If you are interested, the basic premise of the project is below.
Does using ICT as a collaborative tool improve the quality of children's writing?
The new school curriculum states that children in ICT will learn how to 'collaborate, communicate and share information using connectivity to work with, and present to, people and audiences within and beyond the school'
I am going to examine what impact using a web 2.0 application (such as primary pad) as a collaborative tool has on the quality of children's story writing. Does children working together in an online environment, where they are free to share creative ideas and view each others use of vocabulary, lead to an improvement when the same children are writing independently. I will monitor the progress of six children, by examining their story writing at the beginning of the process, paying particular attention to their use of vocabulary. I will then split these children into two groups. One group will write one story by collaborating in a traditional manner around a table. The other group will write a story by collaborating using ICT. I will compare these stories and assess their work when writing independently to see if using web technology is a better way for children to collaborate. Which group of children will make more progress in their writing?
Both stories are wonderful and I am left wanting to find out more about all the fascinating, colourful characters. The names are terrific, the descriptions of what they look like and what they can do - I can really see them and imagine the action - just like watching a cool cartoon. Stretching and crawling and fighting and everything super-heroes do.
ReplyDeleteWatch out for who is speaking (speech marks in the right place), and watch out for spellings of character names (Haredom, Haredemdom, haremdon, Dufuce, duface). Where did these names come from? Captain Haredomdom sounds quite clever and Dr Dufuce, well he sounds a bit dopey, and were they chosen for those reasons, very clever.
"a super hero called suzzy king. He was a kid called joe" - in his ordinary life is he Joe? and then when he becomes a superhero is he called suzzy King? cool, like superman/clark kent?
"the monster came into the new york city and start destroying houses"
I love New York, get that monster quickly!!!!!
I think the young writers were so preoccupied with their superheroes and exciting characters that they forgot the rest of the theme, that this was 'a day in the life of...', so I would have expected them to start the adventure in perhaps a more mundane way, with the superhero eating his three (four?) Weetabix before embarking on saving the Underworld, or New York. I can see that the plots were much more important! However, it's good discipline for a writer to think about the structure of a story: to give it a beginning, middle and end. Considering there were three writers working together, it's great that they got this far! It's certainly a good example of collaboration.
ReplyDeletejackie we did not missing it out we did not get enuogh time because it was the last week and hardly any of them heleped me only adam but he was messing around onthe little chat bar
ReplyDeleteI think this is a terrific start for young writers putting their ideas forward for a wider audience. I just hope it sparks off ideas in the classroom and in their own writing for pleasure
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