About We Write! -- The YWP Schools Project

“I used to hate to write; now I love it.” – An 8th grade student about her school's We Write! site.

Young Writers Project now builds low-cost, leading edge Web sites for schools and after-school programs to use in their teaching curriculum. YWP has completed six pilots for more than 600 students and 20 teachers (which have been variously named We Write!) YWP provides online and in-class support throughout the year.

YWP also offers a yearlong Digital Learning course for teachers. Participants get three Graduate Level credits through St. Michael's College. To see syllabus, CLICK HERE

Click the image on the left to view a Quick Time video of students' reaction to the We Write! site YWP built for Williston Central School.

If you have Flash Player installed, have high-speed Internet access and a computer with 1 gig of memory, CLICK HERE to see a cool collage and the video.

HOW IT WORKS | As part of each school's Web site program, YWP provides a customized, private and fully-supported Web site for use as part of the curriculum. Teachers schedule and post assignments and critique work for the class to see. Students post work, give and receive feedback, sort work for portfolio review and upload supplemental digital files such as audio, video and photos.

YWP also offers:

• Training to teachers and students;
• Several in-class writing workshops during the year;
• Online feedback to students throughout the year;
• Support and ideas for presenting or publishing best student work; and
• A survey of changes in student attitudes about writing.

“I am absolutely amazed by what my kids are doing. They are writing on vacation!” – 5th grade teacher about her We Write! site.

BENEFITS | We Write! is intended to complement the teaching experience at schools. YWP provides support to teachers related to what they are instructing. A trained college mentor is assigned to each school and provides online feedback on student work when requested.


Here are some of the benefits:

• Expanded audience. The We Write! sites gives students an opportunity to share their work with their fellow students instead of handing in an assignment that only their teacher sees. It is a quick, efficient way to transform writing into a supportive, group exercise. Students say they try harder knowing their classmates are going to be reading their work. They also say this gives them a sense of purpose.

• Commenting. The sites allow students to provide feedback on each other's work. YWP helps the teachers and students establish their own rules for commenting -- that it be constructive and substantive. This exercise helps students read like a writer and think more critically about their own work. It also helps them understand how to communicate on the Web with civility.
• Digital literacy. Students are comfortable with the Web medium. The We Write! sites allow for integration of digital media with their writing -- audio, digital photos and even video. These activities help raise students' understanding of technology.

  In one We Write! class, YWP provided support for a block on creating audio essays or podcasts, with the idea that students can revise their work better if they hear how it sounds. The assignment: "Write about an extraordinary moment in your life." Initial ideas and drafts were posted by students for peer-to-peer feedback. Final pieces were dictated, by phone, to create podcasts. Here's a link to one student's piece.
  

• Community building. Students say that by sharing their work, by seeing the work of others and by giving and receiving feedback, they gain a new understanding and appreciation of each other. In a sense, We Write! helps build community within the classroom.

  “I am amazed at how creative and talented my classmates are. Some of them never say anything in class, and on the site, I get to see their ideas and their work.” – An 8th grade student.

• More efficient teaching. Time is the devil of good writing and good teaching. We Write! sites give teachers more opportunity to do more and to find more time -- and incentive -- for students to do revision. Teachers say students try harder, learn more and do better. They also note that students learn more from each other. And they enjoy what they are doing more.

  "The site has helped me get so much more done. I was able to do several writing projects at the end of the year that I otherwise would not have had time to do." -5th Grade teacher.

For a summary sheet of the We Write! online writing centers, CLICK HERE.

For a summary sheet of the overall Young Writers Project, CLICK HERE