Group Writing


Ms. Perkins loved teaching English more than anything in the world. For 20 years she had been teaching English at Middleborough High. She had received a number of distinguished awards for her teaching, including a national teaching award from Radio Shack.

Last month she attended the NCTE conference, National Council of Teachers of English, which took place in Bermuda. The theme of the conference was Relaxation, Rhetoric, and Rum. At this conference teachers shared all the latest ideas to get students involved in the writing process, including workshops on Haiku and Skywriting, Poetry for Pickpockets, Using Ransom Notes to Convince and Persuade, and Proper Use Of Capitalization.

Ms. Perkins was most intrigued by the workshop on collaborative writing. During this workshop, each person took turns explaining the collaborative process. At no time did anyone interrupt each other.

In this workshop, the teachers explored using SubEthaEdit software on Mac Minis. SubEthaEdit is the most beautifully written software by the most talented programmers in Germany, and all the teachers promptly downloaded it onto their own computers. This software is available at no-cost for nonprofit uses.

To assist the teachers in installing the software, the teacher of the Collaborative Writing workshop helpfully explained that the necessary administrative password was 'Discord' -- case sensitive and individual insensitive.

No sooner had the workshop begun, when Ms. Perkins decided that this was something she just had to try with her students. The very day she came back from the conference, she announced to her students that a collaborative writing assignment was due the following Wednesday. They were to write either fiction or nonfiction with one or more non-family members. She was excited about the prospect of her students forming new creative communities as a result of this assignment.

Ms. Perkins said, "One thing I will not tolerate is students handing in homework that is their own work. You understand why this will not be tolerated, don't you?" A wave of murmuring swept across the classroom like a metaphor, bouncing off the back wall and colliding with Ms. Perkins' forehead.

"What if we don't know what to write about?" someone asked. She responded, "Write about what is on your mind. If you don't have anything on your mind, please use this as an opportunity to explain why. I'd like you to compare and contrast what's not on your mind with those things that are not on other people's minds."

Another student asked, "Do we have to use a computer to complete this assignment?"

"Use whatever tools are available to you that will get the job done," she replied. "I'm particularly fond of writing on the back of envelopes, although some of my best writing was accidentally mailed with my tax return." A few students laughed, but were soon quelled by her serious expression.

Just then, the bell rang to end the class. One of the students leaned over and whispered to a classmate, "I really don't know what's expected of us." "Embrace ambiguity," her classmate counseled with a smile. "The unknown is far more interesting than the known."

There was anticipation in the air the day Ms. Perkins returned the assignments. Her face was enigmatic, and nobody could be sure whether she was happy or not. After taking a deep breath, she pronounced, "Some of your collaborative writing was inspired, but I'm afraid to say, a lot of it was original work. I explained ahead of time that I would not tolerate original work. It disappoints me to no end that some of you are thinking independently. If you continue in this track, I will have to contact your parents or guardians, and let me make clear that there will be repercussions. I will not stand for independent thinking in this classroom. Do I make myself clear?" A small voice from the back of the classroom whispered, "You're thinking independently, Ms. Perkins." Her face reddened. "Who said that?" she demanded in a dangerously calm voice. "That's exactly the kind of thinking I like to hear in my classroom."

"Let me tell you the characteristics of some of the best collaborative writing I received. Singularity of voice makes the writing resonate with readers. People don't want to hear different voices emanating from the same written source." Students chimed in, "I agree. I agree. I agree. I agree."

"Commonality of purpose in the collaborative pieces raises the writing to higher levels. If people have disparate goals in the group writing, it's like horses pulling a metaphor in different directions. Eventually, it's going to snap like an old rubber band against your face. Can I have a volunteer cheek I can use to demonstrate how this feels? Oh, you already know the feeling?"

"There was only one A+ paper, and that was a satirical piece making fun of me. However hard I tried, I could not avoid laughing. The group of writers for that piece combined their creative talents in a way I hadn't imagined possible. They surprised me with every twist and turn."

As they left her class, her students knew that English class would never be the same again.



Written by John Benson, Maria Benson and Phil Shapiro during a snowstorm on January 22, 2005. Thanks are owed to many for the above writing, including Bill Palmer, creator of Mac Using Educators, as well as Paula and Bernie Benson. Feedback can be sent to Phil Shapiro at pshapiro gnat his.com

Other collaborative projects by these same authors (including other members of the Benson family) include The Ice-Cube Club and Untrue Zoo (Mac multimedia created using SimpleCard shareware for Mac OS 7 and 8. SimpleCard stacks can be viewed and heard on Mac OS 9 and under Classic in Mac OS X, but they cannot be created.) A no-cost or low-cost hypermedia program similar to SimpleCard needs to be made for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows. If you have the ability to do so, thanks for applying your skills to such an endeavor. I will provide a link to such software here and will endeavor to publicize it by any and all means.

Currently, my most favorite no-cost multimedia storytelling tool is the free version of Powerbullet Presenter. Surprise me with what you make with Powerbullet Presenter. Skype is also a very powerful multimedia creation tool, especially when used in conjunction with any program mention in the previous sentence. You can stay tuned into multimedia projects I'm working on via my My Television Station

BitTorrent is the tool that will be uniting many of us. Thanks, Bram. Thanks, Cedar. Thanks, Andy. Thanks, Andrea. Thanks, Steve. Thanks, Steve. Thanks, Ev. Thanks, Sergey. Thanks, Larry. Thanks, Pierre. Thanks, Meg. Thanks, Lawrence. Thanks, Esther.

Creativity note - A Java version of a math game I designed 15 years ago will soon be available. Try out the Mac version here. Thanks, David Findley. Thanks, Scott Fenton. The Java version will be linked to from the same site as the original Mac version. The Java version will be free for use in homes, nonprofit organizations and public libraries. Schools will be able to license it for a $50 school site license fee. The Java version is almost identical to the original version.

Kimberly Race, out in Oklahoma, deserves a big thanks, too, for her Flash and artistic skills. Gary Dauphin knows why I need to thank him.

David Smolover deserves thanks for teaching me to play guitar. I knew he was the best at his craft even before he started the National Guitar Workshop. Thanks, David. Iım having so much fun passing along the music to others.




Return to children's stories menu.