Understanding The Need
"Most American Students must improve writing to meet demands of college success and career"
– The National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools
69% of 8th Graders and 77% of 12th Graders Scored BELOW proficient levels in Writing
– National Assessment of Educational Progress 2002
The American education system is in need of reform; both government and private industry recognize that change means providing our students with skills that will strengthen our nations position to compete in the new global economy.
Schools are making increased investments in technology teaching tools and methods that support dynamic learning environments. Project Based Learning is an inquiry-based process for teaching and learning that has been receiving a lot of attention because it is extremely effective as a method for engaging students. With engagement comes focus, discipline and mastery of academic content. Students have the opportunity to work collaboratively on problems and issues relevant to the curriculum and their lives; enhancing the life skills necessary to succeed in school and work.
Classroom Publishing is a project based learning model that has proven to advance student writing and reading scores (Student Press Initiative (SPI), 2010). Publishing offers teachers and students the opportunity to collaboratively experience the progression of selecting a topic of importance, research, writing, revision, design, production, distribution and finally, the celebration of becoming a published author.
ClassroomAuthors® has developed a powerful collaborative, web-based publishing system that has been endorsed by SPI, Teachers College at Columbia University. The system has been created from the support of student and teacher focus groups. The publishing system has proven to inspire teachers and engage students in the writing process. Students write, design and ultimately, publish professional books that integrate text and images. On-going pilot programs provide the necessary feedback to support the ClassroomAuthors® mission.
ClassroomAuthors® supports project based writing strategies by providing teachers with collaboration features students want to use. The engaging features include web access, chat, sticky-note forums, picture editing, and 3-dimensional flip-book visualization of the book as it is being created. Teachers (k-12) and University Professors of all disciplines that implement classroom publishing as part of their curriculum will see a notable change in the effort of their students. When students realize that their writing will be published as a professionally bound book and read by peers, family and community, a new interest to perform at a higher level will be invoked. As a seventh grade student expressed it so well, "Of course I am going to write better, real people are reading my stuff."