Creating Digital Writing and Media in the Elementary Classroom

Utilizing digital writing in the classroom can be an effective tool in engaging students with the content they are learning. Often students are disengaged with traditional paper and pencil learning. This is likely due to the fact that their world is so digitized. It is incumbent upon teachers to incorporate digital writing and media in the classroom in order to teach students the skills they will need to join the workforce of tomorrow. "The provision of tablet computers using educational software can support narrative writing strategies: planning, idea generation, and organization of ideas, and visual memory by providing learning support with videos, and sound recordings. These features greatly facilitated students to produce more interesting words, thus improving the length of the writing and the quality of story products (Wen & Walters, 2022, p. 8). Digital writing skills will be used in many ways in the future, and our young students will most certainly need to possess these skills in order to be valuable in a competitive job market. "The craft of digital writing is not just important to contemporary business, marketing, and communications roles. The ability to think, write, argue, and create within social media, the web, video, a video game, or numerous other shifting and changing forms of media is persistently necessary across most fields of work" (Lawrence, 2022, p. 36). See the video below to learn more about my ideas on incorporating digital writing and digital media in the elementary classroom.

In addition to honing one's digital writing skills, it is also paramount to have a basic understanding of graphic design principles to make the work visually appealing. "Digital writers must now be competent graphic designers" (Lawrence, 2022, p. 108). As students design infographics, informational videos, or websites, they must think about the elements of graphic design such as shape, color, form, size, symmetry, and balance. These principles are proven to engage viewers. Digital writing also helps students develop their writing skills because they are required to become proficient in multiple forms of media. "Multimodal and digital literacies play crucial roles in promoting students’ writing development from knowledge telling to transformation mode, demanding cognitive challenges at higher levels and dimensions when students draw upon writing strategies, technological skills, the use of multiple literacies, and the interaction between students and teachers specifically at different phases of writing" (Wen & Walters, 2022, p. 2). Another consideration when creating digital writing in the classroom is the intended audience. Students tend to write more thoughtfully and create a better product when they think about who will be viewing their work. In my classroom, students produce digital content to share with their peers, their families via Seesaw, or even the school on our school wide website. I have personally seen the benefit of students knowing that other kids at school will view or listen to their content. They are more engaged with the assignment and also more apt to produce quality work. Therefore, using digital writing and digital media in the classroom not only prepares students for their future careers, but it simultaneously improves their writing skills.

References

Lawrence, D. (2022). Digital writing: A guide to writing for social media and the web.

Broadview Press.

Wen, X. & Walters, S. (2022). The impact of technology on students' writing

performances in elementary classrooms: a meta-analysis. Computers and Education

Open., 3, p. 1-14.