Now that school is about to start up again, I’m reflecting on the author events we did last year and what I learned from new things we tried. We had some exciting virtual and in-person visits, and my main takeaways from our events may be helpful for others, too, so here’s what I came up with. Preparing and… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Posts about author visits and Skypes
An Inspiring Author Visit with Eliot Schrefer
It’s a logistical challenge to coordinate an author visit. Especially if the author is coming in from out of town and presenting to multiple groups. And especially especially when there’s a snow day on the originally scheduled date. So it’s really saying something that Eliot Schrefer’s author visit on February 20th was worth the logistical… Read more »
Exceeding My Expectations: A Great Author Visit at a Hectic Time
Last Friday morning as I was having breakfast before school, I read this blog post entitled “The Paradoxical Extremes of Middle Grade Students: A Holiday Memory,” and I teared up a bit. In the post, Braden Bell, a choir director and author, describes his experience with a talented but silly group of eighth graders and… Read more »
Highlights from A.S. King’s Author Visit
The past week has been a busy one for me. On Saturday night, I returned from the 8th grade class trip to New Mexico, where we visited ruins and living pueblos, ate delicious New Mexican food, and saw breathtaking sights. And the day before we left, the inspiring and entertaining A.S. King came for a… Read more »
Excited about E-Books: An Author Visit from Andrea J. Buchanan
Most writers I know are a little bit wary about e-books. Some duck their heads and smile apologetically when they admit that they kind of like the Kindle they broke down and bought. Many seem worried about what electronic publishing means for independent bookstores and the future of the book as we know it. Not… Read more »
Skyping with a True Pro
Last Thursday afternoon, thirty-nine seventh graders crowded into my classroom. I handed them index cards with the questions they’d prepared ahead of time, signed on to Skype, and set up the projector. Soon, Kate Messner’s face appeared on the screen, and we began our virtual author visit. The day before, we’d finished Capture the Flag,… Read more »
Technology and Human Connection: Skyping with Grace Lin
As a middle school teacher, I often feel nervous about how connected everyone is in the age of the Internet and how public everything can be. I know, I know. Kind of ironic, worrying about how the Internet lets people connect and publicize their ideas on my blog. The thing is, though, drama already spreads fast… Read more »