An analysis on keyboard writing skills in online learning

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the application of `EDMODO´ - a social networking tool in teaching writing skills among students in Sultan Idris Education University. This research has been conducted among 30 first year students of Tamil Course. The guiding research questions for this study were (1) what are the differences in terms of thinking skills found between keyboarding and handwriting? (2) How often does students involve in using social networking as an education tool? Instruments used for this research were subjective questions and questionnaire. Student´s comments were analyzed using Thinking Moves which is based on Bloom´s Revised Thinking Taxonomy. From the research it has been concluded that complex thinking skills such as analyzing, evaluating and creating were not reflected completely in keyboarding compared to handwriting skills. Research findings also revealed the mistakes made by the students during keyboarding which was rare in handwriting. The outcome of the analysis suggests that application of social networking in teaching writing skills need to be revised as it does not encourages student to think deeper. It should be used wisely during teaching and learning.