Exploring the use of the writing portal to support ESL students' writing process
Studies have shown positive outcomes and benefits of collaboration in the stages of the writing process which contribute to students' writing development, particularly the use of technology such as open software and Web 2.0 tools which supports the Personal Learning Environment (PLE) and soc...
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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2015
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/19739/1/Exploring%20the%20use%20of%20the%20writing.pdf |
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| Summary: | Studies have shown positive outcomes and benefits of collaboration in the stages of
the writing process which contribute to students' writing development, particularly
the use of technology such as open software and Web 2.0 tools which supports the
Personal Learning Environment (PLE) and social constructivism. The purpose of this
study is to explore the use of The Writing Portal (1WP) as a platform for online
collaboration by pre-service English as second language (ESL) teachers when they
embark on the five-stage writing process to accomplish their written coursework.
lWP was introduced to serve as an online collaborative learning tool to support
students' writing needs and improve their writing experience. Therefore, the study
strives to achieve two purposes: to produce the prototype of a dynamic TWP by
employing the systematic instructional model of ADDIE, and to test TWP usability
by exploring its use in an actual written coursework in relation to all stages of the
writing process. In the design and development stages, social constructivism related
concepts such as the PLE, collaborative learning, and web 2.0 were
emphasized. The implementation stage took into account Rogers' Diffusion of
Innovation theory to explain the process that explains the behaviors ofTlWP users.
The evaluation stage comprised of formative evaluation, and summative evaluation
to complement the data obtained throughout the reiterative stages of ADDIE. The
participants in the study were 16 pre-service ESL teachers in a teacher education
institute. The course lecturer also participated in the study in collaboration with the
researcher to integrate TWP into the coursework. Other participants in the design
process included instructional technology experts and subject matter experts since
the study also captured the development of TWP. The pre-service teachers' writing
experiences in the 12-week written coursework were studied through a qualitative
case study design. Data was obtained from reflections, interviews, online
discourses, feedback forms, content analysis of instructors' comments in writing
drafts and log files from the portal. Data analysis mainly includes thematic analysis
in most of the sources, and Soller's Collaborative Learning Conversation Skills
Taxonomy (2001) was used to analyze users' interaction in TWP to find evidence of
collaboration. Besides, students' writing drafts prior to the use of the portal, and
after, were collected and analyzed to track any development which may be
contributed by the portal. Their activities captured in TWP, and writing experiences
were also compared. Positive results were seen in the evident use of TWP in all
stages of the writing process, and students' improved writing experiences and
perceptions after TWP use. TWP is therefore seen as a promising online writing
support tool for future use. This study has the intention to highlight the significant
roles and responsibilities of instructors as developers which are rarely captured in
literature, and add to the body of knowledge on product development in ESL
writing research. |
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