 All right, so let me just give you a little history and then I'll take you through what my students did because today I'm here celebrating and representing them And I graduated from Utah State with my PhD in 95 and prior to that I was I Was able to meet some of my greatest heroes one of them was James Moffitt and of course for those of you who are educators or English people, you know that cable late that that for students to learn they have to be empowered and be able to Effectively have some Some control over their learning. They don't need to just be said this is what you have to learn and that's it and so I put that away and you know, I went through and started teaching and three years ago I I came upon the idea of starting a new MA in English in our school and I said, okay, I've been studying critical literacy for the last ten years And I think I want to do it on critical literacy and this shouldn't be hard because I'm sure there's lots of programs in the United States That I can use as models there are none And I didn't know that I did find one very good certificate program at Ohio State that you know, I depended on a lot so I did begin and Right and and have a lot of help from my Partners in our department, but we got it through sacks and while I was waiting for sacks of people I wanted to learn some more about literacy So I found this particular Website that was talking about open resources, and I had no idea what that was and I got involved in a course and We had to have a project and so just like Stupidity reigns. I said, I think I'll design a book For my new class because there are no textbooks for the very first class in our masters and The person who has a charge Oh, no, it's somewhere well. Oh, there she is. She said a book. I said, yeah, yeah, we can do that It was it was so crazy I was so silly, but anyway, so the masters of course got sacks approval and we started Officially this semester, but I have been gathering resources for the first book which is Introduction to Literacy and Without really knowing it. I went right back to what James Moffitt told me all those years ago and and I said, well, I want to see what the students can do and I don't know about all of you, but our school has no money for anything and They've been pleading poverty for so long. We've forgotten what the word means So I wanted to highlight today the students work as they walked into my class and I had given them I ordered no textbook because there really wasn't one and I really wanted a book that could be changed just as fast as literacy changes and the definition changes and I wanted them to Experience the idea that literacy is not just about reading at a certain level That doesn't make you literate that there are many kinds of literacies and they are literate in things that I am not literate in and and this was Precipitated because my university is in Southwest Georgia and the state statistics say we have in a literacy rate in that area of 90 percent or 19 percent and actually it hovers between 40 and 50 percent illiteracy based on our definition as A state I guess but they don't want to advertise that so I've been really worried about that issue so when my students came to me after I presented them and we talked about a Variety of articles. I said, okay, guess what we're going to do this semester. We're going to create the textbook for the next class and They just looked at me and I said, so we're going to start with a timeline and I divided them up and there really were only five students in that class So I divided the whole history of literacy up into five parts. Oh, it was wonderful. They were so thrilled and The smallest part was 2000 until today. Why do you think I made that part a separate section? Social web The thing is everything has seemed to have happened from the 90s forward and there's so much That that needed a separate section and it really teaches us that it's not going to stop at this point So the kids did their timeline and I said, oh a timeline is so boring, isn't it? I mean who wants to sit and read a timeline and Then I started showing them some examples of what it meant to create an open piece of an open resource and I said, you know What do you like to do and I heard this in a presentation earlier about games? Well, I had just come from a national conference and one of the sessions I attended talked about how games were Evolving not not the shoot-em-up bang bang kind but but games were evolving so students had to be People playing had to have make decisions like if I decide to destroy this country What will I lose or what will we all lose? The rest of us and I was fascinated by how in depth they could be so one of the things that I'm going to do The next time is we're going to work on a game that talks about the changes in literacy Not only the definition, but the political implications of that and see how that works, but so far they've been in class since late August and They started on this about the middle of September and I brought two students Work to kind of show you how they're progressing now They start with first they have to do all the research you know for the timeline and they get so excited because they're actually learning things that they didn't know and I'm not having to lecture to them. And so then Let's see if I can get this to work. I don't have my own computer. So This may take a minute. I guess I should have yeah, I don't know how to make a run Yeah, I just want to advance it. Okay. So this my first student had the history of literacy from time from the beginning of time to I think the Gutenberg press and he One thing that I allow them to do in this is I said to them if you can't find Open resources and I basically presented a workshop on open resources that I had given to my To my faculty earlier that year, but I said if you can't find an open resource I just want to make sure that you document where you found your resource and What I will do is go back and try to find an open resource that gives us the same information Barring that I may go and talk to the authors that who hold the copyright But I haven't had to do that yet So you'll see some places where they have documented especially in this first one where they have documented where they got the sources and And they're not open resources, but I'm less worried about that I want them to experience the creativity involved in having an open textbook. So So these are just some of the pictures and you know the student obviously was looking from the very beginning And he was so excited about talking about how language spreads and and transforming the modern the modern alphabet and I thought this was really unique because I didn't tell them to do this Do you want to learn more check out this website? And I thought what a great idea I wouldn't have thought of that he thought of that and so do you want to learn or this is a different one? And he hasn't stuck with one website. He's given a variety of resources and as a member of the faculty You know, I'm lucky if I have time to find a couple of resources for the students to look at but by opening it up and allowing them to search to and become part of that process They are not only learning, but they're also helping me It's like having a teacher assistant sometimes and in a small university. You don't have one of those Okay, and so then he goes into some straight text and he was so funny. He apologized every time he just said I'm sorry. This will relax a little bit, but But I thought that you know, he brings it in and this one who's so proud of he says that's in connections That one's that one's okay. And I said that's fine. That's great And he would call me every time he found an open resources. I just can't believe it. So Okay, so this is what he this is the end of his time period and he has He He called me this weekend. I came in early and he called me this weekend. He said I found so much more Can't you integrate it? No, I'll do that when I give it So I mean I just I'm so happy to have them not just actively learning but actively being involved in the process and because they're talking about this knowledge in ways that has not happened in the past and You know, my my chair said well, that's probably because they're grad students. Well Maybe it is but when I'm able to do this in my undergraduate classes, I also get this kind of reaction So anyway, so then we go to the next one and she was very she's a very visual learner And I think that becomes pretty apparent with her slides So she uses and she loves to play with text and so she is She's really good about finding cartoons and stuff like that that illustrate what was going on in her time period So here she's you know, you can see she's talking about the spread of information And I don't I'm not sure but it seems like she doesn't have a slide that doesn't have Something on it. That's unique and and here she's trying to show you how after the press was Invented what started happening when all when the good burger press started spreading now Honestly, if I've been writing about the it or constructing some kind of information about the Gutenberg press number one I mean forever to have time to do all that research But also I probably would have never done this and yet this is such a great visual for students to kind of see You know house have one one invention has spread and shared so much for us going to Play it for you, but she actually has embedded in here a YouTube video that is Set And I can't remember where the good the actual first Gutenberg press is located, but They're in that library They have a YouTube video that shows how it printed and the text it printed and shows how you have to have two people And that's embedded in it may be on this one down here on the wiki, but It was so fascinating because all the students who were watching and some of my undergrads came in because they Wondered why everybody was having so much fun. So which was okay Okay, so she left and she left the Gutenberg and then she and I didn't tell her to do this She went and looked at women in literacy because the other graduate course is dealing with Women's literature so Which I'm not teaching but anyway She went through there and she found this person and I said I have never heard of her How many of you have heard of sore? Okay, so I Mean and that was just one of the things she's comparing her to Mary Wilson crap Well, if you're an English person, you probably know That her daughter was Mary Shelley the road Frankenstein and she was an advocate for women and But Delacruz had never entered my mind and what was so amazing was You know, I've really thought about how do we make sure that we have incorporated everybody? I don't want a Lot, I'm sorry. I don't want a lot of dead white men Nor do I just want a mix of dead white men and dead white women and so and here she is and She was excited because she is Hispanic and she said now I've represented my culture and I didn't you know, so I was That was kind of a double learning experience for all of us Okay, so that's just I think another picture, but she was actually She actually I think Was so ostracized for wanting to be wanting to read and wanting to write and wanting to learn that you know, she went through some very Very interesting. I'm not going to tell you, but it's a very interesting Loops to try to have that opportunity Okay, and so then of course she here's one without a picture. Wow the goal of the age of libraries and how that increased and we kind of know that But let's see. Okay, and then on this The impact of literacy and this is where the kids are the most interested. They hadn't ever tied Who the power structure of wherever you were to Who defined literacy the very first article or the very first piece? I had them read was a chapter out of Paulo Freire's work and they had heard of him and So they were amazed that this man In South America had done all this in the efforts of literacy So then they have tried to tie they're finding many political connections and I didn't give them that information I gave them some Good, I think articles that led them in that direction But it was very exciting for them to see how things change and how politics and power pay Play a big part in how literate we are and then she found a copy of You know that when we had coffee houses and people got together and that explains that one And then that's the end. So I guess what I want you to see is that I was able Because I was interested I was able to open up Even though I didn't know I still feel like I know about this much maybe not even that much of How effective using open resources can be However, I think my students are going to walk away from this course and go into their next course With so much knowledge that I would have never had had they not abroad to me and so one of and this is kind of a Consequence of open resources When we can go out and find everything for them We get excited about it, but we will sometimes wonder why aren't they as excited about it? Well, because they didn't have anything to do with finding the information So I'm really Looking forward. We've got we'll have another three chapters done before the end of this semester And then we're going to continue to work on it and to add to it because five students Keeps they and they told me they said we can't cover everything that's happened So they're going to keep adding information to that and this is the very beginning of the master's program. It's our first course and so I think that will provide a foundation for years to come as more students add their knowledge and to our work So that's what I wanted to share with you to give the kids a chance And I will say that they will all be listed as In the you know when we get the whole thing together their names are all going to show up they're going to get credit for everything they do and I think that this is it, you know in an age when there's not a lot of money for Education They will have already got some credit For the work that they did on this very initial book in their first program So are their first class in a master's program. So I'm excited about it. And I think that as I start Showing this to my administration that then I can lobby For money to send them out and let them present them themselves And then I can sit in the background maybe and just clap really loud So, okay, so I guess I can open for questions. I hope that yes, sir I just want to be clear. You said you used the wiki to construct this So what we were looking at is I guess two chapters of the book the same web web space, right? Actually, I put them on our learning management system right now. We haven't even loaded it to the wiki yet How do you assess this type of work? Do you start with a rubric of your own to try and see if they're complying with what you want from them? And they have that Yes, yes, and this isn't all they do in that class they have to they are Going to present when I get back They're going to present to a group of teachers that I've been working with in the national writing project and show them about Open resources and then you know and I'll help them, but I want them to be the ones on stage and They also have to do a seminar paper on their particular period and present that to the To the University and that's all they have a lot to do But yes, I did I give that I always give my students a rubric before they ever have an assignment so that they understand That their audience is so yes, sir You know my students asked me that and I said to them I said, you know It's more than reading and writing and it's changing every day. It's reading writing speaking and It's texting is all those media and that's why it's very easy Well, yes right now it is but we're going to expand in every area that's already up there and Because I asked them to do this part but I don't I'm not suggesting that I'm going to let this go without Adding to it. So yes, I was curious about the questions at the end of the one chapter the first one Well, these questions that the student was positive. Yes And they're all doing that they're all saying they're all saying well, I've got to learn more about this What about this is this connection that you know, they're all doing that in class and which is Partying because I usually have to post the questions and then wait for the silence You know, so I think that you're right about what they have done but really in a very few weeks and not knowing anything that they haven't That they've done a lot that they've created a lot and I don't know any other questions I am but you know, it's a funny thing because when I took the class with Luna We were talking about the end and she was asking me about my resources and I kept saying Well, this is a wiki book and this is the way and you know, she said didn't anything surprise you and I said because I have just said do not use Wikipedia at all under any circumstances don't use it and then I found You know, these great play these great books and they have been Paraviewed and that's the other thing. I'm not going to do anything with this until I have peer reviews because it's really to me not valid unless people who do Deal in my in my area have a chance to look at it and say just exactly what he said Well, it looks like a gun-paced activity and it does right now Yes, sir. I'm Jacques from the University of Wisconsin First of all, I want to commend you on taking this step and moving in this direction And I can see that you know, it's still a project. That's fairly young It is the occasion and so forth and I think we all recognize that in this field that it is that way And so to come with a high bar immediately You know, it's not very practical But I think all of us involved in this realize our shortcomings and we need still need to get I want to say the challenge for you for down the road not for now because I had to preface it with the comments I just made I see a lot of people doing just what you're doing and I think the next step is to see how we can how you can find out Who else is doing something similar to you and to be on a platform where you can Connect with each other and collectively Right and get more just like Wikipedia Do that thing in fact Something interesting that I know there is this thing against Wikipedia with many faculty. It's just like you from the out-of-darkness if you go come from Wikipedia site, but I did a little research on that The argument is that Wikipedia has more errors than encyclopedia Britannicus So that's why we prefer encyclopedia Britannicus. You know what? It's true For every four errors in Wikipedia, there are three Where's the big bang, you know, well and I'm finding more and more I Do tell my students especially in my core classes and my undergraduate courses you need to go find I'm done What you may have done that But I I do believe that you know this the resources are out there and that's why I'm not I want to be able to kind of Expand on their search and that's going to give me more information to show them how to go deeper as well Thank you so much