Supporting+Writing+with+Technology

=Supporting Writing Organization and Planning=

//Concept mapping is a process of identifying important concepts, arranging those concepts spatially, identifying relationships among those concepts, and labeling the nature of the relationships among those concepts.// (p. 62)

www.bubbl.us www.prezi.com

=Supporting Presentation Writing=

PowerPoint can help students create effective presentations:

 * There is an autoContent wizard to help students set up presentations
 * PowerPoint offers an outline view - this is helpful for students (easy editing in an organized way) and teachers (quick way to see how the student organized the presentation)
 * Hierarchical organization of text - can help students "consider the relationships between concepts on individual slides." (p. 68)
 * Can insert links to different applications, such as //Word//, //Excel//, videos, Web pages
 * Notes - students can write detailed notes about each slide; students can use these notes when presenting; helps students learn to only put key points on a slide and put details in the notes.

Potential PowerPoint Pitfalls:

 * Using too many fonts
 * Too many slide transitions - these can be a distraction
 * Incongruous slide templates - the templates are "cool" but don't match the topic
 * Too many slides - it's so easy to make slides that students are tempted to make more slides rather than carefully designing the information

How to counteract potential pitfalls:

 * provide guidelines and requirements - for example, limit the number of slides, number of fonts, and transitions
 * use phased approach - students must develop the text first, then add images, etc.; use "placeholder" text or slides to plan for images or graphs or animation
 * let students evaluate other presentations (from the Internet) with you in class and discuss the evaluation

Supporting Creative Writing
Technology can help motivate students to write if the writing is published in some form. Placing student work on the Internet for public access can help inspire students to take their work more seriously and reflect at a different level.

@http://www.kidscribe.org - forum for publishing personal writing @http://www.scholastic.com - publication of poetry and other forms of writing @http://www.poetryforge.com - tools for creative poetry writing

Supporting Collaborative Writing
In collaborative writing, roles are often assigned (editor, reporter, leader, etc.). Technology tools can help support collaborative writing. Instant messaging, email, or other software than allows synchronous or asynchronous collaboration can get students engaged in the following activities: >
 * brainstorming topics and ideas
 * organizing and structuring the writing
 * generating text
 * editing text
 * making meaning of the above
 * Supporting the social aspects of collaborative writing guidelines**
 * 1) structure activities at the beginning of the project to build cohesion between the collaborators and to establish positive interpersonal relationships
 * 2) Help students work out effective meeting or working procedures.
 * 3) Establish up front expectation for participation in the project.
 * 4) Pay attention to students who are more susceptible to marginalization, isolation, or being left out.
 * 5) Have students use collaborative writing software/web site (google docs, wiki, etc.) before embarking on a major collaborative writing task.

@http://www.writely.com - can facilitate collaborative writing Word Google Docs Wiki's
 * resources**:

Supporting Peer Feedback on Writing