Reading and Writing and All that Other Stuff

Response to: iWrite by Dana J. Wilber

Here I am again, hanging out with Wilber and iWrite. I must admit I am growing tired of this book since I feel like some of the chapters are already outdated beyond belief. Alas, I do have some thoughts on "Chapter 5: Using Technology to Address Ten Key Issues in Reading and Writing Instruction." I don't plan to hit all ten issues, but this chapter is available here if you don't have access to the book.

Safety

Well, I have mixed feelings on this topic. I felt like "privacy" might have been a better heading, but  I think some of the ideas are about self-esteem and emotional safety. Wilber writes about making students feel safe when sharing their writing but then talks about sharing on blogs and wikis. I don't think it is realistic to have students all create individual, private blogs or wikis for one teacher to monitor. Realistically, the number of students per teach would prohibit this from being monitored regularly. If the average class size is 35 students and every teacher has six classes, that is more than 200 students which would mean monitoring up to 200 blogs or wikis regularly. I think a more realistic way to promote emotional safety for students would be to share documents on Google Documents. This would allow the teacher to have access to all the writing in one location and still allow for student privacy as the student (document owner) controls who can view the document. I think there has to come a time when students share their work, but I feel like they should make that decision on their own.

Authenticity

In this topic, Wilber writes about students and teachers having a disconnect on the way writing should be. Teachers feel like it should be scholarly while students don't see how that is applicable to their lives. Allowing students to write in the same way they communicate only makes sense. Students apparently don't read books anymore, so why should they be expected to turn in papers that mimic something obsolete to them? If this is the digital generation, school assignments should reflect that. If students have access to the internet there is no need for a printer. If students can find a YouTube video to relate to something in class, why not have them share it? I think it is important to speak the language of these digital natives. I may be a foreigner in this digital age, but I should learn the language if I am going to survive here.

Practice

Here Wilber talks about practice in terms of making writing a habit. The recommendation is to use weekly blog posts similar to journal entries that would allow for peer comments. I like this idea a lot. However, we have already addressed privacy/safety which I would see as a major concern. In addition, I have no idea how one teach could monitor 200 different blogs each week to make sure that students posted and responded regularly. This is where I want to stand on my soap box and complain about class size, but let's face it: class size isn't going to go down in the state of Georgia before my children graduate. I wonder if this is also something that could be shared in Google Documents that would allow a teacher to track changes but also allow students to choose the peers who could read and respond to their writing. Personally I still write in my journal with a pen on real paper, but I also still write letters that I actually mail with real stamps. 

As far as students using familiar and authentic communication, I can see digital writing as appropriate and necessary. At the same time, I am starting to better understand why educators are always playing catch up with technology since we are monitoring literally hundreds of students. The bottom line here for me is that I agree wholeheartedly that students need to practice their writing in safe and nonjudgmental arenas to improve their skills.

Relevance

I little part of my heart breaks to accept Wilber's assertion that students care little for the curriculum that involves traditional reading and writing, but again I have to agree. In the iPad generation, I shouldn't expect anything less. If the goal of educating students is to make them critical thinkers and advocates for change, we should be teaching them in their language. What I mean by that is we, as teachers, should teach them to use their blogs and wikis and social networks for constructive purposes as well as social. I want students to share their voice, so I have accepted that I have a lot to learn about how they convey their message. I am the immigrant here. After all, I was born in the 70s. I want students to know that they don't have to follow a formula to get their message across. They just have to have a meaningful thought which they are willing to share. I think a big problem with this plugged in generation is that they share every thought they have. Who cares that you are bored? Does that justify a status update on Facebook? I don't think so, but it seems that an entire generation thinks it is important to share it with everyone they know. I guess I want to see students using this technology for good positive change instead of evil lazy socializing.

Process

This is an area where I struggle. How can I teach process and not promote formula writing. I know that I quickly grow tired of this write, share, and respond process, so I can only imagine how monotonous it can become for teenagers. I also worry that sharing too much with peers sets an expectation for conformity, which is the complete opposite of my intention in a classroom.