Reinventing Writing

The 9 Tools That Are Changing Writing, Teaching, and Learning Forever

Vicki Davis

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317821083
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Éducation
• Subtopic: Éducation secondaire

In this much-anticipated book from acclaimed blogger Vicki Davis (Cool Cat Teacher), you'll learn the key shifts in writing instruction necessary to move students forward in today's world. Vicki describes how the elements of traditional writing are being reinvented with cloud-based tools. Instead of paper, note taking, filing cabinets, word processors, and group reports, we now have tools like ePaper, eBooks, social bookmarking, cloud syncing, infographics, and more. Vicki shows you how to select the right tool, set it up quickly, and prevent common mistakes. She also helps you teach digital citizenship and offers exciting ways to build writing communities where students love to learn.

Special Features:
•Essential questions at the start of each chapter to get you thinking about the big ideas
•A chapter on each of the nine essential cloud-based tools--ePaper and eBooks; digital notebooks; social bookmarking; cloud syncing; cloud writing apps; blogging and microblogging; wikis and website builders; online graphic organizers and mind maps; and cartoons and infographics
•A wide variety of practical ways to use each tool in the classroom
•Alignments to the Common Core State Standards in writing
•Level Up Learning--a special section at the end of each chapter to help you review, reflect on, and apply what you've learned
•Writing tips to help you make the best use of the tools and avoid common pitfalls
•A glossary of key terms discussed in the book
•Useful appendices, including reproducible material for your classroom

No matter what grade level you teach or how much tech experience you have, you will benefit from Vicki's compelling and practical ideas. As she emphasizes throughout this essential book, teaching with cloud-based tools has never been easier, more convenient, or more important than right now.

Part I
Get to Know the New Writing

1
How Is Writing Reinvented?

You can’t just drop new innovations into a classroom and hope that the instructor will invent effective ways to use them. To fully utilize a new teaching technology you often need to invent new teaching practices as well. ¹

—John Seely Brown, Visiting Scholar, University of Southern California @jseelybrown

Essential Questions

• Does student writing improve with these new writing tools?
• Can I change how I teach writing and meet standards?

Overview

Today’s students should be transliterate. Transliteracy is defined as “the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media from signing and orality through handwriting, print, TV, radio and film, to digital social networks.”²

Reinventing Writing is a book written for modern educators to help you select the right tool for teaching purposes, to determine how to set it up quickly, and to prevent common mistakes. You’ll learn how implementing these tools is easier, more convenient, and more important than ever.

Foster powerful writing communities that enhance and improve the writing of everyone in that community. As teacher Sandy Wisneski says, “I struggle to get the rigor into writing.” The first step to preparing to reinvent your writing is to understand its importance and benefits. This chapter covers the why as well as how this book will help you. It will teach you how you can do these even if you’re using the new Common Core (or any) standards.

What Are the 9 Essential Electronic Tools?

I want every teacher to find these new tools approachable. You can do it! The familiar tools you know have just gone online. These new tools also let you do some great things with students you couldn’t do before with paper. For your students to get the benefit of these new instructional capabilities, you’ve got to get this into your own mind first.

tip

What is the Difference Between “Digital” and “E”

You’ll notice two words—digital and electronic (or “e”)—used interchangeably in this book and online. What is the difference between a digital notebook and an electronic notebook (called an eNotebook)? For all practical purposes, none. These terms are used interchangeably. So, whether called a digital notebook or an eNotebook, it doesn’t matter. This can be applied to digital notecards or eNotecards and other technologies discussed in this book. I’ve tried to use what felt comfortable from my own speaking and teaching, but use what works for you.

Book Structure

You’re in the first part of this book (Part I) where we learn the basics. Then, in Part II, we learn about the nine types of tools. In Part III, we learn practical ways to implement the tools. Let’s take a quick look at the nine tools.

The 9 Essential Electronic Tools

Reinventing Paper: ePaper and eBooks (Chapter 3)

You’ll learn how to read and print ePaper from word processors and other programs you already use. You’ll find great sources of free, legal eBooks, how to highlight and take notes in them, and how they are being used in the classroom.

Reinventing Notetaking: Digital Notebooks (Chapter 4)

Modern students take pictures and write notes on their smartphones or tablets. The system isn’t smart if they can’t find their notes later. We’ll discuss notetaking skills for the modern student, and you’ll likely make your own life simpler as we explore Evernote and OneNote.

Reinventing Notecards: Social Bookmarking (Chapter 5)

The modern notecard is the social bookmark. Learn how to use this tool for research, to track citations, to share, and to give feedback to your students. eNotecards make research easier.

Reinventing the Filing Cabinet and Inbox: Cloud Syncing (Chapter 6)

Electronic filing cabinets are made possible with new cloud sync tools like Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and iCloud. This chapter will share simple concepts for setting up your electronic filing cabinet, how to go as paperless as possible in your classroom, and how to find your files.

Reinventing Word Processors: Cloud Writing Apps (Chapter 7)

Learn powerful new revision techniques made possible by updates to the word processors you are already used to. The workflow of report writing and term papers can become easier if you understand this chapter.

Reinventing Journals and Reports: Blogging and Microblogging (Chapter 8)

Understand how the traditional forms of writing relate to blogging and how you can start using blogs with your students. Learn the new techniques made possible with blogging that you need to teach your students so they are prepared for college and beyond. Microblogging and Twitter in the classroom are also covered so you can use these with your students.

Reinventing Group Reports: Wikis and Website Builders (Chapter 9)

A powerful new form of collaborative academic writing has emerged using the wiki. This type of group writing is used widely in colleges and companies. Learn wiki basics and how to use them with your students. Website builders are another option for building professional websites that students can use for personal sites and eFolios.

Reinventing Prewriting: Graphic Organizers, Mind Mapping, and More (Chapter 10)

Build a prewriting toolkit to use with your students so no matter what type of writing task is at hand, students know how to begin organizing their ideas so they can write.

Reinventing Illustrations: Infographics and Graphics that Add Meaning (Chapter 11)

A picture is worth a thousand words, but online, a thousand words with no pictures is worthless. Infographics, cartoons, and photographs are all ways to enhance writing.

What Other Things Do We Need to Know to Write Collaboratively?

Reinventing Citizenship: 9 Key Ps for Safety and Success (Chapter 12)

The greatest protective software is the human brain. You are only as safe as the decisions you and your students make. Don’t be afraid, be educated.

Making Your Job Easier: Building Writing Communities Where Students Love to Learn (Chapter 13)

If you want to change your life, change your habits. If you want to change your classroom, influence the habits of your students. Learn key habits and how to influence students to improve writing skills for everyone.

Stay Sane, Stay Innovative: An Action Plan for a Lifetime of Innovation in the Classroom (Chapter 14)

The emotion of feeling outdated and overwhelmed is overtaking too many good educators. There is something you can do. You can even fall in love with teaching again.

Features

In this book I include links, Twitter handles, and additional information on the online wiki accompanying this book (http://writinginthecloud.wikispaces.com). Each tool chapter includes a comparison of the tool to the traditional ways of writing, examples for how the tool can be used in the classroom, and common mistakes teachers make with the tool and how to prevent them.

At the end of each chapter, in the “Level Up Learning” section, there is a Chapter Review and a Challenge. If you’re leading a book study or professional development course, use these challenges and then set learning goals with three Next Practices. Finally, I give you writing prompts to Share what you’ve learned with others. You’ll also see Chapter Collaborative Credits for parts of this book that were reviewed and commented on by fellow teachers.

Additional Resources

In the back of this book are practical resources and reproducibles to help you. In Appendix A, I have four simple steps to plan your electronic writing projects with chapter references. Appendix B summarizes the Common Core Standards as I reference them in this book. Appendix C gives you a useful during-class writing checklist for students. Appendix D gives you resources for building student PLNs. Appendix E is a checklist of the most common pages teachers need when they are creating a website where s...