In my first attempt at searching databases, I was bombarded
with results. After clicking and skimming through some of the results, I
realized, I need to narrow my search. So many articles were not very helpful to
my ISearch topic, How the influx of technology has changed the way writing is taught and learned and if word processing proves more successful than pen to paper writing.
After some editing I found many helpful articles and two
that stuck out right away:
One of the
articles that I found interesting and pertaining to my topic is by D. Chandler
and titled, The Phenomenology of Writing
by Hand. In this article, Chandler breaks writers into two separate groups
Planners and Discoverers. According to
him, “Planners tend to think of writing primarily as a means of recording or
communicating ideas which they already have clear in their minds and
Discoverers tend to think of writing primarily as a way of ‘discovering’ what
they want to say” (Chandler 1). I believe that I fall into the Discoverers
group, so it was an interesting read. It is a helpful article for my ISearch
because I can use the information to come up with questions to ask primary
sources.
Another
source I found in ERIC is titled, The
Role of Technology in Teaching Young Writers by C.M. DerMovsesian. This
source is actually a case study that follows second graders that are learning
to write using a computer program. I
found that the computer program benefited student writing positively, but not
completely. I think this will be useful in my ISearch because it gives me an
opportunity to take a glimpse into a classroom that is using technology to
write rather than pen and paper. I will be able to read about the pros and cons
of student’s writing using the computer program through the author’s
observations.
Leah,
ReplyDeleteSince this is a rapidly growing and changing subject I think it will be interesting to discover the impact of student writing. Being someone who always wrote pen to paper during elementary and high school I am very curious to see in what ways students are evolving! I wonder if then, too, how teacher instruction has changed. I would have hoped to see more from your initial research but so far it seems like you have some pretty helpful sources!
Also, I love your format and style. It's very easy to read and nice on the eye.
Leah,
ReplyDeleteI think this a great topic to explore through your I-Search project. Technology is constantly evolving,so is the way we write and express our thoughts. I'm interested in seeing where your research takes you in terms of digital writing in the classroom. I empathize with you, when you talk about your initial struggle with the research. On a more technological note, I enjoy the design of your blog. I really like how you have different fonts and colors, which really make it pop and exciting to browse.
Leah,
ReplyDeleteI was also overloaded with search results that were really just not that useful. I found that by changing the date of publication range or adding a couple words to the search text box, I was able to narrow things down quite a bit. It was interesting to think about the difference between planners and discoverers. Still, I don't think that people necessarily fall into either one category or the other all the time. I, for one, would consider myself a planner, having a clear idea in my mind before I write; however, I often find myself discovering that idea changes as I write. I feel like there's always some discovery as one goes along, regardless of how thoroughly the idea is formed before writing. Can we be both planners and discoverers?
One thing I would like to know more about is the concrete ways computers benefit student writing. I'd like to know more about HOW they're being used within the writing classroom. Right now, all I can think of are the typing programs that teach kids how to type without looking at the keyboard (which are INCREDIBLY USEFUL, lemme tell ya!).
Good luck with your I-Search!