What's Old Is New Again: High Quality Leveled Readers

I was delighted, a little over a month ago, to get a call from a company called Curriculum Concepts International. I had never heard of CCI, but it turns out that they were a part of an ongoing project at Time for Kids (part of Time Inc.) in which I was involved many years ago.  Harcourt, creator of K-12 textbooks, had contracted with Time to create sets of "mini-books" as secondary sources to support social studies texts for grades K-6.  I had had the pleasure of researching and writing quite a few of these mini-books on fascinating topics such as --

One of my early trades

The Kennedy Space Center

 The Silk Road
 Climate Change

The Elements

Norfolk and the Navy
The Chesapeake Bay

Tsunami

  Discovering New Species
 The Ancient Phoenicians

  

When the recession hit, the market for these small, high quality books with fabulous illustrations from the Time-Life photo library appeared to dry up.  But it seems that the business merely took a detour.  Now, CCI is managing the development of new leveled readers at the same high quality, and they thought of me.

Last month, I took on a really exciting CCI/Harcourt project: a 4th/5th grade book called Life on a Lunar Colony.  No, it's not fiction -- but it did give me a chance to explore what NASA and private businesses are thinking about relative to our next steps in space.  Wonderful stuff, including gorgeous artists' conceptions of domed habitats, mining facilities and moon rovers.

This month, I've started work on a new CCI/Harcourt mini-book called Measuring Matter.  I'm looking forward to getting back into the world of physics! It's wonderful to be able to mix print and digital education, using the "appropriate technology" for different kinds of learners.

Interactive Education and E-Learning

As an educational writer for both formal and informal educational clients, I've always been involved with multisensory and hands-on instructional techniques. As a 21st century educational writer, without thinking much about it, I've collected a diverse set of skills for creating digital teaching tools.  As clients have turned to technology, I've followed suit.

Thought I've always thought of myself as a "writer," I now realized that I've morphed a bit.  Over the past decade, I've become an eLearning specialist with significant knowledge of and experience in the tools, philosophy and techniques of the field.  While I'm not a programmer (and don't plan to be one), I've jumped into the eLearning field without plannig it.

I've worked with PowerPoint and Camtasia, storyboards and smartboards, interactive kiosk scripting and blogs.  I've learned to build teaching and assessments tools based on Flash, Java and HTML "interactives" such as drag and drop modules, puzzles, quizzes, and -- of course -- good old fashioned multiple choice.  With all these tools, I've had the opportunity to develop some really exciting products:

• two distance learning courses for Drexel University's Goodwin College
• three interactive web-based classes for MediaBistro.com
• interactive lectures for college students for Pearson Publishing
• 21st Century Skills video scripts for Pearson (for elementary students)
• interactive tools for exploring personal finance for Apex Learning

...and that's just the start.

To celebrate the discovery that I've successfully navigated the bridge between print and digital educational writing, I've created two new tabs for this site.  One focuses entirely on elearning and Instruction Design; the other on printed books and other publications.  Need a writer?  I'm up for either one!

February "Leaps" Ahead

The mid-winter doldrums have arrived, and with very little fanfare.  Here on Cape Cod we've had just one significant snow...  the cranberry bogs have not yet frozen over...  and while it's chilly, we have yet to have more than a day or two of serious cold.  I can't really complain, of course: the terrific weather has made it easy to travel, and kept cabin fever at bay!

Winter on the Cape

January included the completion of an NEH grant for the New England Whaling Museum, and the establishment of an ongoing relationship with that organization.  They are digging deeply into topics such as American expansion, ethnic diversity, and the complex issues of assimilation for populations that came to the US from Cape Verde and Africa as a result of the whaling industry.  As one member of the staff said, "imagine the impact on visitors of an image of a black first mate, holding a harpoon aboard a Yankee whaler!"

As we work out the details of our next shared project, however, I find that much of my attention has turned back to writing, consulting, and speaking on the topic of community inclusion for children, families and adults with developmental differences and challenges.

Coming up later this month, my IMLS-funded consulting project with the Children's Museum of Boston has begun -- with a pair of focus group sessions to include both afterschool educators and parents of children with autism.  Once the focus groups are complete, I'll be putting together a guide for afterschool program directors and educators on inclusion, activity selection, accommodation and related topics.

What's on the horizon?

I'll be heading to New Hampshire in March for a two-day program at the Children's Museum in Portsmouth, where I will be meeting a whole new group of informal educators with a special interest in inclusion.  Also in March, I'll be delivering a "virtual lecture" to high school guidance counselors on the topic of "helping students with autism apply to college."

In April, I head to Philadelphia to be part of a committee of three advising a master's thesis at the University of the Arts.  The young woman working toward her degree is planning an exhibit specifically for kids with autism; I've never been a thesis advisor before, and the process is turning out to be more of a creative collaboration than I'd imagined!

I've also heard from the Boston Museum of Science: I'll be participating in a five-day, grant-funded workshop in May focused on the concept of universally designed museum technology.  I'm starting to do some research into the subject, but the reality is that we are all breaking exciting new ground.

Of course all these projects and programs, while potentially exciting and fulfilling, aren't enough to make a full time business perk along.  Fortunately, my client A-Pass Education, along with several other educational entities, are overflowing with opportunities for educational writing. I'm now diving head first into some SAT-related projects, assessment, and interactive educational projects...  Hoping to be coming up for air as spring arrives!

A New Year and New Opportunities

As 2012 begins, I'm delighted to be involved in several brand new projects and working with new clients as well.  At the same time, I'm completing several projects that were in the works in December.

Top of the list for the beginning of this month (with an imminent deadline!) is a major National Endowment for the Humanities grant I'm spearheading for the New Bedford Whaling Museum.  This is a terrific opportunity for me to work with a major local museum and to spend time on site at meetings and exploring galleries with staff - something I've missed as I've worked almost exclusively with clients located at a distance from Cape Cod.

Pico Island in the Azores, from "A Whaling Voyage Around the World"

Meanwhile, I continue to work on a variety of educational projects.  Right now, I'm continuing to work with Michigan-based A-Pass Educational Group on a project for a major publisher.  My job: to turn print textbooks into interactive lectures and assessments using a presentation software called Articulate. This is a long-term project which will run through March.

A new client, The World Scholar's Cup, is an international educational organization that challenges youth to engage with, debate and conduct research surrounding a variety of academic topics.  My challenge is update and enhance a resource guide on the topic of biotechnology - making it accessible for kids in grades 6-12 from around the world!

As before, I am continuing to work with the online magazine Autism After 16, researching and writing articles on autism-related topics such as IEP's and transition planning; community inclusion; and much more.  In addition, I continue my consulting work with the Boston Children's Museum and Boston Museum of Science, all of which focuses on best practices and training for inclusion of kids and families living with autism.

As the Year Draws to a Close, Projects Continue to Bloom

It's now December, and with the change of seasons comes a whole new crop of projects and activities.

This month, I'm writing the third in a series of "mini-books" for seniors interesting in getting involved with computers and the Internet.  So far, I've written two 7,500 words books on "Digital Cameras" and "Email," and am now in the process of creating a book called "Introduction to Your Computer."  The books, created by a small publishing company, will be packaged and sold as a set with a total of ten titles.

I'm also excited to mention that I've begun a major grant writing project for the New Bedford Whaling Museum.  The Museum is a wonderful community resource, as well as a well-class historic museum, so I am delighted to included in their important work.

Meanwhile, I continue to work on a variety of educational writing projects.  I've just finished a large assessment project, and will shortly begin creating storyboards for an Articulate-based "interactive lecture" series.  Educational writing seems to be experiencing a boom, and it's exciting to be on the forefront of the digital publishing world!

Projects in Process: Fall 2011

As the school season progresses, I seem to be taking on a wide variety of educational projects - some digital, some print.  It's always exciting to be in a learning mode, and as an educational writer you can't help but "learn something new every day."  Here are some of the projects in process right now!

• I'm putting the finishing touches on over 30 interactive high school-level lessons on anthropology and sociology for a major virtual education firm
• I'm knee-deep in developing storyboards for a first-grade Singapore Math program to be offered via Promethean software on Smartboards
• I've just begun researching ssue #8 of Stream Explorers, Trout Unlimited's educational magazine on coldwater conservation and wildlife

I'm also excited to announce that I'll be working with the Children's Museum of Boston as a consultant on a grant-funded project intended to support inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorders in afterschool programs.

Last but not least, I'm in the early stages of developing an IMLS grant to support access and inclusion of families with autistic children at two museums in the greater Philadelphia area.