Tech Complements Writing Conferences Critical for Writing Growth

Teaching writing does not have to be this way:

1. Assign a random or irrelevant writing prompt with teacher as sole audience or an unknown audience.
2. Expect impeccable writing skills from every student. 
3. Skip any type of modeling of the type of writing to be done. Students should all know how to write by now. 
4. Provide no rubric, or checklist or give rubrics and checklists students don't understand. 
5. Complain when students don't live up to high expectations; blame the previous year's  teacher(s) for students' inability to write. 
6. Accumulate piles of student writing assignments on or underneath desk, on empty book shelves, all over other classroom spaces, or scatter them on floor of the backseat of a car. 
7. Tell students and parents you have a tendency to lose writing assignments so they need to keep extra copies.
8. Procrastinate grading student writing for months.  Spend weekend before grades are due grading students' writing, including lengthy comments on every student's paper about skills students are clueless about.
9. Mark up almost every grammar mistake in red, purple, pink or green. 
10. Return writing assignment a month later with a letter grade; let students trash it, or file writing away in student folders never to be seen again.  

Repeat every few weeks, and complain all year students can't write to save their lives!

RESULTS:
So many students can't write to save their lives! "Only roughly one quarter of eighth and 12th graders are proficient in writing, according to results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress' first-ever computer-based writing assessment." 

• How do students learn writing is a process without ever speaking to their teachers at different stages of writing? 
• How do students learn how to interpret and apply feedback to correct mistakes and grow as writers if writing is returned to them without any chance of conversation to understand and correct errors? 

So many students develop a negative attitude about the writing process and their own ability to express themselves in writing because there is no modeling or discussion at different stages of the writing process. Prompts are assigned; students write in isolation; teachers grade and return writing without discussion; writing piece is never seen again. Then, we wonder why so many colleges now require freshmen writing courses to ensure students have basic writing skills to survive.

SOLUTIONS:
One of the most important activities when teaching writing is the act of conferencing with students.   In so many classrooms, overcrowding, time constraints, and lack of teacher training in teaching writing, among other factors, prevent students from experiencing what it means to talk about writing so they can grow as writers. There's nothing more damaging to student writers, especially a struggling reader/writer, than a writing assignment without any teacher modeling of the type of writing to be done, and no opportunity to talk with the teacher throughout the writing process.

Individual writing conferences with students serve many purposes, save time in the long run, and improve students' writing ability, and confidence in the power of editing and revising. In the beginning stages, conferencing with students involves concerted time and effort for the teacher to establish routines and structures for students to internalize. Conferencing is not easy and can be exhausting at first; however, the time and energy teachers dedicate to teaching the act of conferencing are well worth it because ultimately, student teacher conferences reduce the amount of time teachers spend identifying fault in student writing so they can focus instead on what's right.  

There are many tech tools with specific features which facilitate and complement writing conferences. For example, on Word or Google Docs, teachers can use the "Insert Comment" feature to add feedback prior to a face to face writing conference.  Adding these written comments and following-up with a conference to discuss the comments are always the most effective way for students to benefit from the feedback; otherwise, written feedback, without a one-on-one discussion, will often fall on deaf ears...or should I say eyes. Struggling writers will rarely read teacher comments or understand how to apply the feedback to improve their writing because they simply haven't been taught how. There has to be an opportunity to talk with the teacher about the feedback for growth to occur. We want students to internalize basic writing traits but circling them in red ink accomplishes nothing; we have to talk about the mistakes with students individually or in small groups. We must ask students questions as they write so they learn how to ask themselves questions.

Unfortunately, so many classrooms are often overcrowded with 40 plus students making conferencing difficult, but teachers must find creative ways to overcome this problem.  Here are some tips for formal and informal writing conferences:

• If class time is not long enough, use tech tools like Vyew.com, Skype, Collaborizeclassroom,  or Google Hangouts to hold individual writing conferences after school while students are at home. You can even involve parents if you like to participate during the writing conference.
• Pair up students according to their writing strengths and challenges so they can mentor each other prior to their individual conference. Be sure not to pair an extremely low student with an extremely high achieving student. The point is not for one student to do all the work for another, but rather for both to be able to help each other identify areas for improvement.  Model what effective peer editing looks and sounds like. Provide students with a list of questions they need to ask themselves and their partner about each others' writing. Have students read their writing aloud.
• Plan ahead and prepare. What will students do while you are busy conferencing with individual students? Prior to holding conferences, provide specific instruction of writing tasks students should perform independently, in pairs or small groups. Discuss norms beforehand and let students know exactly what you expect them to do. Be sure to discuss what you expect in terms of noise level, interruptions, mobility and work completion while you are conferencing.   
• Structure informal and formal conference sessions so students receive the time and attention they need. Walk around the classroom, stopping by to "chat" with students as they write to monitor student progress, answer questions and provide encouragement. Determine at what stages in the writing process you want to formally confer with students or set up a sign-up sheet so students choose when they are ready to confer. Also, determine how you will follow-up when necessary. Spend between 5 to 15 minutes per student in class, but obviously, if students need more time, schedule a time before, after school, in person or online using one of the tech tools mentioned.  If students are working on a longer piece, prior to conferencing, reading through a writing piece to pinpoint skills or traits you want to address saves time as well as having students generate questions they want answered about their writing. Having a checklist of traits and questions to address during the conference can also help move the conference along smoothly.  
• Monitoring and assessing mastery of skills can also be done through conferencing. Keep notes on each student about the skills or traits discussed at each conference. If you identify a particular skill a student needs to master, make note of it and follow up with that student to assess student mastery. During the editing and revising process, allow students plenty of opportunities to write drafts until they are able to show mastery of the skill or trait discussed. 
• Focus on a few traits or skills at a time so that the entire writing workshop process is not overwhelming for both teacher and student. The goal is for students to show growth even if  it's just one minor aspect of their writing. Significant growth will happen over time after extensive writing practice and opportunities to conference.  

Writing Conferences allow TEACHERS to:

• identify individual students' writing strengths and challenges.
• build rapport, gain student trust and instill importance of writing as a process.
• listen to student attitudes and concerns about writing 
• ask students questions about writing craft
• pinpoint specific writing traits to teach, reteach and reinforce individually, or in small or large groups.
• share, discuss and explain specific examples or solutions with students tailored for their individual writing challenges.
• personalize and differentiate instruction by focusing on what each individual student needs to successfully engage in the writing process.

Writing Conferences allow STUDENTS to:

• ask and answer questions about the writing craft they may hesitate to ask in a large group. 
• discuss specific aspects about a writing piece at various stages of the writing process.
• brainstorm ideas with the teacher's guidance.
• read writing aloud to the teacher to learn how to edit and revise.
• learn why we write and how to improve their own writing.
• learn how to interpret teacher feedback and generate feedback for a peer.
• learn how to carry out the role of peer editor through the experience of the teacher-student conference. 
• internalize specific writing skills because of the opportunity to talk about, practice and apply the specific skill. 

If we want our students to be effective writers, then we must talk with them about their writing. We must be introspective about how we teach writing, so we can teach students to become introspective about their own writing. Writing cannot be a silent or solitary activity. Regardless of age or ability level, all students have a voice worthy of expression in writing.   Tech tools today complement writing conferences and help teachers overcome whatever issues may have prevented writing workshop success in the past.  Writing conferences build a community of writers and thinkers. When we empower students to talk about writing, students' natural desire for self-expression will always prevail over choosing to be off-task.

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Teaching Tots to Twitter Instills Love of Writing: Part II Transform Teaching With Twitter

If students learn to tweet in the primary grades, is it possible we may begin to see an improvement over time in students' writing skills and overall attitude toward writing? I believe Twitter, if properly implemented, can support writing and reading instruction and promote a love of writing. Twitter in the elementary classroom can be essential for establishing the mind-set for students that they all have something worthwhile to say in writing, and there are actual readers of all ages, i.e., parents, family, teachers, administrators and even other students, who are eager to read what they say.  For various reasons, writing can be a difficult task for so many students, and for teachers it is often difficult to teach, but what if Twitter served as a teaching aid to motivate reluctant writers and thinkers. What if students had daily Twitter tasks to show them at an early age that: 

• writing allows us to express our thoughts, emotions, experiences, imaginations, etc.
• writing allows us to connect with others.
• writing does not have to be perfect; we can always correct our errors.  
• writing does not have to be a tedious, isolated activity, but can be interactive.
• writing involves careful editing and revising.
• writing involves careful deliberation of our words, grammar and punctuation. 
• writing impacts and influence others.   

Twitter can become a teaching tool to instill a positive mind set about writing, and help young students internalize how writing is an essential aspect of communication,  involving careful attention to so many language arts skills.  Rather than assigning writing prompts with the teacher as the sole reader, Twitter can enable students to directly and concisely communicate in writing with an authentic audience and an unlimited number of readers. Although a tweet is 140 characters or less, tweets can serve as a springboard for lengthier writing tasks and with proper teacher modeling and coaching, students can see the impact, influence and power their words have on others as they create content and receive tweets. Twitter can revitalize writing instruction and inspire students to take on lengthier writing tasks if we use Twitter to build students' confidence in their writing skills.  Twitter can also support grammar instruction if we use tweets to model mini lessons on specific grammar traits. No need to teach grammar in isolation anymore; when composing tweets, students see, revise and edit a specific grammar trait in action. 

Please check out this insightful article: "Twittering About Learning" http://www.essentialschools.org/resources/451 where one teacher describes his experiences with  Twitter in the elementary classroom. Read how this educator has created student Twitter opportunities to tweet audio clips using Chirbit.com to support reading instruction. Students practice their reading fluency, phrasing, intonation, and rate and record themselves reading a text. They record their read alouds using Chirbit.com, and then use Twitter to share the chirbit.com audio clips with their Twitter followers http://www.chirbit.com/room302.   Check out his students' tweets and the many ways he uses Twitter Classroom Twitter: http://twitter.com/room302.  I would love to hear how are you using, or how you plan to use Twitter in your elementary classroom.    

Here are my A to Z twitter tasks for the elementary classroom, and a video by Elbert Chu on how Tots Tweet In Kindergarten!


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Writing's A Smash @ Storymash.com!

How do we build a community of writers and readers in our classrooms? How do we teach students to give, receive and apply feedback? Storymash.com can help students experience the writing process first hand! 

First, students post their writing in the form of a draft. Each draft posted is considered a chapter regardless of the genre. Storymash.com attaches a discussion forum to the post so any reader on the site can post feedback, or even provide extension ideas for the piece. Any reader can also choose a featured draft and take the storyline in a different direction or change the genre completely. Hence, the name storymash.com since all visitors to the site can potentially "mash" their stories. 

Once a student receives feedback, students apply the feedback and repost the revised piece, making it available for further peer review and ranking, but best of all, for the possibility to earn MONEY! 

In the draft stage of the writing process on storymash.com, only the student can edit the piece, but once the student has edited the piece, he/she will repost the piece as "published. As a "published" piece on storymash.com, writing can no longer be edited by students, but readers can still comment, and rank the writing. If the piece becomes popular, then students earn revenue for their writing through the page advertisements. Storymash.com also offer writing contests with prices over $500!  (Please visit storymash.com for a more detailed explanation on how revenue potential works. I could definitely see how a school could create an account and use the revenue for school needs, or how students can create personal accounts with parent permission and see how they can earn money through their writing.) 

Storymash.com helps students understand writing requires reflection, collaboration and revision.  I hope writing will be a smash in your classroom at storymash.com! 

(Disclaimer: This site is open to anyone, so teachers should ask for parent permission/school approval before registering since content of published stories will vary, and may include mature themes. Teachers can still use storymash.com to have students post their own stories, but monitor what stories students read on storymash.com.)

Think Collaboratively: Mix and Match Your Ink!

MixedInk.com leads the way in supporting collaborative writing and critical thinking. Students not only write original content, they also practice how to edit, comment and rate their peers' writing. Students evaluate each classmates' content and synthesize the best ideas, mixing and matching different versions to ultimately create one best piece representing the collective voice of the class. Every student's voice is heard because MixedInk.com identifies key words and phrases giving each original author credit for his/her contributions. As students mix and match their words with those of their peers, they receive real time examples of other classmates who have used the same language. These real time suggestions encourage students to elaborate, and expand on the ideas of their peers. Every student is accountable to write and contribute his/her thoughts. Throughout this collaborative writing process, students rate each text anonymously practicing the art of constructive criticism and evaluation. Students' ratings determine the best contributions. Teachers can easily assess writing strengths and weaknesses as students engage in the collaborative writing process.

   

Writers' Workshop Works Better with Paperrater!

Teachers know how difficult the editing and revising stages of writing can be. Along comes Paperrater.com to help students improve their writing skills. With this free resource, students upload their writing and paperrater.com checks it for plagiarism, style, grammar, spelling, word choice and overall quality. Paperrater.com offers specific suggestions for improvement, and assigns a grade to writing. Paperrater.com even offers a printable writing summary report with a detailed explanation, tip and/or suggestion for improvement for each of the different writing traits analyzed.

Regardless of grade level or subject matter, I definitely see how teachers could assign students to upload their writing to paperrater.com before holding individual or small group writing conferences. Students can bring their writing summary report to a writing conference with the teacher or writing workshop with peers to discuss the suggested editing and revisions. Paperrater.com has the potential to save teachers a lot of time, and obviously students benefit from the specific feedback. Students can submit the writing summary reports with their papers, and teachers can identify common needs to design specific writing mini lessons; teachers can also use the feedback on each student's summary report to pair up students according to writing strengths and weaknesses. Students can also make revisions, resubmit their writing and compare initial and final drafts to demonstrate growth. 

What other uses can you generate for paperrater.com?

Unlike other online writing analysis software, there is nothing to download, paperrater.com is absolutely free, and has a higher degree of accuracy because not only does it use artificial intelligence, the site is also maintained by linguists who have developed according to Paperrater.com: "a core Natural Language Processing (NLP) engine using statistical and rules based NLP to extract language features from essays and robustly translate that into statistical models."  So, it's ok to trust paperrater.com when they identify a fragment, a misspelled word, or wordiness because the site is run by writing experts. I tried paperrater.com using this particular text, and here are is my printable summary report.  

I guess a B ain't so bad...(I mean isn't)!

One Word Enhances The Journaling Experience!

When I was a kid, I hated walking into my English class to face the drudgery of the daily journal topic the teacher’s pet had written sloppily on the chalkboard. I loved writing, but boy, did I hate the routine of journal writing day in and day out. I hated the dumb prompts, the lack of follow-up with a discussion...there was no such thing as discussions back then...,and I knew my teacher never read a single word I wrote. I didn’t mind being asked to write, but I didn’t like that we had to write on command every day for 180 days at the same time about the same irrelevant topics without any type of engagement.  So, I vowed that one day when I became an English teacher, I would not resort or depend on the daily journal topic so I could take attendance and tend to other housekeeping duties. My students would have different writing experiences everyday at different times throughout a class period, and for the last 20 years I have tried my best to keep that promise.  

I have had many discussions with other educators about the effective use of the daily 15 to 20 minute “journaling” conducted at the beginning of a class period. For me journaling should not be forced, and definitely not scheduled so a teacher could tend to clerical responsibilities. I have always felt that journaling must be as spontaneous as possible, and if not, should be prompted from thought-provoking readings, current events, or any other inspiring written or non written text.  I believe students know when we assign journaling to keep them busy, and it’s a crime when students are forced to "journal" 180 days of the year, yet have no opportunity to share their writing, or give or receive writing feedback.  

Today, web tools make the academic or personal journaling experience exciting and meaningful for all students, and offer the most important tool of all, the ability for students to share their writing with a community of writers, and the opportunity for feedback from diverse readers, not just their teachers. The comment and share features web tools offer have redefined feedback.  Students are motivated to learn this valuable skill as they strive to join writing communities.

Oneword.com is a great web tool that allows students to practice a myriad of writing skills, specifically free-writing, and sharing with an online community if they choose to join the site. Users sign in free and see one word at the top of the screen; they have sixty seconds to just write about that one word. Students can choose to add their writing or keep it private, but if they add it, they will see the variety of responses for the one word prompt. Teachers can even use other contributors' responses as opportunities for revision and editing exercises. The learning opportunities are endless since students could analyze how other writers use different writing traits, such as figurative language, active vs. passive verbs, imagery, punctuation, and more.  Oneword.com supports so many different writing mini lessons from grammar to literary elements, to a writer’s voice and diction.  

Oneword.com is not the only web tool in cyberspace that supports the writing process and journaling.  Of course there are blogs, wikis, and digital diaries like my-diary.org, deardiary.net, or livejournal.com.  All of these options enable students to join a community of writers, provide opportunities for self-expression and creativity, and offer opportunities to practice revision and editing. The only disclaimer is that many of these tools are open to anyone so teachers have to be careful with inappropriate content kids could end up reading. 

Here are some examples of safe web tools all students could use for journaling:

Ever thought of using Voicethread.com as a type of Dialogue Journal. Students upload a thought-provoking image or video, and each student adds his/her written and/or verbal reflections. 

Kidblog.org can be used effectively to build Literary Journals focusing on reflecting or answering prompts about specific genres, themes, characters, conflicts, plot events, and other aspects of written or non-written texts.

How about using Glogster.com or Tumblr.com to create Subject Journals? Students not only add text and images, but all types of multimedia and widgets to explore one particular subject.  

Electronic journaling can satisfy every student’s need for self-expression or kill creativity if not used effectively. Journals can take many shapes, but whatever the purpose of the journal, students today are lucky to have tech tools that spare them from the monotony of the daily journal topic, and help them improve their writing skills. 

Take a look at a sample sharing page from Oneword.com. After having 60 seconds to write about the one word of the day, students have the option to post their writing to the community of writers.