Getting Started with Digital Writing in My Classroom

by Mandy Robek

I am a blogger!  I enjoy being active on Twitter!  I find Instagram delightful! They have helped me grow as a learner and connect with others.  I have found people with similar interests, aspirations, and those who push my thinking.  It’s been important to me to be digitally literate so I can be a mentor and share my experiences with my students.  After teaching kindergarten for five years, I recently switched grade levels and spent the past year teaching second grade in a midwest suburban K-5 elementary school.  I began the school year very excited to embrace digital writing with my students.  I envisioned students having their own online writing space in a blogging format where they their ideas and voices could be shared.  I envisioned fostering a group of writers that were willing and curious to read digitally while providing feedback to the writer.  I envisioned writing as a choice activity to do from home and our conversations during the school day filled with excitement about writing.