I have been receiving essays numbering in the tens, for corrections and feedback before they are posted on them web. I was reading through them and saw that some of the shortcomings were very common or were across the board. So I just thought I'd make up a list and have these little check boxes that they could go through before they are posted, and may be that will help them to improve their writing. May be you could suggest some tips too.
One of the most disturbing things I found when going through these essays was that many were using the spell checker and the grammar correction option, but they were simply doing it in a blind fashion. What ever the word or phrase that was suggested first was used to replace the mistake. I remembered what one of my colleagues said when asked about the "One laptop per child program", he said "If I give my son a calculator he will learn to use it to add and subtract and multiply, but will he learn adding, subtracting or multiplying? I don't think so. It is not about giving a laptop to a child, but how it is used to learn". Similarly these little bloggers and many others don't use the spell checker and the grammar correction option as a learning too, they simply use it to correct mistakes and they keep on repeating the same mistake over and over again. In an instance when they do not have access to a computer and need to write something, they are going to be in deep trouble.
So hope that the people who donate computers and conduct programs also point out the importance of using them as tools of learning rather than just tools for doing tasks.
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4 comments:
I think it's just like watching a plant grow...
One day you look down and suddenly notice small blades of leaves shooting up from the soil, at your feet. For all you know this same twigs could grow up to be the tallest or most beautiful or most fragrant tree in the area. But just as it is now, it doesn't look the part right?
But please do remember that it holds so much promise for the future!!
Thanks 1/2 Doc.. Well these are our future, we should do the best we can to groom them so that they will be much better than some of the crap we call our present.
I saw this nice post short while ago. Gone are the days that a teacher used to ask students to learn by heart the spellings of 10 words per day and if the student failed next day he/she was beaten with a stick. We need to substitute technology and use interesting methods for the students.
I visited all these villages during last week and taught them how to correct the mistakes with MS Word and how to use Track Changes.
Please use Track Changes option and resend the essays. Students now know how to ACCEPT Track Changes AFTER reading the changes you do.
If any of you are not getting essays, its due to the ongoing OL exams. Some of the center managers are working as invigilators at the OL exam centers. But the children keep using the computer labs. I need at least one more volunteer for another village.
Regards,
Wanni
Thank you for your check-list. :) I think that is very helpful for the V-bloggers and for people correcting their essays.
I just sent out my first batch of corrected essays. It was more challenging than I expected yet fun and worth staying up late for.
I was wondering whether to suggest the spell and grammar check options in word. It feels like an easy option but I have to agree with Chiliad minds's concern about those tools being used in a blind fashion.
Still have to think that one through.
One thing I did notice was small things like using more than 1 space between words. That tends to throw up a lot of changes under the "track changes" view.
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