Technology and Teaching Writing

Warschauer, Mark. "Technology and Writing."International Handbook of English Language Teaching (Springer International Handbooks of Education). 1 ed. New York: Springer, 2007. 907-917. Print.Available on JMU's link to Google Scholar: www.springerlink.com/content/l617530j77h027qu/fulltext.pdf

In this chapter, Warschauer explores some of the useful benefits to using technology to teach writing in the classroom. He discusses three aspects of technology that can be used: computer-assisted classroom discussion (CACD), e-mail exchanges, and web-page authoring. After conducting classroom studies, Warschauer found that production increased (in the opinions of the teachers as well as the students) with all three types of technology.

When using CACD, students became better writers since they had a more authentic audience and purpose for writing. There was also an increase in student participation, as even the quietest students were willing to add to the discussions. Warschauer states how this approach can promote collaborative learning in a classroom because it breaks up the teacher-centered nature of discussion. Also, students were more likely to use more complex language in their writing opposed to the casual speech that is used most often in face-to-face classroom discussions. Teachers felt that there was an improvement in the depth and strength of students’ arguments as well. Another important part of CACD is the peer feedback sessions, which allowed students to make more “detailed, local revisions” after they had received input from their peers.

By participating in e-mail exchanges, Warschauer found that teachers communicated more with their students, especially with those who were considered to be lower-performing students. Also, students were able to communicate more with each other as there was less anxiety than in face-to-face communication. Also, the class became more learner-centered as the content shifted away from the standard syllabus and more towards the students’ own writings. Warschauer found that the quality of writing improved as students made better use of peer editing and teacher feedback.

Warschauer found that the use of web-page authoring was beneficial to the students’ writing as well. Web pages are created for a broad public audience and therefore, students found the assignments to be more relevant and useful in their lives. Also, creating a web-page allowed for much more student creativity. In this chapter, Warschauer also discusses how beneficial these activities can be for English Language Learners because they can use other students’ work as a guiding support for new vocabulary and grammar structure.