CILC’s Youngest Content Provider: The Inside Story

Pack bags–projector, computer, wires, coat. Drive to Sea Tac airport. Check bags. Go through security. Get on the plane. Take off. Four hours. Drive to a school. Set up projector. Give a presentation. Now repeat this two times a day, three times a week. Me, a ten year old, do this?

I'd never jump on a plane two times a day, three times a week to fly half across the country and give presentations. My schedule wouldn't hold it (and neither would my wallet). But I can videoconference with students in New Jersey by simply going downstairs and–voila!

It’s All in the Preparation
Preparing for the videoconference is all part of the excitement. From my schedule, you'd think that my motto is "Late to bed and late to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." To put it shortly, I'm not an early riser. I live in Redmond (near Seattle), Washington State, and most of the classes I teach are on Eastern Time. Because of this schedule, I'm usually in a hurry to get my computer down, open my presentation, hook up the presentation wire, and oh, what about lighting? And I totally forgot, turn on our professional (but intricate) camera and my microphone, adjust the videoconferencing camera, and check to make sure everything's working.

You might think that this is kind of a marathon crash course straight out of Dante's Inferno, but it's really worth it when I think about helping to inspire a generation of young readers and writers. Plus, I’m getting my own hands-on education in technology–especially creating presentations on the computer. I've always loved designing and making my own PowerPoints and my videoconferences let me show them to students!

My Experiences
Of course, the magic of videoconferencing isn't always so magical. Like most things in life, videoconferencing is sometimes a little unpredictable. During some of my earlier presentations, I was always a little worried that something I did could turn the videoconferencing unit into an unmanageable holy terror. Most often, the problem was that I couldn't see the other party, but on my first videoconference to Canada, the other party was not able to see my PowerPoint. I was easily able to see the PowerPoint on my computer, so I just wrote some important points on a whiteboard and the day was (in my humble opinion) a success. The whole videoconferencing experience has taught me to think for myself and come up with creative solutions for even the weirdest problems when the technology goes awry.

All in all, our videoconferencing program on CILC sure has been a success. We've been (if you'll excuse the term) flooded with requests. It's both a curse and a blessing. One week when I had a cold and we had a full schedule, so I gave descriptive writing videoconferences with a runny nose. It's an embarrassment to me (and continues to be to this day) that I blew my nose live. Still, it was an emergency! And it'll get a good laugh whenever you need one.

What’s Next
My success with the Writing Dynamics descriptive writing videoconferencing program has motivated me to introduce a new program based on my book Flying Fingers which is about the essential parts of writing, like dialogue. I'm looking forward to a success with this series as well.

A Gift
On many occasions my videoconferences go smoothly. Some videoconferences aren't just smooth–they're exemplary. At one school, Wedgwood Elementary, the students were so inspired that they made a small book of descriptive paragraphs with decorative borders and illustrations. The book is a gift that I will treasure for a very long time, but the gift of knowing that I have helped inspire those children and so many others to pick up their pens is a gift that will last forever.

Submitted by Adora Svitak
"Many of Adora’s writing workshops are available and free via webstream, please email to reserve your spot."