Problem:

Find a way to increase student achievement and motivation in writing.

During the past few years teachers at my elementary school have been looking at ways to increase student achievement in writing. Teachers have piloted a variety of programs and techniques as well as participated in book studies to specifically find new ways to increase motivation in writing. Unfortunately, they have not produced the results that the staff was hoping for. So what is the next step? The next logical step is to look at the ever-emerging web 2.0 technologies. Today’s fifth grader has never known life without technology, they have never heard of a eight track or even a vinyl record. Marc Prensky coined the term “digital natives” as a term for a person whom digital technology already existed when they were born (Prensky, 2001). These students have always have had new technologies in their hand. In fact, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation one-third of children are using blogs and social networking sites weekly (LeClaire, 2006). Today’s students are more plugged in than they have ever been before and it is important that we tap into student interests to keep them motivated in school.

This technology engages students in a whole new way. Even reluctant writers and communicators become excited and enthusiastic for blogging. In fact in 2007, a BlogMeister survey found that 90% of students surveyed agreed or strongly agreed that they enjoyed writing more when they wrote on their blogs. (Warlick, The BlogMeister) When students enjoy writing they will write more and we all now that best way to improve our writing is to write more. According to Jere Brophy, “Practice is one of the most important yet least appreciated aspects of learning in classrooms (Brophy).” With blogging students are excited about the immediate feedback they receive from others that they write more often than they would with a pencil and paper. Teachers have also noticed a difference in their student’s communication skills (Warlick, The Blogmeister).

The Plan:

The 2006 publication The Sate of Writing Instruction in America’s Schools: What Existing Data Tells Us, explains that students who used technology to research, plan, write, and edit their papers had higher levels of writing achievement (Applebee, 2006). With this in mind I plan on creating student blogs to increase student achievement and motivation in writing.

Step 1 – Create a classroom blog site on ClassroomBlogmeister. This site will host student blogs and will allow me to monitor all posts and comments before they are published.

Step 2 – Create powerpoint presentation for parents educating them about classroom blogging and the safeguards that are in place.

Step 3 – Survey students – This information will be used to determine if students can blog/comment from home as well as their computer skills and viewpoints on writing.

Step 4 – Internet safety lesson(s) with students. Lesson topics will include net etiquette, personal information safety, and cyber bullying.

Step 5 – Intro to blogging. Lessons on why we blog and how to blog. Students will be shown different blog posts and have to determine if they are appropriate or not. Blogging rubric will be shared.

Step 6 – Intro to commenting. Lesson on how to comment appropriately on other.

Step 7 – Group students into “houses” and implement blogging. Students will be required to post twice per week to their blogs and then comment on the posts of students in their house.

Step 8 - Continually evaluate and monitor progress of student achievement and motivation in writing using both summative and formative assessments.

Common Places of Education:

The Student – 5th grade students in my classroom will be learning a new web 2.0 technology (blogging) as they write blog posts and comment on other blog posts.

The Teacher – The teacher will be the guide on the side during this project. There will be times though when direct instruction, and modeling occur. The teacher will facilitate learning and evaluating students as they use ClassroomBlogmeister in creative and innovative ways increase writing achievement and communication skills. Teacher will also offer instant feedback by commenting on blog posts as well.

The Curriculum – While the direct application of this project focuses directly on the 5th grade writing curriculum in the state of Michigan. The project will also encompass writing across all areas of the curriculum including science and social studies, as well as technology goals from the Education Technology Standards and Expectations for grades 3-5 in the state of Michigan.

Setting – The setting for this project will be a public school with approximately 30 students. The classroom will have access to a computer lab at least 2 times per week. It is the goal of the project to expand the walls of the classroom and have students’ blogging and commenting from home.

Sources:

Applebee, A. N. (2006). The State of Writing Instruction in America’s Schools: What Existing Data Tells Us. New York State Univeristy, Albany, Center on English Learnging & Achievement. Albany: New York State University, Albany.
Brophy, Jere. “Teaching.” International Academy of Education (2008).
LeClaire, J. (2006, September 6). Kids and Tech: How Much is too Much? Retrieved June 20, 2009, from Tech News World: http://www.technewsworld.com/story/52677.html?wlc=1246412681
Prensky, M. (2001, October). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon , 9 (5).
Warlick, David. Classroom Blogmeister. David Warlick. 30 January 2009 .
—. Just Numbers. 18 December 2008. 31 January 2009 .
—. The Blogmeister. 29 May 2007. 30 January 2009 .