Thursday, September 17, 2015

Digital Writing For Classrooms: WriteAbout - WOW

"A COMMUNITY WHERE STUDENTS ENGAGE IN HIGH-INTEREST WRITING FOR AN AUTHENTIC AUDIENCE AND TEACHERS HELP STUDENTS GROW THROUGH THE ENTIRE WRITING PROCESS"

The School-IT listserve (Steve Webster-SB) posted a question about student blogging - "What are you using for blogging these days? "This was my "hopeful' response- because it is new -I can't say I've used it for years, months or days- but I'm "all in" - I think they've thought of everything.

Write About - WriteAbout.com - a new social writing platform created by educators


Watch Cofounder Brad Wilson talk about how to shift away from talking about technology itself and instead, to talk about writing -an Ignite Talk at the Michigan Reading Assoc.
John Spencer http://www.spencerideas.org/  another cofounder see minute 5:30 on his TEDx Tallk https://youtu.be/F-Wm0glaZ7E
  • Kids can join groups within the WriteAbout community- they can post and submit to a group so that kids with the same interests can read and comment - connecting readers and writers with similar interests.
  • Students can record audio messages - teachers can leave in-text comments, private comments and audio messages.
  • There are 1000s? of visual & audio writing "ideas" - "Write About was built to be a part of the writing process in classrooms, helping students find an audience and teachers give personalized feedback. Social publishing and writing pedagogy are part of the same conversation, and these resources and lessons will help your class make the transition to digital writing!" **See ideas->ideas by genre
  • Everything is safe; all can be moderated by the teacher. No student email accounts
  • Outsiders can comment safely without being members (all guest comments are moderated by the teacher). Post to the world - a group-  or only the class- you decide
  • There are options for schools or districts who are looking for a writing and publishing platform - classroom options are not expensive
AND - IF you are participating in The Global Read Aloud - FREE Classroom PLUS membership for the year - built-in GROUPS & audience already there.


https://youtu.be/wecn3wb3zzs    short video about Write About


They know the rules: Students under the age of 13? Please ensure you have attained appropriate parental consent to use an online learning tool and for students to publish work online.
*You need permission for ANY site where under 13's are publishing




OK - if you made it this far - Wow! This was originally meant as a quick response to a listserve question from Steve Webster in S Burlington - "What are you using for blogging these days?"
Maybe it was because I was looking for the same thing- an authentic writing experience for students- I guess I am going "All In" - nothing to lose- lots of great resources created by educators who inspired me. - FYI - I am a believer in in all things GAFE - I don't think I have ever been a fan of "pay for" platforms- but it is just too hard to create something as big as this and make it free -I THINK this is something worth trying. If you have any thoughts or decide to dive in - I would love to hear about it.
Thanks,
Kari