Here Is A Very Good Tool for Writing Interactive Stories in Class

November 1, 2015
Inklewriter is a great free tool to use with students to write interactive stories. It provides a distraction-free and innovative environment where students can actively engage with their creative writing. Inklewriter allows students to branch their story with choices and then link them back again. It monitors every step in students writing process, what parts they have finished and which still need to be written.

Interactive stories created in Inklewriter can be easily published on the web or social media platforms giving student writers access to a wider readership. There is even the option to convert and export created stories to Kindle. Inklewriter is web-based and does not require any software installation. Students can work locally on stories, but to save their work, and return to it later, they'll need to register an account. The sign-up asks for an email address and a password. For students who don’t have emails, just give each student a unique name (including the school name), and enter that "@inklewriter". Then give them a password, so that if they forget it, you can remind them.

Watch the video below to learn more about Inklewriter

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Here Is A Great Tool to Help Students with Their Reading and Writing Process

October 17, 2015
Notetaker is an excellent tool from ReadWriteThink that students can use in their writing and reading activities. This is basically a hierarchical outlining tool that enables learners to create detailed outlines made up of five levels. Using the integrated editing features, students can easily add main and sub sections to their outlines, move text boxes up and down, zoom in and out and many more. Additionally, Notetaker provides three outline styles to choose from : bullet, Roman Numeral, and Letter. Students can choose the style they want to use and start working on their outlines.

There is also a separate section called ‘Notes’ where students can jot down side notes to accompany their outline. Outlines created via Notetaker are saved in HTML format which can be printed or edited later on using any HTML editor. Students can use Notetaker in their reading activities to ‘to compile and organize reading notes, research, and related ideas. During the writing process, students can use the tool to organize their information and plan texts in the prewriting stage and to review and structure their ideas during writing and revision.’

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Two Excellent Apps for Creative Writers

June 13, 2015
For serious writers looking for some very good apps to help them with their everyday writing, the two apps below are definitely what you are looking for. Both of these apps are available for Mac users at a reasonable price. Some of the features provided by these apps include: clutter and distraction free writing environment, simple yet powerful formatting options necessary for pure writing and a bunch of focus-enhancing functionalities to help you get your ideas on paper.

Typed

Typed provides writers with a powerful set of tools and features to enhance their writing experience and help them stay focused on the task at hand. It offer a clutter-free writing environment and embeds a wide variety of features that include: word count, automatically saves work, supports retrieve and edits, provides 8 calming soundtracks to help you concentrate on your writing and many more.

Paragraphs

Paragraphs is another wonderful writing app designed specifically to help you take your prose writing to the next level. With no distracting menus and no formatting options, Paragraphs has an ideal writing environment to help you focus on your writing. Select from 4 layout and font options optimized for writing. Or switch to dark mode for writing at night or a low light setting.

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Writing A-Z Adds New Interactive Online Writing Tools

May 19, 2015
New features have been added to the web-based writing resource Writing A-Z. With new student facing interactive writing tools and a redesigned site, teachers now have an even more comprehensive  writing product that delivers everything they need to improve the writing skills of their students.
The collection of interactive online writing tools allow students to apply their writing skills and creativity while creating their own books, writing essays, and completing specific process writing tasks. Students submit books and compositions to their teacher for posting to a classroom bookshelf or writing wall for classmates to read and respond to.

Additional new features include the ability for teachers to schedule and score writing assignments online, and to track individual and class-wide progress with digital reporting tools. Teachers have access to hundreds of leveled lessons, worksheets, and supporting resources designed for students at various developmental levels, from emerging writers just beginning to experiment with words and sounds, to writers ready to master the five steps of the writing process.

Post by Mikala

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4 Good Tech Tools for Teaching Writing

February 15, 2015
As an EdTech enthusiast, I am always looking for potent ways to leverage the power of digitality into my everyday learning. Writing is one of those areas where technology is definitely indispensable. Mistake me not! I am not talking here about using technology in the substitution level of SAMR model  even though such a use is also a welcome)  rather I am  alluding to those techie tools that can take your writing genius to the next level. Those tools that have the power to transform your writing creativity and boost your thinking fluency.

To this end, I am sharing with you a bunch of some interesting web tools and apps that you can use for yourself or with your students to help them with their writing. I learned about these tools from Writer’s Circle which is an excellent website for writing enthusiasts.

Please bear in mind, there is no shortcut to developing a better writing style and technology here is but a facilitator, a means to an end. It all depends on how much dedicated and committed you are to the act of writing and as Stephen King said ”when you sit down to write, write. Don’t do anything else except go to the bathroom, and only do that if it absolutely can not be put off.”

1- OmmWriter

OmmWriter provides you with a unique distraction free environment where you can write in peace. OmmWriter has three main features: beautiful backgrounds to hold your attention and set your writing mood; audio tracks for people who like to think with music; and keystroke sounds to support your every move on the keyboard.

2- Creativist

Creationist allows you to create multimedia stories using a wide variety of materials including: text, videos, audio, animation, maps, interactive elements and many more. Creationist also provides a plethora of published stories that others have shared and which you can use for inspirational writing ideas. There is also a community of writers and storytellers you can join and learn from them.

3- Scribophile

Scribophile is a respectful online writing group made up of writers who improve each other's work with thoughtful critiques and by sharing their writing experience. Scribophile is the writing group to join if you want to get the best feedback around, to learn how to get published, and to be a part of the friendliest and most successful writing workshop online.

4- Storymeter

Story meter is an iPad app that helps your creative writing by providing you with the tools to brainstorm, mind map and organize your notes and ideas. It also provide great writing tips to help you write better.Storymeter has this section with interesting video tutorials to help you learn about how you can use its feature in your writing.

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Grammarly -A Very Good Tool to Enhance Students' Writing Skills

February 6, 2015
Good teachers know that marking an answer wrong teaches nothing. Students will make that same error again unless they understand why an item is incorrect. Grammarly is a web tool geared to bridge the gap between feedback and learning.

What is Grammarly ? 
More than a spellchecker, Grammarly is an advanced software program designed to enhance writing by offering error explanations for more than 250 grammar issues that it monitors. The program suggests corrections and assistance to cite quotations in order to help its 4 million users to avoid plagiarism.

How does Grammarly Benefit Teachers ?
Many teachers use Grammarly as a tool to quickly and accurately grade their students’ work. At the same time, Grammarly helps to verify the authenticity of documents by checking for plagiarism.

How does Grammarly Benefit Students ?
Most students realize the importance of writing error-free college applications. Grammarly detects errors and provides valuable feedback to strengthen theses and essays. Students can customize the type of correction based on document types, such as admission letters, reports, or dissertations.

How to Access Grammarly
Grammarly is a free Chrome extension that integrates with your web browser to check the grammar of online writing from emails to Facebook comments. Grammarly also has a premium version that includes:

• More than 250 checks for sentence structure, writing style issues, and effective vocabulary suggestions
• Customized-writing corrections for over 30 document types from student essays to a business proposal
• A Microsoft Office Add-in for Windows

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ProjectWriter- A Great New Tool for Group Writing Projects

January 8, 2015

I just learned through this press release that the popular Boom Writer announced today the release of  ProjectWriter. This is a tool that  teachers can use to conduct engaging nonfiction group-writing projects with their students for Science, History, & more. "ProjectWriter is ideal for dissecting whole units of study into smaller sections, letting students demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the key concepts and terms being taught."

Here how you can use ProjectWriter with your students:

1- Create a project

First up, create your project. Imagine you’re teaching a unit on Ancient Rome with the primary learning objectives consisting of Geography, Culture, Government, and Religion. Simply create a section for each of these areas of focus. The project will go one section at a time in the order you’ve set.

2- Start section 1

Enter assignment instructions for your students. For example, ask them to write a summary of a unit’s particular area of focus including particular vocabulary words or terms to be included in the piece. Include a max word count to give them an idea of how much they should write.When you’re ready, start the writing phase and set a deadline for students to complete their entries by.

3- Let your students write

Each student writes their entry for the section and submits it to you for approval. As students submit their finished pieces, you can review and approve or request revisions if needed. You’ll also be able to give individualized feedback on each student’s entry.

4- Peer sharing and review

Students then peer review their classmates’ anonymous entries before voting for the piece they think is best. Students review no more than four submissions at a time, and they can vote more than once. 

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