
The main tool through which the teacher achieved this result was by a Pearson's award-winning Web-based writing and reading comprehension learning tool, WriteToLearn ™, and the purchase of laptop computers for her classroom by technology-forward Cherokee County School District. As it is noted in WriteToLearn newsrelease.
"The difference was like night and day," she said. "The kids were running to my classroom to get on WriteToLearn."
And how does it work? The main advantage of it is that students practice essay writing and summarization skills. Efforts are measured by Pearson's state-of-the-art Knowledge Analysis Technologies™ (KAT) engine. The unique feature is that automated assessment technology evaluates the meaning of text by examining whole passages, not just for grammatical correctness or spelling.
"They can actually see that what I'm teaching them will work, which is otherwise difficult to do, especially with the struggling writers," Lewis said.
With every WriteToLearn assignment, students are eager to see the feedback they receive and are more engaged in what they're learning, she continued. "They work and work to get the best possible feedback, and they're very competitive."
For the grant-writing project, the students conducted research, created surveys, interviewed each other and even made a movie that showed them using WriteToLearn. "They learned that they have the power to write for a purpose," she said.
That is not the only example that the WriteToLearn should be proud of, Cherokee County school, F. D. Johnston Elementary School’s, sixth-grade language arts teacher Jeff Pence also uses WriteToLearn. "I spend my time teaching writing instead of drudging through papers," he said. "WriteToLearn changes the attitudes of teachers because grading papers was killing us."
Pat Kearns, Ph.D., the district's director of academic standards, professional development and career pathways, said, "Cherokee County School District boasts a team of creative, talented teachers who have found ways to use technology, such as WriteToLearn, to ensure that all of their students achieve at the highest level. When I visit classrooms around the district, I am amazed at the new enthusiasm for writing that I see when students are practicing with WriteToLearn."
References:
http://www.writetolearn.net/news/CherokeeCounty-FINAL-101408.html
http://www.prweb.com/releases/CherokeeCounty/WriteToLearn/prweb1452474.htm
http://www.writetolearn.net/
http://www.pearson.com/
0 comments :
Post a Comment