According to Hicks (2009), framing a digital writing workshop begins by considering the students, the subject and the space in conjunction with writing. Since I am not currently teaching, my last placement was during student teaching in first grade and second grade. I like how Hicks (2009) encourages students to become "conscientious collaborators" (p. 129) when it comes to writing and technology. To me this means being capable of using technology as a tool to enhance the writing process.
Thinking back to my last placement, which was in an urban district, I think I viewed my students as being technologically naive. There was limited access to technology so I never really saw them interact with it, since there was none. Personally, I would have loved to have incorporated technology with them because they did writer's workshop everyday. If I had had a few computers in the room that they could have used I would have asked students who were ready for publishing to type their final product. I think it is a little bit more difficult to use certain technologies with younger students because they need to have a basic understanding of typing and how to use the internet and programs. I nanny for a second grader who is interested in typing stories on the computer, which helps her to freewrite and just get her ideas out. However, she often becomes frustrated with typing because she uses the hunt and peck method. I have also noticed that she does pretty well with using technology, but she is a little frightened of the computer. She thinks that when I minimize something it means it is lost forever and other things like that. These interactions with her made me realize that young students may be somewhat familiar with technology, but still need to be instructed on how to use it properly in order to use it in connection with their writing. Students know that technology is there and its potential, but just like reading and writing, they need explicit instruction on the basics to be able to utilize the technology.
When I think about the subject of writing I am reminded that I want to explicitly teach and discuss what a good writer does while using technology. I want to teach minilessons that students can immediately apply to their writing that day. I also want my students to understand that writing can take many forms and the more variety that is appropriately incorporated, then the more meaningful the written piece becomes. If I had the access to technology then I would model this using a SmartBoard or a computer. This may mean including images, videos, audio (podcasts) and hyperlinks. I think technology often comes into play when we are publishing due to access issues, but if I were teaching right now I would encourage students to include a variety of communication tools in their final product. I might even include some requirements in a rubric for each written assignment. I do not feel like I really addressed what writing means today when I was teaching first grade. Thinking back, technology was not really a significant part of the classroom because of lack of access, which made it difficult to incorporate. However, I could have been more conscious of it and I definitely will be from now on. In my other student teaching placement, which was also urban, I didn't have access to technology either. I even tried to bring my computer in to show students a YouTube video, but I could not even get internet access without a teacher ID. I found this to be incredibly frustrating because I would have used technology often if I could have!
The final component of space is discussed in terms of physical and virtual. I would say that when I was teaching I did not even consider space because we did not have the technology that I would have hoped for. In my future classroom, I would like to have some computers or access to a lab that enables collaboration to happen. I envision students working on joint writing projects or individual projects on the computer by offering each other suggestions on finding information and compiling a cohesive project that includes a variety of avenues to gain information. Virtually speaking, I would like to have a central wiki or website for the class that would allow me to post important information and websites that apply to units of study or the writing process. A website is also a great way to communicate with parents and post materials/websites that they can use with their children for extra practice. I think blogging or commenting on a wiki goes well with journaling. I would like to have daily journaling time and select one writing group a week to post on a the wiki instead of in a notebook. I would then comment on their post and possibly allow other students to comment if given student permission. I plan on utilizing the available technology and matching it with the writing process as much as possible when I have my own classroom.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Entry #1
Based on my experiences with teaching writing I really believe children need time and space to write everyday. Writing should not be a threatening task for children, but rather an opportunity to express themselves or to reflect. Writing should act as a safe outlet for children to discuss things that are going on in their lives, things they are learning in class and connections they are making between home, school and the world. I feel that there should be time reserved for writing every day, which may include a combination of modeled, shared, interactive, guided or independent writing. I want to incorporate formal and informal writing activities that provide children with choices which will engage them in the writing process. One of my goals is for all children in my class to feel comfortable with writing by personalizing the writing process so it becomes their writing process. I want children to understand what works best for them when they approach a writing task.
At the same time, I also want the children in my classrom to know that I am their to assist them in their writing process, whatever that may be. I would like to establish a trusting relationship with my students with the understanding that if they choose to write while sitting on a bean bag chair with a clipboard or using a marker I will support that as long as they prove to me they are working hard. I want to create a calm writing space that may include soothing or classical music to help writing pieces to flow. I would also like to have writing groups to allow students to collaborate with others on the pieces they are working on. Other times I might call a writing group to meet with me at a round table to do some conferencing or set up individual brainstorming or editing conferences.
I feel that it is important to demonstrate to children that writing is important to me in my everyday life as well. Some ways that I would like to do that is through modeling writing and choosing topics that are relevant to my life, which I feel comfortable sharing with children. Another way would be using something that I wrote to introduce a lesson and get students excited to write on their own. I have done this in the past when I taught a unit on poetry. I feel that this makes writing relevant to my life and shows the students that I am human as well. In one of my undergrad classes we talked a lot about immediacy behaviors during communication. The reason I bring this up is because by using immediacy behaviors as a teacher, children begin to feel closer to the teacher as if they know them better because they have shared something personal with the class. This could be as simple as sharing stories about a pet or something that I read in the newspaper that was interesting. I want to show children that I am curious about the world around me in order to motivate them to be as well. These simple tasks may help children to notice things about their world that might inspire them to compose a piece of writing.
As far as adopting a digital writing workshop goes, I would love to incorporate whatever technology that I am provided with into my classroom. There are so many ways to use technology in the classroom today. For example, I have shown YouTube videos to motivate my students about writing and to get their brainstorming wheels turning. I have often used PowerPoint on a SmartBoard in an interactive fashion by writing a class poem. I have also assisted children in creating their own podcasts by reading their written pieces into the computer. As I get started with my teaching career I hope to continue learning new ways to incorporate technology into our daily practices. I would like to explore creating electronic portfolios with students and outlets that I can use to expand the audiences that students base their writings around. I would also like to have a central class website or wiki, which would allow me to post useful and appropriate information and websites that students can explore. A wiki would also enable students to respond and comment on questions that their peers and I might post (depending on the grade level and abilities of the class of course). Overall, I am all in favor of finding new ways to merge the writing process with the digital outlets that are available.
Some challenges that I anticipate with attempting to blend writing and technology will be making sure that students are using appropriate websites and acting appropriate when using technology. Another issue may be the availability of technology in the school. It seems that many classrooms only have a few computers in them (if that), but in order to do something with the whole class I may have to sign out the computer lab or a laptop cart. Also, the technology that I have access to will be dependent on the district. Many suburban districts all have SmartBoards now, but I am willing to bet that not all urban districts do. It is also important to have a backup plan in case technology fails that particular day. Most of the time we can rely on it, but not always so I want to make sure I am prepared to face all the challenges that come along with incorporating technology in the classroom.
At the same time, I also want the children in my classrom to know that I am their to assist them in their writing process, whatever that may be. I would like to establish a trusting relationship with my students with the understanding that if they choose to write while sitting on a bean bag chair with a clipboard or using a marker I will support that as long as they prove to me they are working hard. I want to create a calm writing space that may include soothing or classical music to help writing pieces to flow. I would also like to have writing groups to allow students to collaborate with others on the pieces they are working on. Other times I might call a writing group to meet with me at a round table to do some conferencing or set up individual brainstorming or editing conferences.
I feel that it is important to demonstrate to children that writing is important to me in my everyday life as well. Some ways that I would like to do that is through modeling writing and choosing topics that are relevant to my life, which I feel comfortable sharing with children. Another way would be using something that I wrote to introduce a lesson and get students excited to write on their own. I have done this in the past when I taught a unit on poetry. I feel that this makes writing relevant to my life and shows the students that I am human as well. In one of my undergrad classes we talked a lot about immediacy behaviors during communication. The reason I bring this up is because by using immediacy behaviors as a teacher, children begin to feel closer to the teacher as if they know them better because they have shared something personal with the class. This could be as simple as sharing stories about a pet or something that I read in the newspaper that was interesting. I want to show children that I am curious about the world around me in order to motivate them to be as well. These simple tasks may help children to notice things about their world that might inspire them to compose a piece of writing.
As far as adopting a digital writing workshop goes, I would love to incorporate whatever technology that I am provided with into my classroom. There are so many ways to use technology in the classroom today. For example, I have shown YouTube videos to motivate my students about writing and to get their brainstorming wheels turning. I have often used PowerPoint on a SmartBoard in an interactive fashion by writing a class poem. I have also assisted children in creating their own podcasts by reading their written pieces into the computer. As I get started with my teaching career I hope to continue learning new ways to incorporate technology into our daily practices. I would like to explore creating electronic portfolios with students and outlets that I can use to expand the audiences that students base their writings around. I would also like to have a central class website or wiki, which would allow me to post useful and appropriate information and websites that students can explore. A wiki would also enable students to respond and comment on questions that their peers and I might post (depending on the grade level and abilities of the class of course). Overall, I am all in favor of finding new ways to merge the writing process with the digital outlets that are available.
Some challenges that I anticipate with attempting to blend writing and technology will be making sure that students are using appropriate websites and acting appropriate when using technology. Another issue may be the availability of technology in the school. It seems that many classrooms only have a few computers in them (if that), but in order to do something with the whole class I may have to sign out the computer lab or a laptop cart. Also, the technology that I have access to will be dependent on the district. Many suburban districts all have SmartBoards now, but I am willing to bet that not all urban districts do. It is also important to have a backup plan in case technology fails that particular day. Most of the time we can rely on it, but not always so I want to make sure I am prepared to face all the challenges that come along with incorporating technology in the classroom.
Welcome to My Reading & Writing Blog! :)
Welcome to my first blog! I will be responding to journal prompts for LTED 618 throughout this semester. I am excited to start writing on a regular basis. Feel free to visit my blog anytime! Thanks :)
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