How I Spent My Summer Vacation: Advancing Uses of Technology in an Advanced Writing Course

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How I Spent My Summer VacationAdvancing Uses
of Technology in an Advanced Writing Course

• A Presentation for the MnSCU Conference on
  Writing
• Randall McClure
• Department of English
• Minnesota State University

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Something to Think About

• We fail to build on the literacies that students
  already haveand we fail to learn about these
  literacies or why they seem so important to so
  many students. We also fail, as we deny the value
  of these new literacies, to recognize ourselves
  as illiterate in some spheres. And in this
  intellectual arrogance, we neglect to open
  ourselves to learning new literacies that could
  teach us more about human discursive practices.
• --Gail Hawisher and Cynthia Selfe, June 2004

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Project Information

• This project attempted to use five technologies
  to comment/provide feedback on student writing.
• handwritten comments/feedback
• synchronous and asynchronous communication
  technologies (e.g. email, chatrooms, discussion
  boards, web logs (blogs))
• features of word processing technology (e.g.
  insert comments, track changes highlight
  text)
• voice recordings/files inserted into electronic
  compositions
• video recordings/files inserted into electronic
  compositions

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More Project Information

• Other technologies were used to support
  instruction and to communicate with students
  regarding their writing
• UCompass
• Chatrooms, Discussion Boards E-mail
• Web logs or Blogs

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Project Goal

• The primary goal of this project is to improve
  teacher-student interaction and communication
  related to student writing by using various
  technologies.
• Many studies have identified problems with
  existing method of teacher commentary on student
  writing and teacher-student communication during
  the writing process. For example, most teachers
  handwrite their comments in the margins and at
  the end of student compositions. Not only is this
  a time- and labor-intensive process, but studies
  have shown that it is often a wasted one, as
  students often misread, misinterpret, or fail to
  consider such feedback. This study investigates
  ways to improve teacher commentary and
  student-self evaluation of student writing and
  teacher-student communication on writing via uses
  of current and evolving technologies.

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Course Description

• This project focused on students and their
  writing in English 270Advanced Composition. In
  the MSU student bulletin, this course is
  described as continued practice in expository
  writing with emphasis on further development of
  style and organization.
• This course was chosen due to its small size (6
  students), level of student proficiency in
  writing, and likelihood of previous exposure to
  writing using technology.

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Course Assignments

• 1The Writers Biography including traditional
  peer review (handwritten comments)
• 
  
• 2Summary including electronic peer review via
  e-mail (electronic comments)
• 
  
• 3Critique including e-mail exchange on criteria
  used for evaluation and electronic peer review
  via discussion board posts (audio comments)
• 
  
• 4Synthesis including online discussion and peer
  review via chatroom or instant message technology
  (video comments changed to audio combined with
  electronic comments)
• 
  
• 5The Writers Reflection
• 
  
• 6The Blog

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Sample Assignments/Uses of Technology

• In addition to their flexibility and
  ease-of-use, blogs have been embraced by the
  academic community because they serve as a useful
  tool for sharing information and expertise in a
  two-way, open exchangethey enable humanized
  conversationand establish relationshipsin a
  person- and content-centric environment (Lisson
  1).
• Biographies Critiques Student Blogs
• Summaries Syntheses Teacher Blog
• Reflections

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Technology Exit Assessment

• Questions asked of each technology (handwritten
  comments, electronic, audio, audio electronic,
  blogs, course management software, communication
  technologies (chatrooms, email, discussion
  boards) such as the following example
• How easy was it to use the electronic feedback
  (through features of MS Wordhighlighting text,
  inserting comments, tracking changes) given to
  you on your writing?
• How helpful (in improving your writing) was the
  electronic feedback given to you on your writing?

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More on TechnologyExit Assessment

• Question asked of technologies for writing Which
  technologies would you recommend be used in
  writing courses in the future for communicating
  with students, sharing information, and
  commenting on their writing? (Please check all
  that apply.)
• _____ handwritten comments _____ web logs _____
  discussion boards
• _____ electronic comments _____ course management
  programs
• _____ audio comments _____ email
• _____ video comments _____ chatrooms
• _____ handwritten combined with electronic
  comments
• _____ handwritten combined with audio comments
• _____ electronic combined with audio comments
• _____ handwritten combined with video comments
• _____ electronic combined with video comments
• _____ audio combined with video comments

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Initial Findings

• Students preferred the combination of audio
  comments and electronic comments inserted into
  their compositions.
• Students resisted listening to their comments in
  the computer classrooms.
• Students did not find audio comments or
  handwritten comments alone as very beneficial to
  improving their writing.

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Suggestions for Future Study

• Repeat project with larger sample in the same
  course.
• Try project in other writing courses.
• Try project in two sections of the same
  courseone with only traditional technologies
  (handwriting, chalkboards, etc.) and one with
  multiple emerging technologies.
• Try project in a hybrid or online writing course.

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Questions or Comments?

• Thanks for coming to this session.
• Please enjoy the rest of the conference.
• For more information on this project or other
  teacher-research projects, please feel free to
  contact me at randall.mcclure_at_mnsu.edu.
• Information on this project and other conference
  papers will be available soon at
  http//www.intech.mnsu.edu/mcclur/.

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Works Cited

• Hawiser, Gail et al. Becoming Literate in the
  Information Age Cultural Ecologies and the
  Literacies of Technology. CCC. 55.4 (june 2004)
  642-692.
• Lisson, Kristin. Attack of the Blog.
  Techniques. 17.1 (May 2004) 1.
• Student Voices. Reflective Essays and Surveys.
  English 270-01. Minnesota State University.
  Summer 2004.