The Write Motivation: Using the Internet to Engage Students in Writing across the Curriculum
By Dennis Rowen
Dennis Rowen writes that students make more of an effort in their writing when someone other than just the teacher will be reading it. Rowen encourages teachers to use emailing, instant messaging, and online publishing to motivate their students to write. There were many examples in the article but I have chosen to elaborate on one of my favorites. The activity is called Monster Exchange. In the article, a class of second grade students from the United States were assigned to create a monster and do the best they could at describing what it looked like. Those descriptions were then sent to a classroom in the United Kingdom. It was up to the students in the U.K. to draw a picture of what they thought the monster looked like by using the descriptions sent to them. Once the students were done drawing the monsters they were sent back to the students in the United States. Doing a simple and fun activity like this makes it fun for students to write. This example in particular also helps students with their descriptive writing.
After reading this article it made me very motivated to go on with my studies to become a teacher. Using the Internet as a tool can make anything in the curriculum more exciting and engaging for the students. There were many more examples of how to use the Internet as a writing tool for students in the article. Another good example comes from the Scholastic web site. Students can go online and read a short book then have the opportunity to type in their questions that they have for the characters of that book. The students receive instant responses to their questions. Even though it is all rigged, it must feel so exciting for that student to think that they are actually exchanging messages with the characters. Doing activities like this allows the students to not worry so much about their writing but at the same time it allows the students to practice their writing, and practice is always good for anything that you want to perfect. Using the Internet makes things more engaging for the students. When I become a teacher I will definitely take advantage of all the resources that are available out on the Internet.
Even Recess Can't Beat Technology
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"Who Are Today's Learners?" is the question that Christine Greenhow asks in
her article regarding how students feel about technology use in the
classroom. ...
16 years ago
I think that it's a fantastic idea to have someone besides a teacher read their student's writing. Students probably don't feel the need to put a bit of themselves into their writing if they're only doing it to get a grade. This sounds like a great exercise, and it would probably be good for students also just to read each other's writing from time to time. I definitely felt like writing was a chore in elementary school and it was hardly ever presented as something enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteI love that Monster Exchange activity, it is an activity that encompasses different aspects in learning: technology use, descriptive writing, and communication. I would love to implement this assignment with my students, I think students of all ages would enthusiastically participate. The most important part of completing various writing assignments online is that it will help students feel more comfortable with writing. I like what you said about students should not worry about their writing. Because writing does not come easy to me, I wish I had more practice in writing. I am now just beginning to grasp the concept of free writing.
ReplyDeleteI like the example you used to, in how to help students enjoy writing more. The whole monster activity is something that I would use in classroom or even as a game with family. Not only does it help students to write but it helps them to actually think and be more descriptive, and learn to give good directions.
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