Responding to ‘Newness’ in Primary Writing Instruction: Potentials and Limits of the Digital Writing Environment Skribi
Submitted by:
Juliane Tolle
Abstract:
The promise of innovation through digital tools often creates a sense of urgency in education, with schools expected to respond quickly to new developments (KMK, 2021). In literacy education - particularly in primary schools - there is a growing need for critical, pedagogically informed responses that move beyond enthusiasm or rejection. This paper explores the digital writing environment Skribi, reflecting on its potential and limitations in shaping young learners' literacy practices.
Skribi enables children to plan, compose and revise texts on tablets. It supports learners by breaking down writing into manageable steps (planning, composing, revising) and encourages digital writing strategies such as reorganising content and engaging in peer feedback (Krelle, 2015). Rather than seeing Skribi as a disruptive innovation, this paper positions it as a site where continuity and change in writing instruction intersect.
Digital writing tools are not neutral - they are embedded in pedagogical and institutional contexts. Building on critical scholarship (Li & Cumming, 2022), the paper situates Skribi within broader debates about how literacy is mediated and experienced in an age of digital schooling.
The paper responds to the symposium theme by asking: What is ‘new’ about digitally supported writing instruction? How can tools like Skribi enable inclusive, student-centred writing practices - and what are their limitations?
Skribi was commissioned by the North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry of Education and is currently being trialled in schools. Skribi stands for a more reflective approach to technology that critically questions digitalisation and focuses on meaningful reading and writing experiences.
KMK (Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs). (2021). Teaching and learning in the digital world: The supplementary recommendation to the strategy "Education in the digital world". Resolution from 09.12.2021. https://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/veroeffentlichungen_beschluesse/2021/2021_12_09-Lehren-und-Lernen-Digi.pdf (in German)
Krelle, M. (2015). Writing competence and digital text types. In J. Knopf (Ed.), Diversity of media in language education: Findings and perspectives for theory, empirical research, and practice (pp. 76–85). Baltmannsweiler. (in German)
Li, L., & Cumming, A. (2022). Effects of digital technology on primary students’ writing performance: A meta-analysis. Computers & Education, 186, 104530. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2022.104530