Two-way journals with 7th graders

    This year I’ve introduced my 7th graders to Moodle (used already with 8th graders for two previous years).  As always, the 7th graders demonstrate how very different they are from 8th graders.  For example, more and more of my students are choosing the online/ Moodle option for their two-way journals; in my blended classroom, students read a book both have picked, and then write back and forth about it.  For more about these journals, see:  http://adventuresonlineteaching.blogspot.com/2011/02/two-way-journals-students-writing-to.html  While only about a third of 8th graders choose Moodle, with their second two-way journal project, only a few 7th graders are still writing on paper.  (Some students still prefer cool-looking diaries, or spiral notebooks.) 

   Three big differences.  First, the already-mentioned 7th grade enthusiasm for using online / Moodle for communications (even though they see each other daily).  Boys and girls used Moodle discussions at about the same rates.

    Second difference, 7th grade students are reading faster.  In the past, I’ve given students about 2 ½ to 3 weeks to read their books, and many have needed every single day.   Lately, I’ve been hearing, “Can we get a new book?  We finished ours already,” from the 7th grade.  The 8th graders enjoy the project, but take a more blasé attitude.  They finish the book and write reflections after they’ve finished.  The 7th graders seem to prefer to keep on reading.  On the other hand, I’ve had quite a number of “non-reader” 8th graders who have begged for us to do more two-way journals, “so we can read the next book in that series.”   And 8th graders don’t have time set aside for reaching, while 7th graders still do.

    Third difference, students are writing more, and writing in more depth. In most cases, I’m seeing deeper thinking.  This is only the second two-way journal  that the 7th graders have done.  But boy do they get it.  And are they into it!  They’re even referring to things they learned in other classes.  I’m seeing this across the spectrum of reading ability; with 8th graders, I see more of what I can only call “dancing on the surface.”  8th grade is more about being cool; 7th graders can’t manage that yet.

    Two 7th grade pairs selected a book they decided they hated  after just a few days of reading – Canned.  Could they please, please change?  Of course!  I want them to find a book they’d rather read because then they’ll read.  One pair selected New Boy.  The other chose One Fat Summer.  And they’re off and running.  (The 8th graders when they didn’t particularly like the book, persevered.  Too much trouble to find a new book?)  It does help to have hundreds of books for them to choose from. 

    I’m curious to see how these 7th graders will use two-way journals next year when they are in 8th grade.  Will they take a step back?  Be less enthusiastic?  I’ll need to find a way to  make two-way journals become fresh for them – maybe require them to add images to their words, something the 7th graders occasionally do already without prompting.

Using the computer for essay tests

Since I teach blended classes, some work is online, some face-to-face, and some in the computer lab.  This year, I experimented with having my final exam in the lab.  The multiple choice vocabulary went onto the scantron with the keyboards up on the CPUs (and yes I know you can give tests in Moodle, but I find setting up the quiz function excruciating, so don’t use it). 
photo © 2007 Mike Traboe | more info (via: Wylio)

The part of the test I wanted the computers for was the essay – I wanted them to type it.  Here’s what I saw:

Students were on task, focused.  They edited and even spell-checked their essays (something students sometimes seem to skip on written homework).  Some even printed out and revised their essays.  A few students chose to hand-write their essays, and that was OK, too.

Students are used to keyboarding their writing, which lets them focus on the writing, and not on keeping their writing neat.  Most can key rapidly, so their writing keeps up with their thinking.  And cut-and-paste revision is so much easier on a computer.

One result:  since they got to use a tool they usually use for writing, their writing was significantly better than I usually get on exams. It was organized, cohesive, thoughtful, and mostly spelled correctly.

Another huge benefit for me:  it was all legible.

Two things that worked particularly well:  1) assigned seating (to separate buddies, to isolate kids who need quiet, and to isolate kids who are noisy;  2) giving students the choice of typing or hand-writing, so they could use their preferred writing mode.

I will do this again.

Most memorable moment 2010

When I realized that I wasn’t coaxing students to work hard on their research paper by bribing them with donuts at the end, I knew something was up.  They were working hard without that carrot.  Hmmm.   They’ve always had a lot of latitude in picking their topic, so that wasn’t it. 

What was different this time?

First, I let students choose their tools.  For a long time, I’ve used this project as a chance for students to work on their web searching skills, and to practice using http://www.CitationMachine.net to help create their bibliography. 

This year, instead of making students use notecards for note-taking, I let them use the tool of their choice.  Many chose to use Word for notes, but a few used Zoho Notebook.  (We had to use a tool that either already existed on their computers, or a web-based tool that didn’t have to be installed on a school computer.)  I still made students print down copies of articles they found and highlight, because some kids won’t read anything until 8 PM on the night before the draft is due if you don’t give them regular milestones along the way.  How they took notes after that was up to them.

But letting students choose their tool made a difference.  Their outlines and reports were still well-organized (the reason I originally required notecards), but when I let them choose what worked best for them, students were a lot more invested in the work.

Second, I added reflection.  Each student had their own thread as part of a Moodle discussion forum; every week, students wrote about their experiences that week – the frustrations, the breakthroughs, the cool things they discovered about the person they were researching.  I responded with suggestions, encouragement, attaboys, and resources.


Giving students a chance to think about what they were learning added a depth to the project that it hasn’t had for them before.  It also gave them the chance to identify problems (such as finding the same information over and over due to a simplistic search strategy, or difficulty with a sibling hogging the home computer), and get help.

This may seem small, but kids don’t always respond when you ask the class face-to-face if they have questions or need help; some just won’t say that in front of the class.  The reflection-teacher response cycle also added a powerful teacher-student connection.  Each student got specific, personal, individual attention – and what kid doesn’t want that?  (I’ve written about this before: http://adventuresonlineteaching.blogspot.com/2010/11/feedback-improving-student-teacher.html)

Two different ways to support learners, both effective. 

We still had our traditional end-of-project donuts, because it’s worth celebrating a major accomplishment.  But for the first time, the papers reflected a stunning amount of effort. The strong students weren’t just going through the motions to get the work done; their work glittered.  Even the students who hate to write all worked mightily; when they turned in well-organized, interesting, virtually error-free papers, on time,  it was a major milestone. 

Looking back, I realized that this wasn’t a project that we suffer through any more.  Instead, we were all energized, enriched.  My students’ skill-base was expanded and strengthened.  We wrote research papers, and – I never thought I’d say this - we had fun. 

Sidebar- Why don’t I give students different options in presenting their work, not just formal written papers?  Because I teach in a Catholic school, and Catholic school students learn to write. :)   

  

LOL: Texting and writing

               Does texting lingo end up in my students work?  All the time!  I have to confess that I find myself using U for You at times, so I can appreciate the difficulty my students have in avoiding texting slang.

                It’s easy to say “no texting slang.”  Easy, easy, easy.   Does that make it disappear?  Nooooo.  But I have my ways.

                When I’m introducing a new online activity, I want my students to focus on learning how to do the activity, so I’m not focusing on mechanics.  Yet.  But the second time we did the vocabulary discussion, I went in and drew a line through every use of texting and every spelling/punctuation/capitalization error – it took me more than two hours.  And then I didn’t give them any credit for entries they made that had any errors in them!  Oh, the screaming and gnashing of teeth.  In the big picture, low grades on one assignment won’t have much impact on their overall grade.  But they hate to see a low grade when they worked hard on something.  And I was mean.  I wouldn’t let them correct their work for a better grade.  I wanted the point to sink in.  And the next time, there were hardly any errors. They got the message.  

Is their work texting-free?  No.  But sometimes getting the conversation going is more important.