Using Digital Journals to Write throughout the Curriculum

Abstract

Digital journals are far- reaching resources for the teaching process at higher education contexts, as it has been stated in several research works. In that sense, the purpose of this article is to describe the didactic sequence followed to build up a digital journal in the curricular unit Teoría del Significado (Semantics theory) which belongs in the syllabus of the speciality the Lengua y Literatura (Spanish Language and Literature) at the Pedagogical Experimental University Libertador Venezuela (UPEL). The study is theoretically based on the Writing Throughout the Curriculum Approach. The participants were four female students. The execution of the didactic sequence was developed through different stages: planning of the global writing tasks, preparation of the contents and the building of the journal. The results show a positive assessment of the experience, given that the students met the expected competencies for the course and developed digital skills through strategies of collaborative and individual work. The teaching work was oriented toward cognitive mediation during the process of creation of the didactic resource. Regarding the conflicts experimented, it is worth mentioning they were overcome thanks to the motivational and the affective factors involved.