Chapter nine of Teaching Writing Using Blogs, Wikis, and other Digital Tools describes three forms of electronic feedback: intertextual, text editing and footnote (comment) features (Beach et. al 193). I have used the track changes option of MS Word in a previous career and found it challenging at times to sift through all the different types of changes. I am trying to imagine my 13- and 14-year olds attempting to comprehend it. It is visually messy and sometimes distracting.
From my experience students do like to conduct text editing electronically or on paper. Colors are easy to see and clear comprehend, unless you have a color-blind student, then other editing can be incorporated (undline, double underline, etc.).
The other feature that I was not aware of was the commenting feature of Word. How cool is that! Highlight a word and insert a comment so the student can scroll over and receive detailed information instead of my cryptic AWK, which only tells them it is a whacky sentence or unclear. Now, I can give further, FAST information as to what AWK really means. I can also show them how to fix it, if needed, instead of using the "track changes" feature.
From classroom experience, peer reviews aren't always effective if the person you have reviewing your writing isn't literate in how to alter or improve writing. Online feedback allows ALL students to see what others say, different ways in which to say the same ideas in one's writing and helps provide scaffolding for academic language used in writing. I have used clock partners that students will routinely work with to help facilitate peer reviews on paper, but recently, I have asked students to use the clock partners to provide online formative feedback through Moodle postings of drafts and as summative audio feedback for a VoiceThread biography.
I created a rubric for the poet biography voicethread project that I am attaching here. It resembles the rubrics we use in the Wayzata district at the middle school level, specifically 8th grade, so students are already familiar with the format. It incorporates the 6-traits of writing and some of the digital writing features also needed (bullets, headings, color use, image use, etc.). Another aspect that is often a part of writing is transitions, but when you are creating an audio/visual product, one still needs transitions to move the viewer through the text. In my case transitions are provided via audio prompts and through slide order.
This was the first year I created this assignment and assessment, so I now have some examples that I can show to students next year that allow them to assess it using the rubric before they begin their project. This ensures we all understand what is what and how to aim for the minimum, mid-level or excel for more, as there will be 3-5 examples to view, discuss and work as a group to assess.
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I have never used the feedback tools found in MS Word before. I am excited to try them out. I sure think that this would cut down on me having to explain my cryptic marks to the students after I have hand commented on each of their papers.
ReplyDeleteHaving the students use those tools would definitely be helpful to their learning. I think that if a student does not understand how to give feedback, seeing concrete examples of how their peers are completing feedback will help them gain those skills - hopefully.