SAWP Summer Institute 2009

We are in the second week of the 2009 San Antonio Writing Project Summer Institute. We are meeting in the same small room that we’ve had for previous institutes which is definitely cozy. This year we are especially focusing on technology and have gone paperless. Our SAWP assistant and Graduate Student Jacob Sanchez is doing his Master’s thesis on this process.

Already we are seeing amazing things happening. Our logs have been transformed by movie maker and other programs into videos that document our days work through words, video, pictures and music. As one participant noted, you can see the process evolving each day as a new logger plans and takes pictures and the story board emerges in front of us.

We’ve been having spontaneous technology discussions as we reflect on the similarities between the writing process and the process of creating movies. We are challenging ourselves to get with the new technology and to embrace continual change.
For the first time ever, we’ve eliminated the SAWP notebooks and instead post all of our powerpoints and handouts on our google site. We’re also posting our writing and having electronic writing conferences too. Instead of a notebook, everyone received a jump drive. We’ve done a lot of writing and discussing about technology, especially our fears and concerns. But nothing surpasses the excitement we feel when someone shares their electronic journal or technologically advanced demonstration. We’re proud of ourselves and we know that we are moving into new territory. We don’t know where we are going but we also know that we will never move backward again.