What students say about YWP's Digital Writing Classrooms:
"I think that the best thing about doing the blog this year was having the fun of being connected to my classmates without having to really call or talk to them. This blog built more of a sense of community and made me feel like writing is a lot more important. I think using the blog made me a better writer because I felt I had a reason to write. I've now realized how important writing is and want to keep writing in the future."
8th grader, Hinesburg Community School
"I liked many things about the blog, but I have to say my favorite part about the blog is that I can show my work to my classmates, give comments, and then give comments to other people as well. Being able to look at other peoples work motivated me to make my writing better and to look at things at all different angles, which has made me a better thinker.
All of the comments and role modeling has made me a better writer, thinker, and has set my personal writing bar higher, and now I expect more from myself.
I can use it to make surveys, post audio clips that I find interesting, post pictures of people and things I like to do so I can share them with everyone."
8th grader, Hinesburg Community School
"I liked being able to go on to this site, type something up and have good feedback within a few hours."
7th grader, Essex Middle School.
“I really like how I can write whatever I want on this site and I can see what classmates and friends write. I like writing humorous stories on it, and it's very fun to do so. I like to have a vague idea of what I'm going to write, and then come up with funny details.”
5th grader, Rick Marcotte
"I like how it is online because if you get embarrassed about reading work out loud, well with this site you will have the opportunity to feel more comfortable with showing other people your work. Another reason why I like this site is because it is on the computer. Because it is on the computer it seems to be more fun, and more accessible at home."
Lamoille Middle School student
"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."
8th grader, Williston Central School
What teachers say:
"Writing has become a public activity. Students enjoy reading each others' work. They display multiple dimensions of themselves (both in skills and interests) through their writing. This builds a stronger sense of community within the group. Students are frequently in awe of the content created by their classmates.
"We are in the unfortunate situation of having a student in the class who is set apart by being significantly below grade level. This student loves the blog. He has written more postings and comments on the blog than in all of his other classes combined. The blog is a place where he feels comfortable and part of the entire team. By being able to read other students' writing he has a consistent source of benchmarks to help guide his writing. The accessibility of sound and graphics is very motivating. He has educated us all about his interests by importing multimedia. In return, other students provide him with meaningful, supportive and firm feedback which has encouraged him to be diligent about his writing skills and habits.
"This project has changed my teaching by providing a community space for my team. That fact that it is accessible over the web makes it possible for students to work on group projects together while in different location."
"It has inspired students who have never been excited aout writing to see writing as something cool and fun."
"I am absolutely amazed by what my kids are doing. They are writing on vacation!"
"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."
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