Implementing The Digital Workshop In Your Classroom

There is no question that times are changing rapidly in the education system today, and in classrooms all over the United States. When I think back to my own days in elementary school, I cannot help but think how different my education was compared to the children growing up today. What really stands out the most to me is how English Language Arts and more specifically, the writing process is taught now. I say this because of how much digital literacy is being injected into the classrooms; it is not uncommon to see at least three computers in each classroom, and in the more affluent districts, Ipads, and Ipods for making podcasts. In my years of elementary education, I was lucky to have one computer in my classroom, and it was a miracle if it worked properly. All of this digital writing makes me wonder what affect it has on the children today? Would I have been an exemplary writer had I had access to computers and Ipods then? I understand that the technological age we are living in today promotes and  encourages students to become affluent with these gadgets; therefore, as educators, it is kind of our job to make sure children are using these to their full potential. Moreover, it is amazing to me how knowlegable children are coming to school with these technologies, most of them know much more than I do! More importantly, there is no stopping now, technology will continue to get better, and it will be imperative for students to be familiar with how to use these gadgets to maximize their learning success.

Hicks(2009), brings up a steallar point in his book, "Writing in a digital world means that, as writers and teachers of writing, we need to be aware of these choices and how we can best utilize them to have the intended effect on our various audiences. We need to understand the ways in which writing has been taught in order to better understand our students, the subject matter of writing, and the spaces in which digital writing happens" (p. 128). What Hicks is pointing out is that all three of these proponents (the students, the subject of writing, and the space) combine together to make up the very best writing instruction for a digital workshop in which children will thrive.

As of now, I do not have my own classroom. I am a substitute teacher in many districts and have the opportunity to view many classrooms in Monroe County. This can be extremely beneficial when building my own interpretation of what I want my own classroom to be like in the future. However; I can tell you from
my student teaching experiences that I have seen Hicks' breakdown of the three components of digital writing in the classrooms.

Hicks(2009) stresses "We need to enable our students to be conscientious collaborators, in all senses of the term. They need to be able to work together to create digital writing as well as be able to respond effectively to the digital writing of others. In order to meet this goal, we need to rely on the technical expertise and interpersonal skills that they have and guide them in ways that help them learn about writing" (p. 129). In my opinion, this quote could not be any more true. We as educators need to understand our students, and have a wealth of knowlege of their strengths and weaknesses in learning. Questions we should be asking ourselves is whether or not the students have a positive or negative view of technology, what kinds of technology do they use regularly, do they understand that digital writing is NOT instant messaging, text messaging, or blogging? From there, the educator can assess the situation, and make a game plan for how to teach effectively. In my student teaching placements, both schools were lacking on the technology; therefore, digital writing was something that truly needed to be taught. The teachers in both schools worked with the entire class to get them on computers to type writing piece final copies, type- to- learn exercises, and find pictures to print out. In no way were these students ready for blogging, wikis, or podcasts. This is where weekly, if not daily, instruction can be crucial for these children to get them aquainted with the newer technologies. In this case, I would start with small groups of students, and build to whole class lessons once the groups felt confident.

Hicks(2009) says that "The study of the subject of writing- including the elements of craft, the study of genres, and the many ways in which writing can be created and distributed through different media- has become even more critical in an age of newer technologies. Thus, a definition of writing as simply putting words on paper (or screen) is not sufficient in this age, and we need to carefully consider what it means to be a writer and a teacher of writing in relation to digital texts" (p. 131). In this section, I think it is important as an educator to think about what actually counts as writing, especially in a digital age? How does our understanding of "good writing" transfer into digital writing? For me, the students I had in my student teaching placement would not grasp this concept very well because they were unfamiliar with digital writing tools. The path I would follow for this would be to expose these children to as many of these tools as possible, such as educational blogs, wikis, and podcasts. This way, the students would have something to compare traditional texts to, and see how they all are similar and have differences.

Finally, Hicks (2009) says, "We need to think carefully about the ways in which we structure the spaces to meet our pedagoical goals and support students in their individual writing practices"(p. 132). I myself would ask myself, are the computers set up in a matter that is flexible for students to see others in the room over the screens? Can students collaborate with others? Can students easily move around the room with their laptops? What digital tool is best suited for the task? Relating this component back to my own experience, I saw a very open classroom plan in both schools, which invited students to move freely about the room and to collaborate with others. Even though there were just a few computers in the rooms, the schools had computer labs which invited students to visit during their free time. This was a great way to get students acclimated with the newer technologies.

As I think back to my student teaching placements, it seems as though I did have some aspects in place to start my digital writing workshop. I had students who were willing to admit to their strengths and weaknesses with digital literacy, also these students were eager to learn whatever I would put in front of them. On the other hand, I would still need more computers that would allow each student to have the opportunity to be using them at the same time. This way I could have full group lessons with every student, or have smaller group lessons if necessary. I would also need the flexible and open space to allow each student room to collaborate with peers, and build a community of digital writers.