Writing Tools
Clever Keys
Screen-shot of Clever keys
Clever keys is a free software that provides instant accesses to definitions, thesauruses, references and more. This software is available on almost all Windows or Mac OS programs. Clever keys can look up information from word processors, web browsers, and e-mail programs. This software will help students with reading and writing difficulties because it will provide students with definitions, synonyms and references to other sources with just the click of a mouse. Once Clever keys is downloaded on the computer, the software is ready to use. To use Clever keys, the students highlight the word they are unfamiliar with and click 'Ctrl" and 'l'. After hitting these two keys, a new tab on the internet will open up to dictionary.com and provide the student with the definition of the word they are seeking. When dictionary.com opens, it offers the students the option to listen to the word, translate the word, or will instantly take the student to thesaurus.com.
This software can be used on the internet, email or word document; it is available on-demand so it does not clutter up ones desktop. This software helps to benefit students who have a struggling vocabulary and make it easy for students to look up words they are unfamiliar with.
This software can be used on the internet, email or word document; it is available on-demand so it does not clutter up ones desktop. This software helps to benefit students who have a struggling vocabulary and make it easy for students to look up words they are unfamiliar with.
IntelliKeys
IntelliKeys is an alternative keyboard. IntelliKeys have
special overlays that help to customize the appearance of the standard
keyboards that students are used to. These alternative keyboards help to
benefit students who struggle with typing by grouping keys together to help
aid student’s comprehension. These keys increase students' comprehension levels
because they have graphics on the keyboard, which allows for
multiple means of representation for the students.
The IntelliKeys package comes with several different overlays including alphabet overlay, basic writing overlay, QWERTY overlay, web overlay, math access overlay, mouse access overlay, and set-up overlay. Each overlay assists students with writing and completing projects on computers. IntelliKeys also provides teachers with Overlay Maker 3, which allows teachers to create their own overlay and print it out on standard paper. In order to understand how to create custom overlays, this video walks teachers through the process: http://www.intellitools.com/videos_itk04.html. Custom overlays simplify tasks, scaffold concepts, and create easier access to software. IntelliKeys have a USB plug that plugs into the computers' USB ports. Overall, this tool provides access for any student who has difficulty using a standard keyboard. This software starts at about $395 but its high contrast colors and well-spaced keys increase students writing and learning. |
(11/25/11.). Retrieved from: http://www.intellitools.com/programpage_intellikeys.html
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LetMe Type
(11/26/11). Retrieved from: http://www.freewaregenius.com/2007/03/20/letmetype/
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LetMe Type is a program that resides in the system tray. The
program monitors what is typed on the student’s computers and the program
collects the most frequent used words. LetMe Type will then provide information
in a pop-up window after the first two to three characters have been
typed. LetMe Type contains a range of auto-complete words to choose from that
will automatically help struggling writers to complete sentences. This resource
is great for students with special needs that have writing difficulties because
it will provide the student with different ideas and ways of thinking when they
are beginning their writing process. The downside to this resource is that the
program will also learn misspelled words, which will require students or
teachers to manually delete these words. This drawback could appear to be an
issue for struggling students; however, it can help students' spelling improve by allowing them to go back and fix the misspelled words as practice.
This application offers many benefits, including many customized features. The first customize feature is simply importing a list of words rather than using the learn as you type feature. The learning can be turned on and off. If the students are happy with their words they can turn off the program and use their own words. One of the most helpful benefits of this program is the teacher can select certain words that this program will not suggest. For instance, the teacher can take all the class vocabulary words off the list to ensure that the students can use these words without the help of the program. Overused words can also be blocked to help promote a wider vocabulary in writing. |
Wordle
Wordle is a fun tool for generating "word clouds"
from the text that students provide. The clouds can be tweaked with different
colors, fonts, layouts and sizes. Wordle is motivational for struggling writers
because it provides the students with multiple means of representation. This
tool is easy and free to use; just go to Wordle.net and click create to
start your own Wordle. The students will paste text into the text box and within
seconds a word cloud will appear.
This program will work to help create a first day of school lesson. Students can write an about me piece. Students will be able to print the word cloud and share it with their classmates. This interactive feature allows the students to be creative with their own thoughts and ideas. This icebreaker activity has the potential to motivate students to write. The Wordle website: http://www.wordle.net/ will help to show examples of word clouds in order to give students ideas on how to create their own Wordle. Overall, Wordle offers many positives that help inspire students to create stories and short pieces of writing. The only negative with Wordle is that the word clouds might confuse some of the students if they are not able to follow their writing. On the internet, you can find various ways of implementing Wordle into daily lesson plans. The following link leads to a page that shows four different ways in which Wordle can be used in a lesson: http://www.interfacemagazine.co.nz/downloads/INTERFACE%20Lesson%20Plan%2039%20-%20Four%20Ways%20to%20Use%20Wordle.pdf Since these are general ideas that can easily be tweaked to fit the grade level and subject area that need to be covered in a lesson. |
This is an example of the Wordle that was created on Wordle.com. |
Storybird
(11/27/11.). Retrieved from: http://jss3w.wikispaces.com/Writers+Workshop |
Storybird is a new technology that inspires writing and
reading in the next generation of students. Storybird reverses the story
telling process by starting with an image and unlocking the story within. This
new technology is located at http://storybird.com/create/.
This website allows students to explore art and themes in order to inspire
there writing and thinking process. Students are enabled to create
their own story and share it with classmates, teachers, friends and family.
This tool is a free online tool that can be used by anyone on the internet. Storybird is a great tool when students need to write stories. This tool helps to organize and separate the story into pages of a book so it is more interactive for the students. This tool will help students with writing difficulties because it will provide the students with ideas to write their stories as well as images to make their story visual. The Storybird website http://storybird.com/tour/, provides students and teachers with a tutorial on how to use the Storybird tool in their classroom. This tutorial also provides the students with ideas to help them write their story. Teachers everywhere love this tool because it is inspirational, simple, social, and sharable. The following link will lead to a possible lesson that can be used with Storybird:http://acousticaholic.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/storybird-lesson-plan/. This lesson is a way to promote self-confidence in students, highlighting reasons they find their friends valuable. It also integrates reading and writing skills in a new way that can help engage students' interest in the activity. |
Ginger
Ginger software is a grammar and spell checker. The software proofreads spelling and grammar in Microsoft word, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Firefox. This software improves English writing and improves students' pronunciation. The software improves English by teaching students to learn from their mistakes. The Ginger software has a onetime fee of $29 for the software with a monthly payment of $4.90.
The Ginger software also features a premium program. This software includes a text to speech feature for students to improve pronunciation and fluency. In addition, the premium software includes, "learn from your mistakes." This feature is great for teachers because it creates lessons based on students' mistakes with spelling and grammar. The premium software costs $89 with the same monthly payment of $4.90. This technology is beneficial for struggling writers because it teaches students why their mistake is wrong; which helps students to become more fluent and effective writers. By describing why mistakes are incorrect, it goes past simply identifying errors, enabling students to form a deeper understanding of how to write correctly. This feature also helps students to feel more confident with their writing ability. Try the software now with a free trial download:http://www.gingersoftware.com/ |
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