Exploring the effectiveness of an online writing workspace to support literacy in a social studies classroom

The purpose of this exploratory study was to analyze the writing experiences of eighthgrade students in three social studies classrooms while using a Web 2.0 online writing workspace. Participants included one social studies teacher and 69 eighth-grade students in a selective admission public high school. Furthermore, three of the eighth-grade students were chosen as case studies to allow for a more detailed exploration of their writing processes within the online environment. The project was guided by the Common Core Writing Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, and objectives were to enhance the students' literacy skills and knowledge acquisition by having students create a wiki-like project. The author proposes that the online writing project and environment allowed students in the social studies class to extend their learning and make connections to outside sources in an accessible manner. The students took ownership over their own learning within their topics and were able to extend and show proficiency in understanding their topics and also in the use of online tools and other Web 2.0 technologies.