In the age we are living, it is vital that we equip students with the tools to present information via digital media. The focus of chapter 4 in the book Crafting Digital Writing by Troy Hicks, focuses on crafting presentations. Much of the focus is on the presentation rather than the content of the presentation. As a 4th grade teacher, it seems as if many students struggle with basic grammar skills. I would say 80% of the students in my class came to me this year without the skills to put a capital letter at the beginning of their sentences and the correct end mark at the end.
Questions I am asking myself:
-How can I move on to teaching students how to craft digital writing when they cannot even craft hand written writing?
-How can I expose them to digital presentation programs when they are unable to come up with quality content?
-Is allowing students the opportunity to create digital writing the key to unlocking their desire to write?
While I agree that we should be modeling how to create digital texts in the classroom, I am struggling with the logistics of how to do this. It seems as if there are so many resources online…..so many programs from which to choose. If I were to choose a presentation program to introduce to students, which one would be the best? When would I find the time in my schedule to introduce this to students considering taking students to the computer lab would be the only way all students could access a computer at the same time? What is a good balance between hand-written assignments and digital writing assignments?
Hicks (2013) outlines the digital writing process the same as the writing process with prewriting consisting of visualizing and imagining your presentation. He suggests when drafting to start with pencil and paper and to focus on colors and fonts. Revising and editing includes not only checking for grammatical errors but also focusing on appeal. When publishing your content, his opinion is that you should include a handout to your audience. Please click on the link below to see a short presentation I created outing the digital writing process Hicks(2013) proposes.
References
Hicks, Troy (2013). Crafting digital writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
