The World of Writing
Digitally Troy Hicks (2009) really explains how the advances in technology can impact student writing in his text The Digital Writing Workshop. Audience is a big factor of how students will write using digital tools. When they blog, or add text to wikis, students must think about who will be reading their work, which will impact the way they write.
A big strategy taught to students when writing is to "show not tell." This takes on a whole new meaning when students are not writing traditionally (pencil on paper). What if students are to create a video with narration to persuade an audience? Hicks explains that "showing" rather than "telling" "takes on new meaning in multimedia writing and gives us even more opportunities to discuss how written text, images, audio, and video can work together to create a more powerful composition" (p. 54). Students can use photos to get a point across, which may have a strong impression on viewers. It's a whole new level of persuading!
Assessing digital writing should focus primarily on the quality of information. Digital tools are just that: they are tools to enhance the quality of writing, but assessment should never focus in mainly on the tool itself. Forget counting the number of slides, the colors and fonts used, etc. What is it that the students are trying to state through their writing? Did the media add to the quality of their information? Did it help them express their thoughts in creative and effective ways? This is what is important to remember!
