It shows them that they have a chance to become contributors in a world of professional communicators. It allows them to present ideas with an immediacy and a volume that has never before been available. For teachers, publication becomes both a reward for good work and a way of showing parents and the community what is going on in the classroom. As each OnlineClass program progresses, I watch the students get better and better at handling both the mechanics and the power of e-mail. Research grows in depth.
Opinions build in logic.
Creative expression increases in volume as students see themselves in print and trust that they will be published and read. Producer John Caddy does an excellent job of bringing out creativity in the participating students. Stillness yet life. The endless moving branches. So much fakeness.