Article: Learners and Learning

Collaborative Reading and Writing


Jenae’s Recommendation

I love that the approach to discussing collaborative reading is playful and actionable. A lot of instructors may wonder about whether assigning a social annotation exercise is worthwhile and this piece makes a very convincing case for how such exercises can really make reading more accessible to students and open up their capacities to appreciate how reading is meant to encourage conversation. I think it's also critical to see reading and writing acts as intertwined, and Bali et. al also helpfully map out how the collaborative reading engagements possible in digital spaces can encourage students to write as they read, making reading an intentional and active process.

When we do collaborative annotations of readings, students enjoy reading each other’s thoughts. Before the technology of collaborative annotation, it was rare that people would read together that closely; it might be possible for one or two to do it together, but not an entire class.