Technology to support writing in the biology classroom...
Using technology to support student writing in the biology classroom is an effective way to engage learners and assist those with disabilities in the area of written expression. Research has shown that incorporating writing in the biology classroom through both expository and narrative writing, such as "Biostories", is an effective way to develop scientific literacy skills in students and to increase understanding of content knowledge (Ritchie, Tomas, & Tones, 2011). There are a number of different softwares and programs that can assist students with prewriting, editing, evaluating their work. Student writing can be improved in all areas of the writing process by utilizing technology in the classroom and provides alternative means to pen-and-paper writing composition, such as digital cameras and voice recorders (Peterson-Karlan, 2011). Although science has traditionally been taught through memorization of facts, terms, and processes, writing in the biology classroom can increase student literacy skills as well as comprehension of the content, as writing requires a deeper understanding of the material presented.
Here are some ideas of ways to incorporate technology in the classroom to assist students with written expression:
- Use an interactive compare and contrast map to help students brainstorm ideas about two different topics to write a compare and contrast essay. The simplicity helps students organize their thoughts before they begin to write. Students can type in two different topics, and then make lists of facts regarding each item's characteristics, ways they are different, and ways they are similar. This program also allows students to choose the type of organization needed for their essay and explains the differences between each. At the end, students can print out a hard copy of their brainstorm map to use when writing their final essay.
- Use an interactive timeline to help students organize information about events over time in science. This timeline could be used to show how one scientific discovery influenced another, or for students to be able to keep notes about a particular experiment over time. At the end, a hard copy of the timeline can be printed out for notes. Students can then use the information collected to compose an expository essay or journal entry. Creating a visual representation of information can help all students, including those with disabilities, visualize and organize the information.
- Use an interactive mind map such as mindmeister.com or bubbl.us that allows students to manipulate and organize the information as they go. Students could take notes about a particular topic and then transfer the information to a mind map, or just take their notes directly into the mind map online. Using this mind map to take notes directly allows learners to constantly manipulate the information into a visual format that makes sense to them. Interactive mind maps also let students add images, links, and files to their map. For students with disabilities, the mind map makes a great modification to a writing assignment in that learners can be assessed for knowledge in an alternative fashion from the information presented on the mind map.
- Use an online graphical dictionary like visuwords.com to help students see the relationships between topics, concepts, and their components. Just type in any term into the search box, and visuwords.com generates a visual graphic organizer demonstrating relationships between this term and other terms.
Here are some ideas of ways to incorporate technology in the classroom to assist students with written expression:
- Use an interactive compare and contrast map to help students brainstorm ideas about two different topics to write a compare and contrast essay. The simplicity helps students organize their thoughts before they begin to write. Students can type in two different topics, and then make lists of facts regarding each item's characteristics, ways they are different, and ways they are similar. This program also allows students to choose the type of organization needed for their essay and explains the differences between each. At the end, students can print out a hard copy of their brainstorm map to use when writing their final essay.
- Use an interactive timeline to help students organize information about events over time in science. This timeline could be used to show how one scientific discovery influenced another, or for students to be able to keep notes about a particular experiment over time. At the end, a hard copy of the timeline can be printed out for notes. Students can then use the information collected to compose an expository essay or journal entry. Creating a visual representation of information can help all students, including those with disabilities, visualize and organize the information.
- Use an interactive mind map such as mindmeister.com or bubbl.us that allows students to manipulate and organize the information as they go. Students could take notes about a particular topic and then transfer the information to a mind map, or just take their notes directly into the mind map online. Using this mind map to take notes directly allows learners to constantly manipulate the information into a visual format that makes sense to them. Interactive mind maps also let students add images, links, and files to their map. For students with disabilities, the mind map makes a great modification to a writing assignment in that learners can be assessed for knowledge in an alternative fashion from the information presented on the mind map.
- Use an online graphical dictionary like visuwords.com to help students see the relationships between topics, concepts, and their components. Just type in any term into the search box, and visuwords.com generates a visual graphic organizer demonstrating relationships between this term and other terms.
- Use a text-to-speech app like DragonSpeak to help students transfer their spoken thoughts into text. |