S.O.S!

As the culminating event of my self-assessment, I am responsible for organizing a day of writing workshops for high school students. As of right now, the event is scheduled for Thursday, May 1, 2008. It will be a five-hour day, beginning at 9am and ending at 2pm. I am going to send out invitations to each high school in my county (there are ten of them) and invite each one to bring between five and ten students.

Soooo, here is where you (hopefully) come in.

I need your ideas and feedback!

What types of workshops should be offered?
Should the registration fee be per student or per school? How much should I charge?
What information is essential on the application? (I have some thoughts in mind as to what the application should look like, but I feel like I am missing something.)
How do I keep the invitation from becoming another piece of unwanted teacher junk mail?
Etc.?

I have never done this before, so I am very nervous. I want it to be a fantastic experience - not only for the students, but for the accompanying teachers as well. I know that planning a field trip is a lot of work and stress; there is nothing worse than going through all those steps only to learn that the event you are attending has been poorly planned and organized.

Any insight and information you could offer - regardless of how seemingly simple or obvious - would be *greatly* appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated assistance. I hope you are all enjoying a happy and healthy holiday season.

Next topic: What does a midterm exam look like in creative writing?

Blogging in the Creative Writing Classroom: the Student Perspective

Here are some thoughts gathered from my students on the world of blogging in the context of creative writing:

Pros
*able to see others' rough drafts
*good way to keep in touch out of school - bring creative writing class home
*allows us to read work from other classes - see what other students do with given assignments
*avenue for constructive feedback
*non-judgemental forum
*readers can see the structure of a work on the page (cannot happen if the piece is simply heard)
*gives quiet and/or shy students a different way to participate and be engaged in class
*blogs can be accessed from any computer with the Internet
*provides an opportunity for students to drive instruction (for example: On Tuesday, Gymnast5492 will post a writing prompt that everyone will use as a rough draft topic, etc.)
*involvement of creative writing alumni/Calliope members
*posting assignments online = saving paper = saving trees
*students can stay up-to-date with class assignments even if they are absent/on vacation/dismissed early/etc.

Cons
*no performance element
*computer problems can limit access
*some people aren't comfortable with technology
*less personal than a one-on-one critique

Implementation and Extension
*post a minimum of one blog entry (rough drafts, favorite poems, favorite poetic song lyrics, thoughts relevant to class) per week/post two comments on others' work per week
*if available, one lab day per week to explore blog sites
*"mentoring" between creative writing and cw workshop students?
*connection to fourth grade pen pals?
*connection to Friends of the Library (open mic facilitators) and other community outlets?
*your post(s) may inspire others - possibility of forming important connections via the written word

Next post topic: Help! I am trying to plan a workshop for high school writers and I need your ideas, expertise, and assistance! :)