enjoy the formal presentations, whole group meeting, and conference sessions, I am most impressed by the happenstance conversations that I was a part of during this conference.  This space is like no other.  Many times at conferences I am hesitant to initiate conversations during the transition and more casual times during the conference, but not at this conference.  I have been fortunate to be part of so many amazing conversations that were unplanned.  The set-up of the large conference space was so conducive to sit with people who I don't know, but quickly go to know.  As a first-time WE LEARN participant, this was one of the most empowering parts of the conference for me.

-Lisa Marie Middendorf

Attending the session: The Forgotten Countryside

As a rural native from Upstate New York, the title of this session pulled me in.  Opening up with the  icebreaking question Kathleen and Rebecca pulled the participants in by asking each person's favorite use of technology.  Participants listed everything from the Cut-and-Past capabilities in Word to playing dominoes with long-distance family members on Skype to tweeting and email. Our answers became an incredible collective list of our technology uses.  We then moved into discussing the various barriers that rural people encounter in trying to use technology.  This brainstorm of barriers moved into an interesting discussion including both barriers and solutions.  The list of barriers included language barriers, limited understanding of how to protect your identity online, cost prohibitivity, and access.

Kathleen then took us into a discussion of key terms like information literacy, yellow journalism, powerful literacy, and social skills. We closed the session with a case study lead by Rebecca including a solution-oriented discussion of how to ease the barriers that rural people and communities encounter.  These solutions included leveraging the resources that already exist in communities, as well as tackling discriminatory biases that exist in accessing and using technology.

Although we ran out of time, the discussion that arose with the various opinions, knowledge, and expertise in the room.  Thank you, Kathleen and Rebecca.

- Lisa Marie Middendorf

Who are you talking to?

At the session led by Marie Doerner, we talked about different registers. 

1. The frozen register
The frozen register uses a fixed, consistent tone. It is often emotionless. The content is pre-set. There is no deviation.  It is serious. Body language is rigit and upright to show the appropriate respect. Dress is usually formal. Different generations may have different expectations.

2. The formal register
The formal register does not use slang, colloquialisms, or swearing. Participation is limited, and the focus is restricted to the topic. Clothing is formal. Body language is formal. Participants receive information and follow formal rules or directions. Participants stay and topic!  Volume of voice is kept at an appropriate level and personal space is maintained at an appropriate distance.  The conversation begins and ends appropriately. Participants wait their turn to speak.

3.  The consultative register
The consultative register is about negotiation. Participants maintain eye contact. One person has more information/power/responsibility.  The participants must discern the appropriate amount of information to disclose.

Celebration of Women's Perspectives

On the Friday night of the conference, participants gathered at the Roots Cafe to celebrate the latest issue of Women's perspectives. Writers shared their stories, there was singing, performances and community building galore. A good time was had by all. Here are some photos from the event.

Sympathy Place (Poem - Shared Writing)

Sympathy Place

Struggle is universal,

But, just like the universe, some spots are darker than others.

And everyone struggles at one point or another.

It may be the dark matter that holds us together.

Our tears, our sweat and our determination to do better

would shed some light.

The strain on my back makes me crack

            like a floorboard in a tumbleweed house.

But through the cracks the light appears.

Surviving the dark times makes the light times sweeter.

I put a candle on my nose and smile while watching the sun rise.

Sometimes we can make choices in our lives, but God still loves us.

We can’t let the struggle bring us down,

            we’ve got to keep moving forward.

We should look at the light streaming in our windows

            that lights up the dust like stars.

And through the window, you can see the river outside,

moving the obstacles down.

So I take my cup to the river. As it lifts, my cup runneth over.

By  Rene Arsenault

       Jessica Becker

       Joanna Becker

       Theresa Cook

       Marie Doerner

       Donna Jones

       Nirvani Persaud

       Daria Ramos

       Shellie Walters

Daisy's Place (A Poem)

Daisy’s Place

By Marie Doerner

Tonight I went to Daisy’s Place

Didn't know what I’d find

Tonight I went to Daisy’s Place

Tired, stressed and wired

I thought it was a talent show

And talent was surely there

I thought it was a talent show

But poems, stories, fear?

A little girl in the city,

Another crashed her boat

Unconditional love,

Followed by a train wreck,

One baby nursing

Another couldn’t hear

Fairness, privilege,

Whose point of view?

Beaten up yet writes again,

The Irish go to war

Together we reach deep inside

To pull the talent out

Together we reached deep inside

To share, create and bond

Come to Daisy’s Place

You’ll find the talent there

Come to Daisy’s Place

Laugh, cry, feel whole

2012 Official Conference Opening

I have never walked into a conference quite like the WE LEARN 8th (Net)Working Gathering and Conference on Women and Literacy. Sure, when I walked into the room, there were the normal things you've come to expect--the sign-in desk, a friendly person handing out name tags and bags with programs, pens, books, and other goodies, attendees enjoying coffee and pasteries at several round neatly tableclothed tables. But what struck me right away was the diversity of this mainly female crowd. The conferences I frequent tends to be quite homogenous—well-groomed, well-heeled academics presenting papers written during coursework, or for journal publications, or for dissertations. But at WE LEARN, I found myself talking to everyone from established PhDs who had flown in from around the United States and Canada to present their work over these next two days, to inner-city young ladies who, perhaps this being their first time at a conference, kept looking around the room with wide eyes, seemingly delightfully overwhelmed by all the energy and conversations.

Despite the wide disparity of education levels, socio-economic classes, and ages of the participants, every audience member clearly shared one passion: to help create social justice by empowering women. If the conversations I had with attendees during the light breakfast weren’t enough to convince me, those who spoke during the Official Conference Opening cemented the impression.  First, the founding member and backbone of the organization, Mev Miller, opened with an inspiring, inspired message about hope, progress, and community building.

Mev was followed by a five-woman panel titled “Women in Literacy: Access Technology, Build Connections, Create Networks. The first speaker was Shellie Walters, an Adult Learner Leader and member of the WE LEARN board of directors. Shellie told the story of her own progress as an adult learner: Before she became an Adult Learner, she couldn’t read above the fourth-grade level and couldn’t get a job because she had no computer skills. But she is now growing her confidence (and computer skills) so that she can expand her bookkeeping business. Speaker Two was Heather Lash, who is an instructor in upgrading/access programs at George Brown College in Toronto, Canada. Heather gave a well-observed talk on the negative impact that violence has on learning. She points out that we have to be concerned not with bullying in schools, but also how loneliness itself can be debilitating. As well, technology has the ability to interrupt and mediate students. How do we teach and learn in the aftermath of violence, she asks. The third speaker was Kathryn Ssedoga, a First Nations Learner from Canada. Kathryn admits she is a people rather than a tech person, since she is interested in social/restorative justice, and sees interacting with people a good way to support this interest. Still, she has become something of a legend on Twitter. While she does not subscribe to any other social media, through Twitter she reaches out to followers all over the world. As she proudly announced, “I’m getting famous 140 characters at a time!” The fourth speaker was Karisa Tasijian of the Providence Public Library. Karisa, who is involved with the Rhode Island Family Literacy Initiative, discussed how society today is so steeped in technology that more than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies require applicants to submit online job applications. Because of this, it is vital for adults to have computer skills. This is not always an easy task because digital immigrants (versus digital natives) must hurdle a steep learning curve. Speaker five, Kathleen P. King Ed.D. (a.k.a. “Geek Goddess”), is a professor of higher education at University of South Florida, Tampa. Kathleen argued that, to be empowered, we must create our own opportunities. She enthusiastically called that Adult Learners “should no longer be spectators [but] participants.” We should “rush the field” by putting our own opinions into blogs. In other words, “take it by the hairy horns and drive it.”
 
It was a pleasure to attend this session of the 2012 conference, and I look forward to WE LEARN 2014.
 
Sincerely,
 
Wendy L. Grosskopf
Ph.D. candidate (ABD) University of Rhode Island
Department of Writing and Rhetoric

I feel so good!

Getting into the groove.

Using the Computer for Networking

Donna went to a session on using the computer for networking. Here are her thoughts:

"It was interesting and I learned about a website called pinterest.com . I learned that there are such things as digital stories."

How Does WE LEARN Matter to You?

This is title of the afternoon plenary - we'll be discussing the future direction of WE LEARN. Please feel free to post your own thoughts about what you would like WE LEARN to be doing in the comment section below.

Learning Technology - Who's A Student?

Here Donna led the group in an exercise. She asked people to rise and then sit down depending upon how quickly they were able to become comfortable with new technology. This was a nice way to think about who was in the room. Immediately we moved beyond existing labels like literacy student and teacher and focused on who learns with technology and how.  At times "learners" may be ahead of their "teachers" with some technology.

Resources

Here is a shot of the registration table. As always, covered in books, handouts and full of ideas.

Morning Music

One of the nice things about WE LEARN is the sharing spirit - people do what they can to build a community. In this case, the day started with some music being played by a WE LEARN participant - Anna Fernandez-Buehrens.

Enjoy!

Mev's Online Greeting

Hi. Here is a welcome from Mev Miller, Director of WE LEARN.

Follow the Conference Online

In addition to this blog, you can follow the conference several other ways.

On Twitter, the general WE LEARN contact is:  @welearnwomlit

The conference hashtag is:  #welearn2012

There is also an "Open Forum" document that people will be adding to during the conference. You can view that document here.