The last time we spoke, I was rejoicing in the fact that the summer semester was over and anticipating what the future of the MAC program held for me
Oh, how time changes everything.
We're now into October and about a week away from fall break--basically, the halfway mark of the semester. Wow. Time flies. It's been stressful, hard, scary, stressful, hard, and eye opening.
And then we go back into technology. Webinars this week. I've been familiar with webinars for quite some time. It's distance learning at the most basic level. I was able to take a look at a webinar done by Jeff Scheur, a 2004 MAC alum. Jeff has developed an amazing website (noredink.com) that helps students work on improving their grammar skills. Jeff put it quite simply--as teachers, we spend a lot of time focusing on little things like grammar when we know we'd rather be working on content. But we have to work with students on grammar to ensure that they have the skills necessary to be successful, contributing members of society.
The beauty of noredink.com is it's simplicity. The website features a series of tutorials and quizzes that focus on the most common grammatical problems found in student writing. The website provides clear explanations about what kind of error has been made and how to fix it. Scheur said he plans to roll the website (which recently won a major funding award) out with more tutorials to help them with skills that go beyond grammar--thesis writing, conclusions, detail work, etc. Pretty cool.
Obviously, this website doesn't take the place of the teacher, but it can be a huge asset to a teacher, as it frees up time in the classroom to focus on issues that go beyond grammar. The website also has incredible tracking features for teachers to use so they can see the areas where their students may need more work or to see where students are improving.
I'm the first to admit that I'm not a "grammarian" (or as I still call them, grammar nazis). It really isn't my priority. My priority is making sure my students can accurately put their thoughts about a topic in social studies down on paper. In the time I've spent in the classroom, I've had to accept the notion that if I can read it and it makes some sense, I have to take it. Obviously, blatant grammar mistakes I correct (double negatives is my big one...), but I'm learning to accept that some people have a very hard time getting which their/there/they're to use and despite repeated instruction about it, they just might never get it. It isn't the end of the world. But grammar does have a role in writing across the curriculum and regardless of what subject area you're in, you need to help students with it. My school uses ELA common core standards for writing assessments in social studies. Using a standard like that across the entire school helps reinforce what is expected of students in their writing.
I could see noredink.com being a huge asset in middle school classrooms, since it's still common to see grammar being taught in 6th and 7th grade classes. But I don't think it's benefit ends there. I think it has huge possibilities beyond English classes as the writing tools within the site expand.
Would it be an asset I'd have in my classroom? I don't know. I think it depends on my students. But it's something that I'll definitely keep an open mind on.
