Revising the Writer's Workshop

Students are constantly writing whether they agree that they enjoy it or not. In this new digital age full of social media, students are communicating with the each other and the world in new forms. With Instagram, students are using visual communication skills. On Facebook (if they use it anymore), students are writing and collaborating with each other by sharing posts that they have a personal connection with. As teachers, we can change the way students view writing and help them see that they truly are writers.

In the article “Same as It Ever Was: Enacting the Promise of Teaching, Writing, and New Media” they mention that just because students are living in the digital age that it does not mean that they cannot learn writing through literature. It also mentioned that the students in our classrooms have never known a world without "computers, cell phones, video games, voice mail, and the myriad other techno- logical wonders available to them" which is why teachers cannot ignore integrating technology with our lessons (71).

There are two writing approaches that the article “Professional Writing in the English Classroom" presents.

One approach view writing as "research tool related to the design of an object or process" while the others focuses on students' creating, testing, and revising a design (139). These strategies seem to stem from a PBL (problem based learning) viewpoint in how students have problem that they are trying to solve. It provides more room for collaboration as students begin to peer

I loved how Zuidema changed the way how a grammar should be viewed in an English classroom,

especially with the design of the Field Notebook. Instead of a lecture of about "proper mechanics English", it puts the research in their hands and they will feel more responsive to it. Also, students will begin to see the different ways grammar is used in certain context of the English language rather than viewing it as the only way a person should speak. I like the idea of having students find a mentor text from literature in their notebooks and having a small papers that apply what they have learned from the grammar workshops. Also, it is important to note that these are workshops and that students should feel comfortable not knowing it all but learning from the experience. Even as teachers, we are continuously learning and should display that to our students. That is why integrating technology can help students