Wattpad
Overview
Wattpad is an online story-sharing platform that allows users to create stories and upload them, in blog format, for community review. As writers share stories, they can receive feedback or suggested edits through Wattpad’s comment feature, which allows readers to place comments at specific points throughout the story. Users can also explore Wattpad’s vast digital library by category, building their own unique collection of stories. Wattpad is an excellent WBLT to help reluctant readers or writers practice these skills in an open forum.
Wattpad is an online story-sharing platform that allows users to create stories and upload them, in blog format, for community review. As writers share stories, they can receive feedback or suggested edits through Wattpad’s comment feature, which allows readers to place comments at specific points throughout the story. Users can also explore Wattpad’s vast digital library by category, building their own unique collection of stories. Wattpad is an excellent WBLT to help reluctant readers or writers practice these skills in an open forum.
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Justification for Using this Tool
Justification 1 - Learner Control
Justification 1 - Learner Control
- Learner control refers to providing users with the ability to regulate instruction, whether that is the sequence, pace, flow, amount, and even topic (Simsek, 2012). Within Wattpad, users can search and filter stories by category as well as regulate the pace at which they explore each story.
- Connectivism posits that learners gain knowledge by making connections between personal learning networks that are accessed via Internet technologies (Dunaway, 2011). Within Wattpad, learners benefit from the ability to use Internet technologies to share their short stories and interact with a vast digital library and authentic audience.
- Collaboration theory states that students learn socially through interactions like negotiation and sharing while co-creating knowledge (Stahl, Koshchmann, & Suthers, 2014). Within Wattpad, the commenting and editing features foster collaboration by connecting users to an authentic audience who can provide feedback on posts.
Strategies for Use
Strategy 1 – Creating Digital Libraries
Strategy 1 – Creating Digital Libraries
- Wattpad can be used as a reading tool by allowing students to discover and save short stories related to content that interests them in their personal libraries.
Strategy 2 – Evolving the Editing Process
- Wattpad’s comment feature can be used as a collaborative editing tool to help users strengthen their writing and proofreading skills.
Helpful Resources
Resource 1 – A Formal Review of Wattpad as a Resource for Teachers
Resource 1 – A Formal Review of Wattpad as a Resource for Teachers
- This review provides background information, pros and cons of this resource, and suggestions for strategies to incorporate Wattpad into the classroom.
- This series of videos, created by the official Wattpad YouTube channel, provides information on how to effectively utilize Wattpad’s various features.
References
- Dunaway, M. K. (2011). Connectivism: Learning theory and pedagogical practice for networked information landscapes. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 39(4), 675-685.
- Simsek, A. (2012) Learner control. In N. M. Seel (Eds.), Encyclopedia of the sciences of learning. Boston, MA: Springer.
- Stahl, G., Koschmann, T., & Suthers, D. (2014). Computer-supported collaborative learning: An historical perspective. In R. K. Sawyer (Eds.), Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences, revised version. (pp. 479-500). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.