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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Poet-to-Poet?
What do I need to start?
How do I find a partner teacher?
Do I have to work with a partner teacher?
How much time should I devote to the project?
Is this a secure environment?
Will I be able to monitor the student exchanges?
Who is responsible for the content?
How do I set up my classes?
How do my students begin?
How does the peer editing work?
Does my class have to use the audio part of the program?
How does the audio part work?
What happens at the end of the project?
What is Poet-to-Poet?
Poet-to-Poet is a free online program that connects two classes and allows
students to share poetry as well as edit each other’s poems. top
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What do I need to start?
All you need is access to computers and about 15 minutes to set up your
profile. The program can be used as a stand-alone exercise or as a companion
to an existing poetry lesson plan. Of course, we feel that showing the
film Poetic License is a great way to get your students excited about
poetry and inspired to write. top
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How do I find a partner teacher?
You have a couple different options. If you have a colleague that you
would like to collaborate with, you can reserve him/her as your partner.
If you don’t have a pre-selected partner, we will match you up with
one based on the criteria that you select (by grade level, for example).
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Do I have to work with a partner teacher?
If you would prefer to work exclusively with your own students, you can
either match up two of your classes or break one class into two sections.
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How much time should I devote to the project?
That’s up to you and your partner teacher to decide. We’ve created
the program with enough flexibility to accommodate different schedules.
If you and your partner have access to computers every day, it may take
only a week for your students to produce their final drafts. top
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Is this a secure environment?
Yes. Each participant – teacher and student – has his/her own
username and password. Until teachers decide to publish their class poems,
all of the work will take place in a secure space accessible only to the
participants. top of page
Will I be able to monitor the student exchanges?
Yes. With one click you will be able to read each of your student’s
work as well as the critique that has been submitted from the partner
class. You can also send messages to your students or offer additional
comments. top of page
Who is responsible for the content?
Teachers are. Although you will be working in a secure setting, we strongly
suggest that you monitor your student exchanges to make sure that they
are on task and offering constructive feedback. top
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How do I set up my classes?
Eventually, we will make it so that you can import your class list, but
for now you have to enter in each student’s name (from your class
profile page hit the ‘add student’ button). Every time you add
a student, a password and username is generated and is recorded in your
master list. Students will need that password and username to log on for
the first time. top of page
How do my students begin?
Once students log on they will be taken to their individual poet portfolio
page. If they like, they can hit ‘edit my profile’ to change
their password and username (the changes will automatically be updated
in your master list). Students will also see a blank text box and can
begin writing. Or if they have already composed a poem they can cut and
paste it into the text box. They can either save their work and return
to the draft later or they can submit it to their partner group for critique.
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How does the peer editing work?
You and your partner teacher will break your classes down into groups
(we suggest groups of 3 or 4 students). Your group 1 will be matched with
your partner’s group 1, and so on. Each student in group1 will submit
their work to their partner group for critique, and vise versa. Students
can discuss and offer their critiques as a group or they can do it individually.
Ultimately, it is up to the teachers to decide how to structure the critique
process. top of page
Does my class have to use the audio part of the program?
You don’t have to, but we strongly suggest that you do. One of the
powerful aspects of youth spoken word poetry is that it is performed.
With relative ease, your students can record their poems in audio form
and post them for all to read and hear. top
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How does the audio part work?
Because it is easy to use and is already installed on nearly every computer,
we decided to use Real Networks. Their free program Real Producer Basic,
which takes about 10 minutes to download and set up, allows users to record
their work into the computer (external microphones are required). top
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What happens at the end of the project?
All of the final drafts will be published in a joint online class journal
on the Poetic License website (if a student does not want their work published
the teacher can remove the poem). In addition, each poem can be automatically
submitted for consideration to the site’s Online Poetry Journal,
if the student chooses. We want to create as many publishing opportunities
for young writers as possible. top
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