DIGITAL
DESIGN
Using Digital Composition to Give Student Writing a Purpose
What does a digital (not an online) classroom look like?
You have to walk the walk...
I am a firm believer that if you want your students to be motivated to do something, then you have to show them that you are motivated to do it as well. If I want my students to not only buy into digital writing, but really value it, then I have to show them that I value it as well. I can't just talk about the importance and value of digital writing, but I have to use it too.
With this modeling of behavior in mind, I have created my class as a place where I consistently create digital modes of communication for my students. Living a digital life as a teacher means that I am communicating with them on their blogs (and keeping one of my own), I am creating a writer website along with them, I digitally create important course documents (like their syllabus) as a digital text, and I incorporate digital media as well as digital composition every day that we are in the class. Please see some of my links below for examples of my digital course documents and pedagogy.
Aside from these model sites, I try to have them working on their websites from the very first week of class. Even though the site itself is still a framework in the beginning, their blogs are housed on their individual websites. Because their blogs are there and they are posting weekly, then the students not only see this website on a weekly basis, but they become quite competent in using it right away.
I'm not going to lie--there is always a learning curve with digital technologies. However, if you scaffold as much as you can for them through modeling and working from small assignments to the larger projects in a digital space, then the students will quickly begin to reap the rewards of digital composition.
Some things to keep in mind or avoid when approaching digital spaces:
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getting caught up in the bells and whistles or the flash of digital products
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be wary of moving away from a composition focus to a digital product focus
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using technology as a pedagogical crutch; digital does not equal superior
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assuming all students are tech savvy or have an innate ability for technology
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not emphasizing the rigorous nature of digital composition or why we do it
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assuming equal access to technology for all students