Media-Enhanced Writing Instruction and Assessment

Introduction

Media-Enhanced Writing: Instruction and Assessment introduces and defines media-enhanced writing in the educational environment supporting the reader in understanding how to teach using research-based strategies and assessments to support high-level student problem solving identified by the Common Core Standards in Writing including the production and distribution of writing using technology. Both Educators and Learners need to be skilled in newly transforming literacies and strategies to be able to utilize the rapidly changing and emerging technologies that support multicultural and global inquiry and expression. Assessments need to be developed to determine effectiveness of methodologies and technologies.

The very notion of “writing” and “presenting” is increasingly being transformed by digital media used daily in society in general and in homes, businesses, and schools. Today, one's ability to represent thought digitally with a variety of media is more important than ever. The extreme pace of transformation in society dictates that K-12 educators consider how to facilitate education that supports students as they express themselves digitally in various environments in developmentally appropriate ways. The current chapter supports teachers in the methods and strategies for student incorporation of text, audio, video, and graphics in writing and presentation across content areas of literacy, science, mathematics and social studies. The following overarching objectives are addressed as the reader should:

• 1.

  Understand essential definitions, terms, software characteristics and concepts of media-enhanced writing;

• 2.

  Apply the concept of media-enhanced writing to classroom procedures synthesizing writing curriculum processes with authoring in various software environments supporting text, audio, video and graphics;

• 3.

  Evaluate student media-enhanced writing products through the use of formative assessments using literacy, science and social studies examples for various K-12 grade levels and;

• 4.

  Connect media-enhanced writing processes and products with the Common Core Standard-Writing, Distribution and Production.

Background

Media-enhanced writing represents a powerful electronic digital environment through which literacy expression can be facilitated by the manipulation of text, graphics, audio, and video elements, and this technology and integration are reflected in the latest science literacy and literacy K-12 standards (Common Core Standards for Writing-Production and Distribution, 2011; Benchmark 2061, 2009; IRA and NCTE, 2006). The qualities of digital media that support higher-level cognitive processes such as synthesis, organization, evaluation, and reflexivity have been well documented (Mott & Benus, 2006; Mott, Etsler, & Drumgold, 2003; and Yang, 1996). However, there is a glaring absence of methods and tools to assess students' media-enhanced products. To address this absence, writing methods and processes are merged with a framework for digital media inclusion. Media enhanced writing also accommodates the creation of portfolios for increasing student meta-cognition and self-regulation.

Media-enhanced writing and assessment in, many ways, has descended upon educators as the rapidly transforming nature of writing tools dictates. While there exists numerous platforms for promoting student expression of thought, including mobile devices, this chapter will focus a general niche of software-for presentation and specifically outline how teachers can facilitate student navigation of that software and writing instructional processes.