Web-Mediated Collaboration and the Development of Literacy Practices

• In Event: Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: Approaches to Fostering Reading Proficiency in Classroom Contexts

Abstract

A quasi-experimental study was conducted on two sections of university-level composition courses to determine if there are meaningful differences in learning outcomes between students using traditional writing methods and those using blogging technology. Web-mediated draft workshops generated a statistically significantly higher quantity and quality of peer comments than paper draft workshops. Specifically, web-mediated writing practice yielded more critical and constructive feedback over repeated trials as compared to the paper workshops where learner participation degraded over repeated trials. Furthermore, the blogging group’s writing achievement improved at statistically significantly higher rates than the control group, suggesting that blogging technology is an authentic literacy practice, which provides a socially situated cognitive learning environment that positively impacts writing performance.

Author

• Jeanette Novakovich, Concordia University