The Effectiveness of Online Writing Labs (OWLs)

As the year 2015 quickly approaches, one interesting educational
technology tool to keep an eye is Online Writing Labs or OWLs. These
writing tools are designed to engage high school and college students in
improving their writing skills to fit what college professors are
looking for in essays and reports. More importantly, OWLs focus on
improving writing in general, an important skill to have in all careers,
regardless of the exact field of study in college. Different colleges
such as Purdue University and Excelsior College offer their versions of
OWLs online at no cost to users.



As OWLs are an online based technology, they can be accessed 24/7 from
any laptop, tablet, or other device from any place with an internet
connection.

Within the OWLs offered by Excelsior College, there are 8 different
modules for improving college level writing. There are modules that
focus on the actual process of writing. These processes  help students
think about how they should go about brainstorming, developing
arguments, looking at opposing viewpoints, and more. From there,
students can find modules that help lay the foundations of what to
include in their introductions and main content. In a series of fun to
read and interactive instructional pages, students can also learn how to
write without plagiarizing, control their voice, develop concise yet
effective thesis statements and more. Plus, these pages include tips on
how to revise and edit their papers so students can easily understand
what areas their professors are focusing on during the grading process.
One study showed that, on average, students using OWLs raised their
final grade in a course by 6.6 points. While this is great for
students’ transcripts in the short term, the long term benefit is
improved writing styles which they will inevitably take with them beyond
their educational career.



In addition to OWLs pages of content for improving writing, Excelsior
College’s OWL  includes modules on how to craft writing for different
audiences. There is an essay module and a grammar module which guides
students  on how to write in the type of rhetoric that professors look
for while retaining the proper grammar and format in their college
essays. Another module that is especially useful is the digital writing
module which instructs students on how to write for readers in the 21st
Century. This includes information on writing blogs, discussion
boards, online journals, social media, and more. To help pull all of
these skills together, there is an interactive game called Paper Capers,
which helps students apply what they have learned in the OWL. The game
is designed to teach students how to understand the writing process and
apply their knowledge by answering questions and judging if aspects of
writing, such as different thesis statements and research methods, are
effective.



Overall, regardless of the field of study in college, writing is an
important skill which will follow students for the rest of their lives.
Therefore, OWLs are a great resource for students  as they contain a
wealth of knowledge and interactive media for improving writing skills
and style at no cost. Plus, the programs online format enables them to
be accessible from anywhere with any device at anytime. OWLs will no
doubt go on to improve the quality of education as more students can
utilize technology towards improving their education.