Using Technology in the Language Arts Classroom

This week, English 518 has focused on a small set of essays dealing with blogging and the classroom.  As usual, I’ve been intrigued by the range of responses and observations raised by students in the course.  At New Idea, the author points out some of the key considerations with Henry Jenkins’ “Why Heather Can Write,” noting that “the interesting thing about fan fiction is that it is often shared with countless others over the web.  Writers get feedback; not necessarily about form, but about content.”  Although she expresses concern that students may not get advice about how to improve the “form” of their writing, she also notes that students will develop the habit of writing more frequently or may be more enthusiastic about writing.

Lady Bronco also admires Heather’s dedication as a writer and points out that Jenkins’ account of what Heather is doing is similar to “participating in a very non-traditional adaption of the Writer’s Workshop.”  She also points to a recent article by Clive Thompson arguing that today’s students write more than past generations of students.

Swiftivy reacts to Kathleen Fitzpatrick’s article on blogging to discuss the idea of incorporating it into her middle school curriculum while also being mindful of how students might respond to such an assignment.

Dawuor so far has a brief account of being an “elementary-level blogger” and introduces a project for using the blog to coordinate her courses in Swahili.