Diary of the Tweople

Hi all,

Please welcome guest post form Nigel, a primary school teacher and now the proud published of a book. Power to the people and social media for the people. Read on to find out more.

Michelle

 Diary of the Tweople was the brainchild of Gar Deady  and myself, Nigel Lane. Our idea was to show how powerful Twitter can be as a means of bringing people together. After much discussion on how best to do this, we came up the format for Diary of the Tweople. We decided to set a date for Diary Day and get as many Twitter users as possible to post a diary entry on our site on that day. We would then collate all the entries received and publish them as an ebook on as many ebook stores as we could manage, giving people the opportunity to have a glimpse into the lives of the many wonderful people on Twitter. We also planned to place a hyperlink along with each entry, allowing readers to immediately get in touch with the authors to find out more about their entry or to spark a new friendship of professional connection.

I should mention at this stage that neither myself nor Gar are experts when it comes to social networking, publishing or anything like that. I’m a teacher, Gar works in finance. We’re two ordinary guys! We just share a keen interest in technology and social media and decided to put our passion into action.

 We settled on June 3rd as Diary Day and set up a blog . There was nothing significant about that date, and that was one of the main reasons for choosing it. We wanted to get a snapshot of the lives of Twitter users on an ordinary day. Check out the entry from Simon Lewis   in the ebook where he sets out to prove that June 3rd was not so insignificant!

Our next step was to set up a Twitter account for the project . After that came the hard part. How do we build up followers so we can get the word out about the project? June 3rd suddenly seemed to be very close indeed, and two followers (Gar and me) would not be enough to spread the word! Thankfully, friends and acquaintances stepped up to the mark and soon our number of followers was into the hundreds. The excitement was building for us, and a lot of our followers seemed to be getting very excited about the project too. In fact, quite a few friends of ours joined Twitter in order to take part. We also set up a Facebook page to help publicise the project and get more people interested.

When June 3rd came around, we were like two kids on Christmas morning! Thankfully, plenty of people left presents in our stockings (or diary entries in our inbox at least)! We allowed people to make submissions for a few days as there were a number of people who didn’t get a chance to do so on the day itself but were very keen to be involved. By the time submissions were closed we had received over 300 entries, far more than we had dared anticipate. The support of friends, family, colleagues and complete strangers was overwhelming and we are truly grateful to everyone who took part. The only drawback was that it was going to take us a while to go through all the entries and decide which ones would make it into the ebook.

The process of choosing entries was not easy. We wanted to include a good mix of entries – some humorous, some moving, some insightful. We feel that we achieved this, and I hope you’ll agree when you read the ebook. We also had the incredibly talented Rob Gale  produce some illustrations and a cover. These really add to the ebook in our opinion, and like us you’ll end up having a favourite! Mine is the one that accompanies the entry from PaulWebsterjpw .

The final product is out there, available to download now, and I’m very proud of myself and Gar for making it happen. If you want to read the ebook it can be found here:

Amazon US,  Amazon UK,   Amazon DE,  iBookstore and for other formats visit our ebook’s page at Smashwords

If you don’t own a Kindle then you can use Amazon’s new Cloud Reader  to download and read the ebook. There are also Kindle apps available for Android, iOS, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and webOS devices, as well as desktop programs for Mac and PC.

Friday stuff

"You know that place between sleep and awake,
the place where you still remember dreaming?

That's where I'll always love you, Peter Pan.
That's where I'll be waiting."

- Tinkerbell, Hook

 

Thanks to Xavier Nathan for letting me know about this YT vid.

Butterfly

Hi all, I was lucky enough to go to the launch of Denies Deegan's book launch, it was the first ever book launch and I was covering it for writing.ie. It was more of a party, Denise mingled, chatted, hugged and put tights on her head (but that's another story). I like Denise, she is immediately likable, in a genuine way.

The book store was packed with peeps of all ages, like, for real, you don't have to be a YA to read a YA book. I love her YA book. They are funny, cool and I kinda get to be a cool teenager as I read them. There were loads of writers there, I know a rake of 'em from Twitter. Sure, I does be aces at da aould networking. Or as my brother, Michael, says; "at getting what she wants." Boys are, like, super annoying and mainly smelly. Oh God....I am becoming a YA. I like it!!!

Anyway, the below is a taster of what I wrote for writing.ie, defo check out the rest of it on their site - listed below.

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Denise signing my book

YA (young adult) books are for everyone, we have heard that a lot. But never has it been so true in the case of Denise Deegan’s; Butterfly trilogy. Her latest book in the Butterfly trilogy; And for Your Information, was launched in Dubray Book in Dublin last night. Denise also has many adult fiction works to her credit and her short stories and articles appeared in publications as diverse as Moments, Irish Independent, Mum’s the word to The Irish Times.

At 6.00pm the Dubray book shopcame alive as a sea of kids, teens and adults swept in to join in the celebrations of this book launch, or in Denise’s words “book launch party.” Her books are more contemporary than The Water Babies and she has captured the beauty and extremes of the current 90210 teenage lifestyle in an emotive and endearing way.

As one middle aged fan said, “Reading her book was like being 16 again, only this time I was so much cooler.” She did not want to be identified as her teenage son would be mortified of her publicly saying she reads YA but she was adamant that she would not miss the chance to meet Denise and get the latest Butterfly book. As Maria Duffy, Irish writer, said “I wouldn't normally read the YA books that my children read but because Roisin, my daughter, was raving about it so much, I thought I'd have a read of 'And By The Way'. I can honestly say I was hooked straight away.” That seemed to be the general consensus of the room.

Barbara Scully and Maria Duffy

The book launch, sorry, book party, was a celebration of teenage life. Even before getting to the book shop you could hear excited voices, the shop window was decorated with Denise’s book and we were even greeted with wine, soda and butterfly sweets. It would be difficult not to enjoy yourself here. Writer, Hazel Gaynor even wore a butterfly top in support of the trilogy. Hazel said, “it is great to see so many people here of all ages, enjoying these books.”

In an interview with Denise, she said that when writes she says that the “characters muscled their way into my head and wouldn’t leave,” This is backed up by Anna McKeever, teenage fan, “Denise really gets it, she gets what it’s like to be a teenager in Dublin and our teenage mind....READ more HERE

Some moo pics and a vid!

Denise Deegan and Hazel Gaynor

Ciara Doorley and TracyClifford

Elephantights!

Elephantights!

Thinner

I was asked by a pupil in 3^rd class if peer pressure ever stops....took me ten silent minuets to admit that it gets worse as we age. The stakes get higher. I told her to learn about your body; healthy eating and most importantly learn to love yourself as there are businesses that prey on our weaknesses. The below story was inspired by this incident.

‘Hi honey, how are you? Oh, me I’m grand....here let me take your coat....am Oh My God...where is the rest of you? What’s that you say? You are on a health kick, really? Cause so am I and I am still a normal size 12. Girlfriend...I cannot sit here and watch you shrink away to half of your original size. AGAIN! You know, the last time this happened you jumped up 5 dress sizes in 7 months.

So, here we are again.......

Yes, yes, I know you are turning 30 this month, yes, of course I know it’s your best friend’s wedding next month. But, let me pose you one question. Why can’t you find happiness at the end of a, wholemeal goodness, packed cookie jar like everyone else. Hey, I have an idea, let’s have a small bowl of pasta and we will then go for a jog in a few hours. No! Why “no”? What’s that...exercising only increases muscles and you want to be lean? For ducks sake! Do you not know anything? You need muscle to burn calories; so the more muscle you have the better. And of course it’s better for your body, your posture too.

Well, if you won’t have the pasta, then I will. I need my strength, after the shock of seeing you. Will you have some fruit or vegetables, at least? What....another no? Who told you that? Yes, they do have natural sugar and even calories but you DO need them. What is that pill you are popping? Ha! Another suppressant, suppose that will suppress your personality too. Remember last time?  You were too tired to do anything, so you looked skinny underneath your duvet. Three years ago - almost to the day.

What I would like to know is; who told you that you have to be this skinny? I am healthy, I exercise, I enjoy healthy food, and I drink in moderation.....don’t you? No Hun....taking suppressants with multi vitamins; don’t count. You are a sad little girl really, you need to inform yourself. Google healthy heating, sort yourself out. Like, you are following the advice of magazines, TV shows and ignorant people who make money out of the “Skinny Industry.” You know that it’s mainly men who design our clothes; you know that they like skinny boyish bodies; you know that’s not normal? I can’t do this anymore; I can’t sit here and watch you be manipulated, your weight bouncing according to trends.

I am going to eat my bowl of pasta, I may not be emotionally strong for the two of us but I sure can be physically strong for us.

Unfortunately, I have seen women of all ages suffer for a lack of knowledge in relation to healthy eating and exercise. I have even seen grown women, eat nothing but weight watchers meals and then finish them off with a can of diet coke and then an hour later sit with her slender tone belt on her tummy for the night. She has since gotten teeth removed as they were so unhealthy and has gotten a hernia as her tummy is messed up for constant use of the belt.

What happened to getting your 5 a day, eating a salad for lunch, meat and veg for dinner and a cuppa with a light snack for supper?

Teaching creative writing

I am lucky, I am a trained teacher. I sit in workshops or conferences and cringe...thinking "tut tut tut..where is the integration, the differentiation, feedback, spiral learning, action learning, group work....." But, I am one of the lucky ones when it comes to teachers. I am doing a course with Caren Kennedy and she not only lives up to my expectations but lives up to her lesson plans.

                    Here a lesson plan I wrote for my blog readers.

For every 5 hours you teach you must put in 20 hours prep. My favourite subjects are Science and English, especially creative writing. In the English curriculum creative writing is under the strand - Emotional and imaginative development through language and strand unit - developing emotional and imaginative life through writing. Kinda tricky to achieve when you faced with a 6^th class of 35 kids.

A lesson is broken in 3 parts, intro (get them interested, find out what they know, ask questions), development (action of learning) and conclusion (we recap/share what we learnt). Sounds easy? Well not when you have to compete with mobile phones, video games, MTV, Nickelodeon etc. They are use to instant gratification, so, the most important part of the lesson....the intro, or - if you are a writer...“the hook.”

Introduction (10 mins)

I real ‘em in with the use of technology:

1.      Show them a muse (pictures/ video/prezie/music etc)

2.      Question them: (Who are these people? What happened next in this picture? What is the back story here? What are they wearing? What are they talking about?)

3.      Ask “What happened next?” give example - “I think they ran into the shop behind them to run away from the herd of cows which are going to come down the street any moment now.”

4.      Put them in pairs and they would have to discuss what they saw.

5.      They would then have to ask the 5 W’s to each other (who, what, when, where and why)

6.      I would get them to pair up with another pair beside them and discuss while I ran around the room, listening, assessing and helping.

7.      I then tell them that I am going to ask some of them to share their partner’s ideas (so you are ensuring that they are listening to each other.)

8.      Rapid fire sharing, giving praise and ensuring the rest of the class is paying full attention to the person sharing.

Development (20 mins).

Are they excited? Is there a loud buzz in the classroom, yeah? Great, the rest of the lesson will be a breeze.

1.      I ask them to take out their English copies and ask them to use a blue* pen, write down the date, and the title of “creative writing, draft 1,”and the 5 W’s.

2.      I now ask them to think of a title for the muse they have chosen. (I also have the muse printed (A4) and laminated and stuck to the board (or if I chose music ~ it is playing.)

3.      They then must write the title down in the middle of the page in red* pen, circle it and think about writing down words that relates to the picture and words answering their questions.

4.      I give them 2 minutes to think in silence, I then ask 3 pupils to share with the class.

5.      I when run to the board, and ask the pupils to help me: come up with a title, and some words for the picture I have chosen for my mind map.

6.      They have an idea of what to do, tell them they have 5 minutes to do this.

7.      I run around the room, assessing (noting my findings down on my checklist) and guiding (questioning them until they understand.)

8.      I ask one of them to come to the board and write their mind map on the board. (Usually the bored pupil (they are bored because they need (a) help or (b) encouragement.) We all guide this pupil.

9.      Now I question them as to what makes a good story? (introduction, middle, end, interesting characters, a plot, a problem to be overcome and a ending resolving the problem.) The curriculum is circular in nature, so they would have been doing this for years; we are recapping on their known web of knowledge.

10.  Then have 20 mins to write their story, give them a word count; “you must write at least 3 lines in each paragraph and 3 paragraphs, write more if you can. I want everyone to aim to write as much as they can.” I tell them. You need to keep the different levels of ability in mind, so having to write 3 lines is doable for pupil X, also by having so much pair work; you have included peer mentoring, oral work and an integration of SPHE (strand – myself and others, strand unit - communicating and resolving conflict. You never teach any lesson in isolation, you are always informally integrating it with others.

11.  When they are finished (you have by now check every pupils work and signed it)

12.  For early finishers you ask them to pick another picture and make another mind map.

Conclusion (7mins).

1.      This is their first draft; you will need to have another lesson on editing their work. It is of vital importance that you stress the concept of drafting. They won’t be happy with this, so now you gotta get them excited about their next lesson; tell them “we are going to turn your stories into a book!! You will all edit and re-draft, draw a picture, I will scan them.” (You can’t photocopy, as it is a “Green School,” and you are keeping the paper usage low (tell them why you are scanning –geography integration.)

2.      You tell them you will then put their stories on the school web site/class blog.

3.      You need to remind them of your lesson on “safety and the internet”.

4.      So, you need to go over not to write your full name on your story, not to include any personal information, not to base characters on anyone you know.)

5.      Now, you get to enjoy the fun part of the conclusion. Sit down at the side of the class and ask a random pupil to sit on your seat at the top and to read their story (quickly).

6.      Make sure everyone is sitting with their hand folded and listening (which you are modelling).

7.      Try to get through as many as possible and remind the ones who didn’t get chosen will be chosen in the next English lesson.

Phew, you are done, the bell for rings, you follow the usual class procedure then grab your water bottle and fruit (oh, did I not tell you...they have a healthy eating policy here, so you need to model this also!) and run to the staffroom, pretending not to hear the trouble brewing, “I’m not a yard duty, Thank God,” you think as you run.

My advice, if you want to see how real teaching is done then study with Caren, check her out on twitter and her course details are here.