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ICT in the teaching of academic writing

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 ICT in the Teaching of Academic Writing

Blanka Frydrychova Klimova1,a, Petra Poulova2,b

1
Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitanskeho 62, Hradec
Kralove, 500 03, Czech Republic
2
Faculty of Informatics and Management, University of Hradec Kralove, Rokitanskeho 62, Hradec
Kralove, 500 03, Czech Republic
a
blanka.klimova@uhk.cz, bpetra.poulova@uhk.cz
*Blanka Frydrychova Klimova

Keywords: ICT, writing skills, students, English.

Abstract. The article explores the use of ICT in the teaching and learning of writing skills at the
Faculty of Informatics and Management of the University of Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic.
Firstly, a summary of the exploitation of ICT in the teaching and learning of foreign languages is
described. Secondly, the author outlines the use of ICT in form of eLearning in the teaching and
learning at the faculty. Thirdly, the exploitation of ICT in the Course of Academic Writing is
examined. In conclusion, the author highlights benefits of using ICT in the development of written
speech and points out some of the drawbacks the teacher must face.

1. Introduction
Information communication technology (ICT) has deeply penetrated in all spheres of human ctivities,
including second language learning and teaching[1]. [2] says that:
ICT is a valuable tool to enhance teaching and learning. For teachers ICT is a professional
resource, a mode of classroom delivery, and a source of valid and valuable text types. For
students, ICT provides opportunities to communicate more effectively and to develop literacy
skills including skills in critical literacy. It is a valuable tool for researching, composing and
responding, and viewing and representing in English.
ICT has undoubtedly changed the language learning and literacy acquisition environment as well
as the dynamics of the language learning settings [3]. The paradigm shift of computer-assisted
language learning from the cognitive approach to the socio-cognitive paradigm and the use of
computer-mediated communication, make language learning settings more socially interactive,
collaborative, communicative and student-centred [4]. [5] call it the transition from the Information
Age to the Interaction Age. As [6] points out, in the English as a second language (ESL) setting social
interaction is needed to facilitate language outcomes. Thus, the English language teachers attempt to
involve ICT into their teaching practices in order to make students’ learning more effective and
motivating (cf. [3, 7, or 8]). In the teaching and learning of English ICT can be exploited as follows:
 exploiting the Internet ready-made exercises and tests (see e.g. [9]);
 using media sites for developing language skills, e.g. [10];
 communicating with native and non-native speakers via e-mail, chat, twitter, blog and other
Web 2.0 applications;
 using online courses;
 using online reference tools, e.g. online dictionaries; and
  creating and publishing one’s work, for instance, wikis.

2. ICT in the teaching and learning of English at the Faculty of Informatics and Management
(FIM), Czech Republic
ICT has been firmly established in the educational process at FIM since its teachers have been
involved in applying ICT in form of eLearning into their teaching practices since 1997[11, 12]. The
e-courses are created in a virtual learning environment (Learning Management System) called
Blackboard Learn (Fig. 1). At present, more than 220 e-courses are offered, with more than 45 of
these being foreign language courses. Some of them can be taught completely online. However, most
of them are blended as there are usually a few tutorials. At tutorials (face-to-face teaching) students
usually discuss the problems they come across when doing different types of tasks or writing
assignments. Moreover, sometimes there are regular classes and e-courses are used as reference
courses (i.e. students can once again read the information obtained in class and do some additional
exercises to practise their knowledge) for further self-study or revision of the lecture. For more
information see [13, 14].

Fig. 1. Blackboard Learn at FIM

A comparatively high number of online courses indicate that both teachers and students use these
courses. Moreover, this statement can be supported by empirical research/surveys carried out by
several teachers at FIM, for example, [15, 16, 17, or 18]. Nowadays, the key issue of eLearning is its
effectiveness for the educational process [19, 20].

3. ICT in the Course of Academic Writing

The course attempts to help both Czech and foreign or overseas students of the faculty. It focuses on
the process of writing from beginning to end, and gives advice on how to write professionally. It
shows the component parts of the writing process, that is: envisaging what to write, planning an
outline, drafting passages, writing the whole thing, revising and rewriting it, and finishing it in an
appropriate form, together with publishing all or parts of a text. In addition, it concentrates on those
features which are different in English and Czech, such as citations, compiling a bibliography or using
appropriate English. Moreover, besides the traditional, face-to-face classes, the course has its online
version, i.e. students have all the materials discussed in class loaded in the corresponding online
course. This course lasts one semester (1 semester usually has 13-15 weeks at universities in the
Czech Republic) and students meet a teacher once every two weeks to discuss and clarify any
mistakes they have made in their assignments. Thus, students are exposed to the above mentioned
blended learning approach. For a detailed description of the course see [21].

Fig. 2. Assignments

Fig. 3. Teacher’s feedback on student’s assignment

In the course of the semester students usually have 5 assignments (see Fig. 2). They are as follows:
a summary of a lecture/ seminar; an argumentative essay without bibliographies and references; two
essays including bibliographies and references and writing an entry for Wikipedia [22]. All these
assignments are submitted through the online course and students receive almost immediate feedback
and comments on their assignments via the online course as well (Fig. 3).
The course is predominantly run as a computer-based since also the teacher’s lectures and
discussion are done in form of PowerPoint presentations and all students’ writings are done only with
the help of computer, its Microsoft Word Tools, such as spell-check or Thesaurus, and the Internet.
No matter how much mechanical it might seem, the use of ICT undoubtedly promotes not only
students’ writing skills, but also develops their critical and thinking skills when researching the
Internet sources for their assignments or working with Wikipedia. Moreover, ICT also enhances
students’ collaboration when actively working on the expansion of Wikipedia article.
In order to discover whether students are satisfied with the course and the teaching methods, they
are given a questionnaire each semester to evaluate the course, including the questions on the use of
ICT in the course and the blended learning approach, which are as follows:
1. Did you find the online course motivating/not motivating and why?
2. Did you welcome the possibility to have a face-to-face course once every two weeks or would
you prefer to have it every week?
1. Generally, it seemed to be quite useful and motivating. In the course of two years 48
participants appreciated its well-elaborated structure, self-exercises they could do at any time and
anywhere. Furthermore, they were pleased with the immediate feedback on their assignments, they
could see the mistakes they made and print all the materials from the online course. Just 4 students
mentioned technical problems with the Blackboard Learn system and found it annoying when the
system did not work.
2. Except for two respondents, who would have liked to have the face-to-face course every week,
everybody welcome a chance to have the course once every two weeks.

4. Conclusion
Obviously, as it has been stated above, ICT plays a significant and facilitating role in the development
of writing skills, particularly for students. Furthermore, the use of ICT contributes to students’
personalized learning. That means that students are able to control their learning as they are able to
adjust the information according to their personal needs. They can access online materials at any time
and anywhere. Moreover, they can proceed at their own pace. Thus, students become more
autonomous on the one hand, but on the other hand, they must take on a responsibility for their own
learning.
On the contrary, the teacher inevitably faces a lot of work with the creation of online materials,
consequently with their updating and provision of feedback on students’ assignments. In addition, the
teacher has to flexibly prepare each face-to-face lass presentation on the basis of students’
assignments and coordinate/balance it with the subject matter.
Nevertheless, at present ICT represents a fashionable way of teaching and learning and
undoubtedly, extends further possibilities for learning.

5. Acknowledgement
This research is financially supported by the project EXCELLENCE FIM UHK, NO. 2212: “The ICT
reflection within the cognitive processes development “.

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