Technology and the Writing Workshop

Childhood Education, Winter 2003/2004 by Lacina, Jan Guidry

April props her notes and books next to her as she begins to type her first draft, using Microsoft Word. April is a 5th-grade student, and she is working on an inquiry-based research project in which she is investigating the field of mathematics, her favorite subject in school. April wants to discover what careers are available for people within this field. The inquiry-based project is allowing her to research a topic of interest to her; at the same time, April can present the information in a creative format, using technology.

To begin this project, April first identifies her research questions, and then she sets out to find answers to her questions. As primary sources for her research, April interviews a local math teacher and a civil engineer; for her secondary sources, she uses the Internet and a CD-ROM encyclopedia. As she goes through the writing process, April revises the content and receives peer feedback through E-mail; finally, she edits her draft. This process is ongoing. Once her project is ready for publication, April integrates graphics and Web sites into a Power Point presentation. Throughout the writing process, April combines reading, writing, and technology to create a project that is meaningful to her. Technology allows her to gather, organize, and synthesize the information she learned throughout the writing process (Wepner, Valmont, & Thurlow, 2000).

One common challenge teachers face is how to integrate technology in a way that truly enhances learning. April's project is a good example of how technology can enhance writing. This column explores ways to integrate technology into a writing workshop. The writing workshop emerged over 20 years ago from the work of such well-known figures as Donald Graves, Lucy Calkins, Nancie Atwell, Ralph Fletcher, and, more recently, Katie Wood Ray. Using a writing workshop in the classroom is different from merely teaching the writing process (prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing). The difference is that in a writing workshop, a community of writers is created in which both the teacher and students share and revise their writing throughout all of the various stages of the writing process. Teacher and peer conferencing is continuous, for example. Typically, about an hour is set aside for the writing workshop, the components of which include a community meeting and mini lesson, independent writing and conferring, guided writing, investigations (genre, author, or content study), and group share (Fountas & Pinnell, 2001).

Technology integration into the writing workshop classroom enables teachers to model writing either by using an overhead projector or a computer connected to an LCD (liquid crystal display) projector (Wepner, Valmont, & Thurlow, 2000). For example, a 2nd-grade teacher at the Nacogdoches Independent School District/Stephen F. Austin State University Charter School uses an overhead projector to model her own writing to students during the mini lesson time block. During modeled writing, this teacher shares her draft with the 2nd-graders via the overhead projector as she generates ideas for a topic, expands each draft and finally edits her draft. The teacher voices her writing decisions out loud as she decides how to draft, expand, revise, and edit her piece. With the benefit of an overhead or LCD projector, students can witness an author making changes to his or her writing through this modeled writing/think-aloud process. As students transition into independent writing time each day, they can integrate the writing tools learned through the modeled writing into their own independent writing.

Teachers can model numerous technology applications, especially in the area of prewriting. Students can use Inspiration or Kidspiration to brainstorm ideas. Kidspiration includes pre-formed story maps and webs and is particularly helpful for students in the lower grades (www.inspiration.com). Likewise, Power Point is a popular software package that allows teachers to enhance their teaching and students to more easily present their work to the class. Children in the upper grades can use E-mail or chat room sessions for peer content and editing feedback. The Internet offers many opportunities for students to publish their writing projects. At KidPub (www.kidpub.org), students can submit a poem or story and, within three days, have their draft published online. Middle/ high school students can investigate zines (pronounced "zeens")/ which are underground, independent online publications that are particularly popular among adolescent girls (Guzzetti, Campbell, Duke, & Irving, 2003). Zines provide a forum through which young users can share their thoughts about topics that are of utmost importance to them-often topics that they may not feel comfortable writing about in the traditional classroom. Just type in "zines" in a Google search, and you will find numerous sites. In particular, the SMARTgirls Web site provides links to various zines written by teenage girls and information on math and technology for girls (www.smart-girls.org / resources/ girls/). Zines give students a chance to write news or feature articles, or publish work from school in an alternative format.