Email 4

Email 4: Week 2 activities (sent Monday 28 July 2014)

Dear All

Welcome to Week 2 of the Digital storytelling and the African Storybook Project! Hopefully you have visited the course blog and have joined and commented in  the Facebook group.  Remember, your interaction can be in either of these platforms.

Recap of last week
Last week we looked at the important issue of copyright and we took a look through the various Creative Commons Licenses. Since we want teachers throughout Africa to use the African Storybook website to the fullest degree,  we have chosen the license that allows teachers to use the stories however they like always attributing the original creator but never selling work that is not their own original creation. Last week Lorato also showed us around the website in our Thursday webinar – as you know the recording and the presentation are on the course blog.

This week’s activities
For the rest of the week I plan to write a few information posts about:
a) Characteristics of a beginner reader.
b) Types of stories that beginner readers like

Webinar on Thursday this week
The course is supported by optional webinars each week, and you will see the webinar programme each week  on the blog as well as in this email (plus the reminder email I will send out on either Wednesday or Thursday of each week.)   Thanks so much to those who were able to attend last week’s webinar. A webinar usually around 15 - 30 minutes in length.  Lorato and I are going to present the webinar on Thursdays at 3:15pm (GMT+2) Remember that if you can’t make it to the webinar the recording with the presentation will be placed on the blog for you to listen to in your own time. Of course, if you can make it to a webinar you can chat to the others via the chatbox, and ask and answer questions.

Thursday 3:15pm -3:45pm
Meeting Name:  Use the African Storybook website in your classroom
Summary: In this webinar we will share ideas of how to use the African Storybook website in your classroom if you are a teacher or with your children if you are a parent. The ASP website has great potential both as a writing took and a source of reading material.
When:  07/31/2014  from 3:15 PM – 3:45 PM
Time Zone:  (GMT+02:00) Harare, Pretoria
To join the meeting: http://meet78641452.adobeconnect.com/asp-classroom/

All you have to do is click on the link and you will be taken to a sign in page of Adobe Connect.  If it is your first time on Adobe Connect you will be asked to check your computer to see if it has an add-in installed – and if you don’t you will be taken through the process. Thereafter you sign in as a guest with your name and you join us. You can chat in the chat box but can unfortunately not chat verbally unless I give you microphone rights. Our Adobe Connect webinar sponsorship allows 25 attendees – but as I mentioned everything will be available for you to listen to in your own time.

This week’s tasks
This week we would ask you to share your ideas about the characteristics of a beginner reader and the type of stories you find that beginner readers like to read.  We’ll be starting with our story writing next week and during the course of this week I’ll send you the long awaited email of which applications to use on the different devices.

Bye for now. Meet you online…

Regards
Fiona and Lorato