JSET

JSET Articles Index

Volume 19 Number 1

I Can Do It Better on the Computer: The Effects of Technology-enabled Scaffolding on Young Writers' Composition
Carol Sue Englert, Margaret Manalo, Yong Zhao
Michigan State University

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how a Web-based software program impacted lower element ary students' composition of personal narratives when using a supported paragraph activity. The subjects in this experiment were first and second grade students in a multi-age classroom in a low socio-economic urban community. The participants were asked to write a story in a Web- based environment on a supported paragraph activity. They were later asked to type a story in the Webbased environment on a free-writing activity. Finally, students were asked to compose a story through the traditional paper and pencil means. Students’ personal narratives were scored using rubrics that examined both narrative genre characteristics and writing conventions. Overall findings indicate that students wrote more, incorporated more genre specific characteristics, and demonstrated conventional writing skills on the supported writing assignment.

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