Purcell, K., Buchanan, J., Friedrich, L., "The Impact of Digital Tools on Student Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools." Pew Research Center, July, 2013.
As
a veteran teacher of 14 years, I am always looking to find new and innovative
ideas to teach critical content.
Teaching 1st grade is obviously not as rigorous as teaching
writing in 4th grade, but it is a true foundation for what is to
come. In reading the article, The Impact of Digital Tools on Student
Writing and How Writing is Taught in Schools, I asked myself a multitude of
questions and kept an open mind. I found
myself interested in finding out what other teachers thought about integrating
technology into the writing process.
Advanced Placement middle and high
school teachers were surveyed to find out if using digital technology was
looked upon as favorable or troublesome.
A total of 2,462 teachers were surveyed as part of the National Writing
Project and the majority favored the use of digital technology for
instructional purposes. Teachers were
able to see a growth in student performance when it came to Writing. They agreed that students were doing more and
using various formats including social media outlets.
There were a variety of pros and
cons when using digital technology for writing purposes. One major con was that teachers now had to
find new and interesting ways for better educating students against plagiarism
and fair use. On the other hand, a major
pro is being able to share written formats in a variety of ways with a greater
audience and more participants and engagement.
96% of teachers surveyed agreed that
a broader audience is beneficial and 78% agreed that digital technology
encourages creativity and personal expression.
Some teachers stated that the quality of written work is suffering due
to the various use of digital technology that tends to auto correct
misspellings, etc. They reported seeing
fair or poor ratings when using a more traditional written format.
The major areas of concern included
fair use, copyright, plagiarism, and citation.
Teachers mentioned that despite the challenges, digital tools make
teaching writing easier. Students were
avid users in whiteboards, wikis, websites, or blogs. They use these formats to share their work
with other students and teachers. Of
those surveyed, 94% said they still encourage students to write by hand.
In reading the article, I wanted my
own views to not cloud the findings. As
an elementary teacher, I feel that the foundation needs to be strong in order
to fully scaffold the learning throughout the years that come ahead. I partially agree that the technology is
vital in communication and definitely aids in the sharing of information,
however, I also feel that if students cannot write an essay by hand then we
have not done our students any justice.
First, build the foundation and teach the proper use of grammar and
spelling. Only then can we feel
comfortable enough to allow students to venture onto using digital technology
to share information.
As educators, we look for different
ways of approaching content in a way that is enjoyable and engaging to
students. We’re not necessarily looking
for easier ways or shortcuts, but a smarter way of teaching content. As students leave our classrooms, we are
hopeful that they have learned the necessary tools to succeed in their upcoming
journey. That journey now includes ways
to communicate via digital technology and social media. It’s fascinating to know that they will
venture into blogs and websites to voice their opinions regarding something
they’ve read or written. Let’s get them
ready for that.
114 pages
Total PEW pages-189
Total PEW pages-189
I agree~ students need to be able to defend their arguments in a succinct manner, and with whatever tool they use, the skill will remain important.
ReplyDelete