What Is the Composition JamBox?
by Alan Sitomer
In an almost Pavlovian way, educators have been relying to an exceptionally large degree on the classic “essay” for a few decades now. By that I mean if we wanted students to “demonstrate their comprehension of a subject matter” we overwhelmingly have been asking them to “write an essay” on __________ (fill in the blank). Sure, we’ve had some presentations, some speeches, a wee bit of project-based learning, but the lion’s share of the assigned compositions for the last 50 years have been in the “write an essay” format. Well, the game has changed. In the 21st century, students can most certainly write an essay—but they can also compose an enhanced podcast. Or create a digital museum. Or make a short movie. In short, the options students have to express comprehension of a subject matter and think critically about a topic, theme, or idea have been greatly expanded by the technological capabilities available through computers, the Internet, and social networking. It’s a phenomenon I call The Democratization of the Composition. It’s not that the written essay is being replaced. It’s that the written essay now has peers, each with its own requisite skill set that’s not necessarily any better or worse than any other educational tool students use to express their thinking and insights in the classroom. Indeed, the classroom composition is being democratized. Whether you like it or not, the facts are irrefutable. Digital literacy and technology have shifted the way our students can express their ideas, and the technological revolution has given wings to academic assignment alternatives in new, exciting, and sometimes disconcerting ways. However, at the end of the day, IT STILL ALL BEGINS WITH THE WRITING!
It all begins with the writing!
Every composition offered inside of The Composition JamBox begins with students thoughtfully, purposefully, and deeply writing. It is, in my firmest estimation, the centerpiece foundation, the Archimedean point, if you will, upon which all compositions must be built.
The point is non-negotiable. Strong writing leads to strong projects. Weak writing leads to weak projects. No writing leads to disastrous projects.
Once your students have done all the prewriting required to produce a high-quality composition, a great many options are provided for the expression and materialization of your students’ ideas. Of course, you can always assign the classic written essay, a staple of academia for centuries—and there is nothing wrong with doing so. (In fact, inside The Composition JamBox I do treat the written essay with a sort of “first among equals” mentality.) However, other tools are also available that tap into a host of various intelligences and abilities. I’d encourage you to consider them.
Whether you want to dive deeply into the application of 21st-century skills by bringing high-tech compositions into your classroom or you seek to reach back to the scholarly days (way back into the 20th century) and ask for compositions that require no technology, yet a whole heck of a lot of critical thinking, there are a variety of options available to you ;none more "right" or "wrong" than any other.
You choose. After all, you are the captain of your classroom's ship.
