FAQ

=Project Frequently Asked Questions:=

1. [|What is The 1001 Flat World Tales Project?] 2. [|Is there a deadline?] 3. [|What is this "blook" in which successful student stories will be published?] 4. [|What if I or my learners don't know how to use a wiki?] 5. [|How can this be a k-12 project? Sounds unrealistic!] 6. [|What sort of response has this idea generated on the web?] 7. [|Can stories in languages other than English be submitted?] 8. [|What is the world-wide web saying about this project?]

= =

What is //The 1001 Flat World Tales// Project?
This project takes the traditional language arts "Writing Workshop" into the 21st Century in three easy (but radical) ways: [|back to top] 
 * 1) it replaces pencil and paper (or MS Word) drafting, revising, and peer editing with a better (and simpler) writing tool: a wiki;
 * 2) it expands the options for peer response and peer editing beyond the walls of your classroom--and your clock, city, nation, and culture--by enabling peer feedback, editing, and connection with students from around the world;
 * 3) it replaces the "authentic" publishing of the 20th century classroom--hallways, newsletters, literary journals, etc--with authentic publishing in the //1001 Flat World Tales "blook":// a potentially endliess series of stories from students around the world, inter-linked on individual student blogs. (More below.)

Is there a deadline?
No. This wiki, since it's web-hosted, is open 24/7/365--all century long. As long as two classrooms from around the world want to collaborate, then "Flat World" collaboration is always possible.

The next workshop is scheduled for late February til end of March 2008. Jump in with your students!

In the three weeks since this project was announced, over a dozen teachers from over seven countries (on four continents) have expressed interest. Add your name and time-frame, and another classroom will likely have the same timeframe in mind. Then connect via this wiki. [| back to top] 

What is this "blook" thing on which successful stories will be authentically published?
We gave the name **//blook//** to the idea of a new type of publication, never possible in the history of reading and writing until the invention of wikis and blogs: a "book" of short stories that is published on inter-linking student blogs. A //blook//.

The official list of published students will be maintained on this wiki. Whenever students officially select (and teachers perhaps agree?) a student's story for publication on the //1001 Fllat World Tales blook//, the story and writer will be "promoted" from the wiki to the student's blog.

Each additional story will be added to the //blook//'s Table of Contents on this wiki, and linked to each additional student's blog.

//Readers// of the //blook// will thus read each story on its own writer's blog, and click the hyperlink to the next successful student writer's blog, on and on. **Think of the benefits of an ever-growing world audience for these students on their blogs.** (And yes, we have [|security guidelines and advice]!)

Our goal is to match--then surpass--the original //1001 tales// with "1001+" of our own! [| back to top] 

What if I and my learners don't know how to use a wiki?
Not a problem! There are many teachers involved who can help you learn how easy it is! You'll be a pro within no time! (Seriously!) In fact, if you cliick [|here], you'll see a few 2-minute movies that show and tell you most of the basic things you need to know to get started. [| back to top] 

How can this be a k-12 (age 5-18) project? Sounds unrealistic!
Not at all! See the wiki pages for the different age groups (5-7, 8-10, 11-14, 15-18) in the navigation pane on the left of this page. Click your class's age group link, and jump in. //You can't "break" a wiki//. //There's no such thing as a "mistake." Everything can be fixed.// [| back to top] 

Can stories in languages other than English be submitted?
Absolutely yes! Click the "World Languages" link on the navigation pane (upper left column of this page), and start your own page there! Don't worry about formatting. We can always improve that later! [|back to top]



Other Posts About This Project on the Web:
4 April 2007: Miguel Guhlin at [|Around the Corner] 11 March 2007: [|Techsmith], Los Angeles 10 March 2007: [|TipLine] 4 March 2007: [|Classroom Meets Technology] 26 Feb 2007: Jeff Dungan at [|Groundswell], Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. 24 Feb 2007: Kim Cofino at [|Always Learning], Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 19 Feb 2007: Vinnie Vrotny at [|Multi-Faceted Refractions] (Chicago, IL) (see comments for corrections to Mr. Vrotny's report on this project). 16 Feb 2007: Kim Corfino at [|Always Learning], Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 11 Feb 2007: Bing Miller at [|The 21st Century Schoolhouse] (Branford, Connecticut, USA). 11 Feb 2007: Jose Luis Cabello, "[|El Relato Interminable]" ("The Never-ending Story"), (Spanish). 10 Feb 2007: Julie Lindsay at [|E-Learning BLog] (Dhaka, Bangladesh). 10 Feb 2007: [|NextGenTeachers] podcast:

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8 Feb 2007: Karl Fisch on [|the Fischbowl] (Colorado). Maybe [| Michele Davis' post] on her blog about the //1001 Flat World Tales// project will summarize the idea better than I can at the moment. She's already got her students in Colorado working on their stories on the wiki. [|U Tech Tips] (Jeff Utecht) article (Shanghai, China). [|Whip Blog] (Jeff Whipple) article (New Brunswick, Canada). 15 January-present: Posts from my blog, [|Beyond School], that trace the origin of the whole idea and the stages of its progress. [|back to top]