Journal # 9
Language Arts: Electronic Read-Arounds
By Rick Monroe

One of the neat things that technology allows us to do as educators is give the reins to the students and let them be in control of the learning while we guide the class, observe, and answer any questions or concerns students might have. This article talks about one strategy that can be used in the classroom for more student-centered learning. In Language Arts class students write several papers about books they’ve read, topics they’ve researched, and many more. One strategy used to get more students involvement in peer editing is by having electronic read-arounds. This is where students will have their work typed out and saved on a disk, flash drive or student file so that when they go to the computer lab they will be able to pull up their work and make a copy saved under a different title. Then they will select their text and change the font to something else of their choosing and put on caps lock. Once they are finished the teacher will have them rotate seats every 10 minutes at least 3 times giving the reader the opportunity to read their peers work and type in any questions, comments, suggestions or concerns with their initials at the end. The originator of paper will be able to see the comments left by his peers because of the font change and cap locks. The cool thing about this is that their original paper will not be destroyed because it is saved under a different title. This gives the writer and reader a chance to critique eachothers work and give any feedback they might have. The writer can then do what they want with their peer edited draft: print it, delete it, or save it. The point to the electronic read-around is to extend the conversation between the writer and the reader. This kind of feedback helps a writer test his intent against a reader’s response. After they have considered their piece, they are free to consult with the teacher but in the mean time this technique allows the students to take control of their learning.

1.Can this technique be used in multiple subject areas?

Yes, this technique can be implemented into the curriculum for all subject areas. You can be creative with it in having their students participate in more peer on peer learning. Students like to have feedback and in this situation it gives them the opportunity to be both the reader and the writer whether it is social studies, language arts, or science.

2.What can be done to take this technique to another level in students learning?

One idea would be to have the kids use illustrator and book publishing software and in groups create and publish their pieces with different text, and visuals. This will enable the students to collaborate with one another and publish their pieces while at the same time enhance their technological skills using the different applications.