Over the past few years, I've made more and more use of some deluxe computer labs in one of our new buildings on campus.I like using tech, and my students seem to churn out more attractive stuff for me to grade and read that way.
But one phenomenon I keep seeing that puzzled me at first was the quality of their "in-lab" versus out of class work.
Roughly put, the essay they write in a single hour in the lab is usually better than the essay they prepare out of class with 2 weeks of time. They get workshops, individual conferences, and - of course - almost unlimited time for these out of class essays.
Yet, time and again I see evidence of better and harder work when they simply are forced to sit in the lab for an hour (no Facebook, no email, no phones).
Do I have to decode this for anyone? I'm just curious if other writing teachers have experienced something like this.
- Reynard "The Magnificent" from Redding.
I haven't, but my students are usually workshopping or revising previously-written work in my computer lab classes, and I haven't made full use of the software available to block facebook et al. Perhaps I should rethink my tactics, and have them write more in class (and use the blockers more).
ReplyDeleteI do find that when students have the option to write for a while in class, they tend not to take it, claiming they work better at home (or in some other environment). Maybe I need to assign more non-optional in-class writing.
I assign 2 in-class essays, hand-written. Whatever their other merits, at least they aren't plagiarized from Sparknotes.
ReplyDeleteThis is the complete opposite of my experiences. I teach at a college with significant ELL and developmental student populations, and I find that often their "tutoring" makes out-of-class writing much better than their in-class efforts. That's why in-class work is always worth at 20% of their grade. We have NetNanny-type software in our computer classrooms to keep them off Facebook, and I use the course log in Blackboard also to see how long they spend on a page.
ReplyDeleteMy expectations for at-home writing are so much higher that I'm always baffled at how terrible it is. I expect in-class essays to be mediocre (or worse), so I'm often a little impressed. Chances are they're equally bad.
ReplyDeleteThat is really fascinating, because in the middle of a book project I realized that I write more clearly by hand than the hodge-podge collection of facts via computer.
ReplyDeleteSo now, I handwrite my text, type it up in the evening, and keep working. It's so much clearer than piecing together paragraphs in Word and switching screens from evidence to text back to evidence.
I wonder if something similar is going on with the students?
Since I teach online, it is all "at home." But I notice it myself. When I sneak away to the local library with just a stack of paper and a pen or pencil, or with the computer but with no internet connection, I am more productive. I don't know if I write better, but I am more focused. For one thing, I don't keep checking this blog!
ReplyDeleteYou are not alone, Reynard the Magnificent. My students almost always write better under my watchful eye. It's because they don't - on their own - every really dedicate time to writing their papers. They're FBing, texting, etc. AND trying to finish an essay I assigned WEEKS ago. When they sit down for an uninterrupted hour to write, it's the FIRST time in the semester they've given that kind of attention to their work.
ReplyDeleteAM, my students tend to do much better on in-class essays when they write by hand as opposed to using a laptop. I usually give them the option, and when I do, between 80 and 90 percent of them choose to write by hand.
ReplyDeleteI think they waste time on the computer messing around with fonts, layout, spelling and such. There seems to be greater focus on the argument when they write by hand.
I suspect that when they look at a blank word processing document the instinct is to begin racking up the word count as fast as possible with little regard to the structure or quality of the argument they're making.
Yes, I've noticed that forced-focus works wonders. Irritates me, but there you are.
ReplyDelete