Chapter 4 expresses many of the uses and values of writing with technology. One of the main ideas that the chapter reinforces is that the ability to write with technology allows us to better organize our ideas and focus them more clearly to our audience. Concept mapping is only one of the many ways that we have learned to showcase our writing techniques. In this sense, mapping tools such as semantic networking allow for the steady stream of ideas combined with a spatial representation of what we are interested in communicating to the viewer. Specifically, the writing site Poetry Forge allows students to visually recognize patterns on the screen that help them to grasp a better understanding of the placement and punctuation of words. As well, this creative and interesting usage of poetry to teach punctuation adds an element of curiosity and intrigue for the students using the program. For example; using the metaphors "Spring is...," "Freedom is...," and "Diversity is...," allows students to explore how language works to convey meaning while closely examining the intricacies of metaphor. This site is very easy to use and sincerely interactive. Furthermore, the website Kidscribe encourages kids to take part in on line dialogue with different students from many unique cultures and places around the world. This site is especially interesting because students can respond to each other or just use the site for the purpose of improving their writing skills.
Clearly, writing with technology only influences students to think positively about their manipulation of language – and really gets them started on the right path. These web sites act as great tools for different parts of the writing process, as poetry Forge might teach a student about the nuances of rhyme and reason, a site like Kidscribe enables the learner to interact on a more social level with the other learners on the site. In essence, it is important to keep in mind that when using these programs there needs to be supervision, encouragement and high level of responsible feedback for students. In this way, the student will gain an increased array of tools to use in their own daily writing.
2. I find that most students in the early stages of writing have a lot of trouble with both tense-setting and grammar. In order to help them with this challenge a writing website that is based on a type of ‘School-House-Rock’ theme where it is both fun and interactive to learn about grammar would be a great way to integrate technology and writing into the classroom. After examining the writing process the most important aspect I feel is to get a clear spatial picture of what you wish to express. As such, once the student can communicate broadly what they wish to accomplish in their writing, then the process becomes much easier. Thus, I would recommend a website that begins with the basic principles of writing and steadily increases as the student understanding increases.
4. The idea of blogging or any type of informal publication whether it be on the internet of in a special class live-journal surely motivates the student to put time and effort into their work, especially if they think that they will have an audience to share it with. Moreover, one way to leverage this potential for motivation in the classroom would be to make sure that at the end of the learning module maybe you actually make hard copies of the live journal and give one to each member in the class so they can either put it in their portfolio and share it with each other and their parents.
6. Certainly students are not always familiar with the best way to collaborate on a given assignment, however the best way to make sure that the group is successful is to determine roles and norms from the get-go. It is important to have due-dates as well as specific criteria to guide the students in the group project. Moreover, one might even want to experiment with giving the group different roles for each person in order to keep the group motivated and on task.
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