Re-shaping of writing in the digital age : a study of pupils' writing with different resources (original) (raw)
In recent years, plagiarism has been on the increase across the Western world. This article identifies Internet access as a contributory cause of this trend and addresses the implications of readily available Internet sources for the teaching and assessment of writing in schools. The basis for the article is a previous study showing a wide incidence of plagiarism in the Internet-based writing of students in three classes at upper secondary school level in Norway. I relate the students' choices to writing as a cognitive process and as a cultural practice. My basic assumption is that the students' writing is work. It is this work we have in mind when we relate writing to learning and when we assess students' skills on the basis of their written texts. Access to the Internet changes the premises for this work because writing can be replaced by 'pseudowriting'. 'Pseudo-writing' is a work reducing writing practice, which neither excludes nor coincides with what we traditionally associate with plagiarism in schools. The main point in this article is that when students have access to the Internet during essay writing, the result is unavoidably a product of both writing and pseudo-writing. Internet access thus leads to greater uncertainty about the role writing plays in student learning and makes it more difficult to take written assignments into account in assessing students' school results and effort.
Digital Writing in the Primary Grades: Synthesis of Research
This synthesis of digital writing research with primary grade students will provide the audience with an overview of what has been learned since 1988. Much has changed in the past 20 years, but the previous research can serve to inform the fields’ understandings and provide directions for future research. In 1998 the ratio of children to computers with internet access at school was 1 to 12.1, by 2001 1 to 5.4 (U.S. Department of Labor, 2005). While the availability of computers and access has increased dramatically during this period, the essential skills needed to create texts on the computers are the same. Digital writing can have varied definitions. For the purposes of this synthesis, a limited definition is applied. Digital writing applies to any text created on a computer. This synthesis is guided by the question, “What is the impact of digital writing on primary grade students’ composition?”
Writing and Writing Instruction in the Digital Age
This paper will begin by presenting a case that was widely discussed as an example of one of the "problems" created by digital technology and revealed the difference between one group more accustomed to older analog technology and one that is not. The discussion will also serve to highlight that, the state, use, and development of digital technology is different from country to country. This will be followed by a discussion of the advent of digital technology and its implications for first (L1) and second (L2) language writing and writing instruction. Finally it will conclude that throughout history technology has had an influence on communication; yet the essence of the written word and the fundamental nature of writing has not changed, nor should writing instruction necessarily change.
PEN OR KEYBOARD. AN EMPIRICAL STUDY ON THE EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY ON WRITING SKILLS
The research reported in this article outlines the need to adopt a reflexive attitude to the use of digital resources in teaching and learning. From the analyses carried out handwritten short essays got higher scores than computer written tests: computer use in writing activities apparently reduces performance level in the majority of students taken into consideration.
2016
Much research has been conducted to investigate the quality of writing and high-level revisions in word processing-assisted and pen-and-paper writing modes. Studies that address cognitive aspects, such as experience and comfort with computers, by which students compose essays during writing assessments have remained relatively unexplored. To fill this gap, the present study investigates the impact of writing using computers versus traditional writing with pen-and-paper based on 366 undergraduate students in Singapore. It analyses the students’ thinking processes, the quality of their written work, and their perceptions of working with computers. The results indicate that the students demonstrated a positive attitude towards working with computers. Furthermore, the computerdelivered writing mode has a positive impact on their quality of writing in both technical aspects (content, organization, vocabulary, language use, and mechanics) and global aspects (setting macro rhetorical goal and ordering information in achieving the macro rhetorical goal). On the other hand, the results show that there was no significant difference between the paper and computer writing modes in their effects during the planning stage of writing in-class reflections. The study contributes to writing research by encouraging teachers to give students an option of delivery modes, beyond traditional pen-andpaper, for their writing assessments.
Technology-mediated writing assessments: principles and processes
2011
Abstract This paper explores developments in technology-mediated writing environments that may support new forms of formative assessment and the closer relation of formative to summative assessment. Not only might these provide more learner-responsive and effective assessment of writing, but they may also support the assessment of disciplinary knowledge embedded in written and multimodal texts.
Digital Writing in the Primary Grades: A Mixed Methods Study Examining First Grade Digital Writers
Digital writing is an essential skill for the 21 st century. This mixed methods study examines the digital and handwritten texts of first grade students. Data indicate that children identified as strong writers and weak writers by the teacher wrote more words on the computer than on paper. In addition attitudinal data highlight that most students preferred writing on the computer than on paper. An in-depth analysis of the strongest and the weakest student was also conducted to explore the differences in behavior patterns. This analysis found that behavior patterns when composing on the computer and on paper were the same across mediums for each student, favoring digital writing contexts for both students. These findings indicate possible advantages to using the computer with primary grade students.
Teaching writing: An Analysis of the Writing Tasks-Vol. 13:3 March 2013
This paper presents an analysis of the writing tasks used at East West University in Bangladesh. At the outset, what is presented here is a general introduction to what writing means, components of writing, and the different stages that writing involves. Pointing out to the needs of teaching academic writing to university graduates, the common writing tasks required at university level are listed. After a thorough analysis of the writing tasks used at East West University, techniques devised by Raimes are suggested (1983) for task modification. Finally, a conclusion is drawn emphasizing teacher's role and task appropriation in writing instruction.
Writing at School: Test-Prep Writing and Digital Storytelling
Teaching Writing the Journal of Writing Teacher Education, 2014
Most of the writing that children do in school today is driven by the demands of high stakes testing (Higgins, Miller, & Wegman, 2007). This type of writing carries the weight of institutional pressure and accountability (Campbell, 2002), but may limit students' progress by confining them to a restricted format and genre. Students, especially struggling ones, find themselves disinterested and lost with academic and formatted writing in school (Allington & Cunningham, 2002; Harris, Graham, & Mason, 2006) because they have difficulty meeting the expectations of prompt driven essays. Despite their struggles with school-required writing, many students are found to be gifted learners in modern technology and highly fluent in the multiple literacies they use at home, such as video and computer games (Gee, 2007). Unfortunately, when students struggle and can not meet the demands of the curriculum, they run the risk of tuning out and distancing themselves from classroom learning. When children do not develop strong literacy skills, they are at increased risk for school failure (Zimmerman, Rodriguez, Rewey, & Heidemann, 2008). Allowing students to develop writing and literacy skills using a combination of print, visual, sound, and other digital technologies gives them the opportunity to make progress, find purpose in their writing, be fully engaged learners, and accomplish success in the school curriculum. Study This study, which focuses on two fourth grade students, is part of a larger study that contrasts the writing experiences and progress of fourth graders in two different writing situations: writing for test preparation and writing with personal choice for digital storytelling. Both students, Francis and Steven, live in a small city in Florida. They come from working-class backgrounds and were nine years old at the time of the research. Francis is Hispanic and speaks Spanish at home. Steven is Caucasian and lives with his mother and two younger siblings. This study focused on two boys from lowincome families because the research shows that boys tend to fare behind girls in their school writing (Fletcher, 2006; Newkirk, 2000) and the students from working class backgrounds encounter more challenges in their literacy learning (Hicks, 2002) than those from affluent family backgrounds. Research was conducted at a school affiliated with a state university. The school enrolls approximately 1,150 students in grades K-12. The population is 24% African-American, 51% Caucasian, 16% Hispanic, 3% Asian, and 5% multi-racial, very much representative of the local demography. For four
Sociological insights on the comparison of writing/reading on paper with writing/reading digitally
2014
The aim of this article is to investigate the impact of digital technologies on writing and reading within an educational rather than business environment. It explores the affordances of writing and reading on paper and those of writing on a keyboard and reading on a screen. The analysis is based on an exploratory study carried out with a class of Masters Students in Multimedia Communication and Technologies of Information at the University of Udine (Italy) who were asked to write an essay on this topic. The methodology applied in this study is qualitative content analysis of the essays produced by the students. The principal results of this study show that reading and writing competencies are changing with the use of digital technologies but that paper and digital interactions are not mutually exclusive. Students are more productive textually with writing than with reading, however, they still see the virtues of writing on paper which they continue to use extensively. It appears that chirographic writing and paper is more multi-sensorial and metacommunicative than using the keyboard or screen. Further research is recommended to explore this complementarities of writing on paper and on screen/keyboard as well as the perceived changes in preferred sources of reading material.
TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL FOR IMPROVING STUDENTS’ WRITING
ACEC 2002 Conference Proceedings,Hobart Australia, 2002
Students' transition from high school to university often is more problematic than smooth and a major source of difficulty is writing assignments (Fletcher, 2002; Hunter-Carsch, 1990; Norton, 1990). Research reported here is based on a longitudinal study of university students' experiences as assignment writers. Our work confirms what is widely reported in the literature. What is not widely reported in the literature is how an intelligent use of technology will advance students' development as writers. In this paper, we describe how access to a website tutorial provided students with insights that proved critical for effective planning and completion of assignment writing. These insights allowed students to put together a contextual jigsaw that enhanced their knowledge of how to write along with knowledge of what to write. Specifically, it lead them to see their lecturers as writers, readers and markers of essay topics, to make informed decisions on what to research, on how much to write, and on how to write cohesively
The Influence of Digital and Technology Equipment in Learning Activities on Students' Written Skills
Jurnal Informasi dan Teknologi, 2024
This research aims to observe how students develop their written narrative skills. This research uses survey instruments and questionnaires as data collection methods. Statistical methods are used in data analysis. One hundred students were involved in this research, except those who only wrote less than seven texts from the research sample. The study results show that students experience significant development in their linguistic expression in written communication situations. Their ability to produce texts becomes richer at the linguistic level, with increased lexical diversity in nominal and verbal areas. They also showed a better ability to use sentence-connecting devices. However, there are differences between students who use their mother tongue and those who use their second language in terms of lexis and syntax. Students who use their mother tongue tend to use less and less varied lexis than their second language. In addition, students also showed higher linguistic uncertainty, especially in terms of case inflection and syntax. Nevertheless, there are no significant differences between the two language groups regarding the global structure of the texts. The results of this study provide important insights for language education at the primary school level, showing that students who use their mother tongue have sufficient ability to carry out narrative tasks in a manner comparable to students who use a second language of the same age. However, it should be noted that the development of language skills in students who use their mother tongue may take longer and require special attention in language learning.
Digital Writing in English Language Writing Instruction
2017
Our students in twenty-first century are highly digital literate. The widespread use of technologies such as smart phones, tabs and so on have influenced the way they learn in writing. Students nowadays prefer literacy in digital rather than print form. Teaching writing is challenging as students often find it boring and tedious if it is taught traditionally. Therefore, teachers need to incorporate technology into teaching writing. This study explores the use of digital writing to enhance students’ learning in writing essays as well as motivate them to write and share their ideas with others. It was conducted as a case study among eight student teachers at an Institute of Teacher Education in Malaysia. Through the analyses of students’ work, reflective journal writing and interview, the findings illustrate a clear preference by the students towards digital writing approach than the traditional writing in print form. The approach of digital writing encouraged more writing process on ...
Writing in an Australian primary school: A cross-case study
As society changes so do the texts that make up our society – those we interact with and produce. The nature of literacy also changes and what it means to be a literate person. With the advent of technology, especially the Internet, research has focused on the changing nature of reading online, with less research on the change to writing. Teachers' views about writing influence their pedagogy and practices. They also influence the selection of modes and medium for the production and distribution of students' writing. This paper will draw on the practices of 4 teachers in one school and their beliefs about writing: their approaches and the textual landscape. Data was collected through interviews and teacher selected student work samples. It will demonstrate the dominance of skills-based and social practices approach to writing which focuses on the creation of texts to fulfil a social purpose. Written paper based texts dominated the representation of writing, a limited number of multimodal electronic texts were included.
Computer-based vs. Paper-based Writing Tests: A Comparative Study of Test Taking Strategies
International Journal of English Language Education, 2013
This study was an attempt to compare the use of test taking strategies in computer-based writing test (CBWT) and paper-based writing test (PBWT) in an Iranian context. To that end, the researchers selected 30 test takers from Payam-Nour University of Shabestar and assigned them into two groups i.e. the CBWT group (n=15) and PBWT group (n=15). The participants in both groups took a writing test and produced verbal reports. Collecting the data, the researchers coded the verbal reports based on Mu's(2005) taxonomy of ESL writing strategies. The result showed that test takers in both groups were similar in the use of top four sub-strategies (i.e. organization, planning, sense of readers and revising). Also, it was known that both groups did not draw on two types of social/affective strategies (resourcing and summarizing) and on one kind of cognitive strategies (summarizing). This study contributes to the language testing field in several ways: (a) by providing insight into individual differences among test takers, and (b) by revealing the importance of test taker differences in different test administration modes. Overall, the findings may be beneficial not only to test-takers but also to test developers and administrators in particular. The conclusions and recommendations for future studies are discussed accordingly.
Digital Media and Students’ Writing Ability
Journal of Educational Method and Technology
With the development of information and technology nowadays, schools need to adapt and make changes. This research aims to investigate the application of digital media in improving students’ ability in writing a report text. This research was done in one class at one high school in North Sulawesi. The eighth-grade students consist of 30 students. In this study, digital media used was power point presentation. In collecting the data, the researcher worked collaboratively with the English teachers in the school in which Classroom Action Research was employed. The research was conducted in two cycles which there were four steps each cycle: planning, observing, acting and reflecting. The data were collected through observation check list and conducting the test after implementing each cycle. The result of each cycle showed that students writing ability was increased. The result of test in cycle 1: 76.73 and in cycle 2: 81.06. This result leads to a conclusion that students’ ability in w...
This chapter examines various theories and practices of writing within the context of dominant rhetoric about the knowledge economy, competitive curriculums and standards in education. The authors propose a framework for exploring traditional and alternative assumptions about learning (student learning and profession learning) and the implications of these assumptions for writing that is enacted in different settings. They argue that writing practices can be fruitfully examined with attention to artefact, process and medium (inclusive of socio-cultural understandings of medium), and that writing (in its multifarious forms) needs to be seen as a fundamental dimension of learning by students, pre-service teachers and professional teachers.