Research Question: How can I use technology in the classroom to enhance student writing?
Kadjer, S. (2004). Plugging in: what technology brings to the
English/language arts classroom. Voices From the Middle, 11(3), Retrieved from
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/VM/0113-
mar04/VM0113Plugging.pdf
In this article Sara Kajder, a graduate instructor in the Center for Technology and Teacher Education at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, stresses the importance of using classroom technology with a purpose. She argues that if technology does not take student readers and writers beyond what they can do without it, it should not be used in those particular situations. Kajder states that technology should be a tool to help enhance learning not the tool to be learned from. She says that language arts teachers will inherently become researchers, discovering when it is appropriate to integrate technology and when it is not. Kajder also emphasizes that teachers do not need to become tech “experts” in the classroom, but rather “tech-savvy”. The difference being that educators simply need to know how to turn the devices on and think critically to problem solve while trouble shooting. This article directly relates to my thesis in that it explores how to successfully use technology to enhance student writing through well planned use.
Watson, P.A., & Lacina, J. (2004). Lessons learned from integrating
technology in a writer's workshop. Voices From the Middle, 11(3), Retrieved from
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/VM/0113-
mar04/VM0113Lessons.pdf
In this article Patricia A. Watson, assistant professor in the College of Education at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, and Jan Guidry Lacina, assistant professor and PBIC coordinator at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, divulge what they learned after implementing technology into a writer’s workshop. The authors specifically learned five important lessons from the experience: 1) Modeling – here they learned that technology can be used to help students better show their ideas in various formats, 2) Risk Taking – here the authors found that students were more inclined to take risks in their writing when they could easily go back and edit with the use of computers, 3) Conferencing – through the use of chat rooms and blogs the authors were able to conference with their students about their writing frequently giving immediate feedback, 4) Writers Need Resources – by encouraging their students to use the internet to help generate ideas and find resources the authors discovered that students were able to write with more depth, and 5) Publishing – the authors showed their students how to publish works online and found that the students showed great pride and ownership through publication. Although this article was written for intermediate teachers, I still found many of the strategies useful for an elementary classroom and look forward to experimenting with them next year.
Bjorklund, A. (2000). One more tool for the toolbox. English Journal, 90(2).
Retrieved from
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/EJ/0902-nov00/EJ0902One.pdf
In this article Ann L. Bjorkland, an English teacher at West Jordan High School, shares her experience of being one of three teachers to be the first to implement technology into the classroom at her school. She gives a brief background of her trials and errors with using classroom computers and internet and then goes on to share what other teachers interested in integrating might encounter. Bjorkland’s first word of advice is that teachers who want to use technology in their classrooms need not be experts, but must be excited, flexible and curious. She emphasizes the importance of being willing to try and fail several times before getting what you want out of the students. She then goes on to share the ways that she successfully used technology integrated with writing in her class. She breaks these lessons up into small, medium and large projects. For small projects she simply uses the computers as a research tool or a reference to help her students find ideas. Medium projects entail online web quests written by the students to showcase their writing in a different way. Large projects, which are more time consuming, are multimedia presentations showcasing student work in a different format. This article is very useful for my thesis because it gives valuable tips to a teacher interested in integrating technology with writing.
Rochette, L.C. (2007). What classroom technology has taught me about
curriculum, teaching and infinite possibilities. English Journal, 97(2), Retrieved from
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/EJ/0972-
nov07/EJ0972Classroom.pdf
curriculum, teaching and infinite possibilities. English Journal, 97(2), Retrieved from
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/EJ/0972-
nov07/EJ0972Classroom.pdf
In this article Lauren Christine Rochette, a nineteen year American Literature teacher at Malborough School in Los Angeles, describes how her attitude towards technology in the classroom has changed through the use of a SMART board. Rochette stated that she felt all you needed for an English class was book, a pen and students, but that was before she volunteered to have a SMART board installed in her classroom. She quickly found that it was more than just an overpriced projector and began using it to teach her students how to read critically and take annotated notes. She observed great improvements in their writing as well because she was able to more effectively demonstrate good writing strategies on the SMART board. After realizing the usefulness of the board, Rochette decided to implement other types of technology into her teaching such as lap tops and internet blogs. She found that using these technologies helped broaden her students’ success and she harkened it back to teaching with multiple intelligences in mind. This article relates to my thesis in that Rochette’s use of technology in the classroom helped to enhance her students’ learning, engagement and writing.
Patterson, N. (2006). computers and writing: the research says yes!. Voices
From the Middle, 13(4), Retrieved from
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Journals/VM/0134-
may06/VM0134Computers.pdf
In this article Nancy Patterson, assistant professor at Grand Valley State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she chairs the Reading/Language Arts Program, shares her success with using computers for writing in the classroom. She argues that research shows that students who write on computers are more likely to write longer more creative pieces than those that handwrite. She also states that using computers will inherently engage students more readily than pencil and paper just because of the sheer draw that they have towards technology. Patterson suggests that teachers harness that interest and channel it into the academic world as soon as possible so that children will be more likely to enjoy the writing process. She too, like other authors, states that students are more willing to take risks in their writing when they can type because of the ease of editing and revising. Patterson also encourages teachers to get there students involved in blogging and podcasts so that they become every day writers. She challenges teachers to give their writing assignments modern day meaning through the use of the internet. This article is related to my thesis in that Patterson show how to affectively enhance student writing through the use of computers and the internet.
