Reinventing Writing: 9 Ways Writing Has Been Reinvented and How to Use Them in Schools

Reinventing Writing:
How Transliteracy and EdTech Tools Create Successful
Student Writing Communities
Vicki A. Davis
Teacher, IT Director
@coolcatteacher
www.coolcatteacher.com
Author, Reinventing Writing (June 2014)
Author, Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds
Host, Every Classroom Matters (itunes)
2014 BAMMY Award – Best Education Talk Show Host
Coolcatteacher.com/literacypromise

The Collaborative Writing Cloud 9
Wikis
Collaborative
Writing Apps
Blogs
Social
Bookmarking
Graphic
Organizers
Collaborative
Notebooks
ePaper
Cartooning
Cloud
Syncing
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
Part 1: How has writing
been reinvented?

Poll: Who are you?
A.Teacher
B.Librarian
C.Curriculum
D.Principal
E.Other administrator

Meet Mrs. Adkins: Innovation is not an
AGE, it is a MINDSET
Her secret to
innovating with
kids:
3 folders a
weekend.

years
To get to 50 million subscribers

days
To get to 50 million subscribers

Teacher Question:
How can we keep up in the face
of such rapid change?

1. 9 Ways Writing Has Been Reinvented
• Practical things students need to know
• Examples from classrooms
• Recommendations for each
2. 9 Key P’s for Digital Citizens
3. 20 Questions
ReinventingWriting –Vicki Davis
http://writinginthecloud.wikispaces.com
I’mVicki Davis @coolcatteacher
What’s your handle?

1. Specific Steps Building Writing Communities
(Chapter 13)
2. A lot of how-to’s (please use the chat to share
links)
3. To dive deeply into the 9 Key P’s for Safety &
Success (Chapter 12)
4. To dive deeply into the 20 questions (Chapter 2)
We won’t have time for –Vicki Davis
http://writinginthecloud.wikispaces.com
I’mVicki Davis @coolcatteacher
What’s your handle?

John Seely Brown,Visiting Scholar, University of
Southern California
“…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.” Gamifi-ed Project:
An Intergenerational Learning Community
http://gamifi-ed.wikispaces.com
Westwood Students (9th graders) &
Masters Students from University of Alaska Southeast &
Gamifi-ed MOOC
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
Why do we need collaborative
writing? Isn’t plain old writing
good enough?

 Fosters community (Elbow 373)
 Helps see problems from multiple viewpoints (Howard 10)
 Co-authoring impacts the writing of individual authors (Aghbar)
 Improves Learning Experiences (wolf 2010)
 “Ideal model for constructing, reorganizing and acquiring new
information” (Janssen et all 2010)
 Global collaboration is essential in today’s workplace (Friedman)
 Shorten time required to solve pressing world problems (Tapscott)
Benefits of CollaborativeWriting
(Why we need writing communities)
Hong Kong 2011
Students edit wiki with virtual partners
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
What is “the cloud?”

A LOCATION ON THE INTERNET
WHERE FILES ARE STORED
What is the Cloud?
Reinventing Writing
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
But I see a lot of videos, pictures,
and infographics along with writing
on the web, is this part of writing
literacy now?

STUDENTS MUST BE TRANSLITERATE
“Transliterate: 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 networks.”
Transliteracy Research Group

ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
How do I make the decision
about the tools I will use?

•Can each student have a distinct
username?
•Does the website track profile data on
the students?
•Can you set it up without an email
address?
•Can I access this site through my
school’s filter?
•Does this tool meet all policy
requirements for my school?
User Setup
•Can you easily set up a lot of users?
•Can you duplicate pages and/or
websites easily?
Scalability
•How easy is it to monitor?
•How much control can you have over
viewing, editing, and commenting?
Management
•Does the site allow hyperlinks?
Embedding?
•Uploading?
•What are the capabilities of
simultaneous editing?
•Can the document be viewed and/or
edited on multiple platforms? (like
tablets and mobile phones)
Interactive
features
•Does the site have good help files?
•Does the site have an active
community of educators that is well
supported by the company?
•If this is a mandated, privately
supported tool, what community will
be used to support teacher and
student work?
Community
•How private is data shared on the
platform?
•How secure is data shared on the
platform?
•What are the intellectual property
rights associated with what is shared
on the platform?
Privacy, Security,
and Intellectual
Property Rights
20 Questions about Technology Tools
Reality CheckWhat am I
trying to do?
20
19
18
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
12
11
10
17
16
15
14
13

Teacher Question:
What do literacies do students
need to have relating to
ebooks?

http://tinyurl.com/kindle-notecard
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?
Learn More: Chapter 3, Reinventing Writing

Teacher Question:
What are the most frequently
used ebook readers?

5 Most popular ebook readers
 Kindle
 iBook
 Nook
 Kobo
 Google Play Books
Learn More: Epic Ebook Guide
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/epic-ebook-guide/ ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?
#1 Reinventing Paper

Teacher Question:
Where can I find free ebooks
for me and my students?

10 Places to Find, Download &
Read Free or Inexpensive eBooks
Site Link Site Link
Project Gutenberg gutenberg.org
eReaderIQ ereaderiq.com
Free Booksy freebooksy.com
Book Bub bookbub.com
Bookish bookish.com
Hundred Zeroes hundredzeroes.com
Goodreads goodreads.com
What Should I
Read Next?
whatshouldireadnext.com
Which Book openingthebook.com/whichboo
k
Calibre calibre-ebook.com
Learn More: Epic Ebook Guide
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/epic-ebook-guide/
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
How easy is it to publish ebooks
with students?

7 Easy Ways to Publish eBooks
1. Liber.io
 http://liber.io/
 (Write in Google Drive  eBook)
2. Draft
 http://draftin.com/
3. iBooks Author
4. LeanPub
 http://leanpub.com/
5. PowerPoint (It works!)
6. Keynote (Yes you can!)
7. Scrivener
Learn more:
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/publish-ebooks-free/
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
How can I get the notes I take in
my Kindle or iBooks into Microsoft
Word or something else?

Did you know?
 You can export your notes from Kindle or
iBooks into Evernote?
 http://www.coolcatteacher.com/kindle-notes-evernote-export/
 http://www.coolcatteacher.com/export-ibooks-notes/
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
Where can I get all these links in
this presentation?
www.coolcatteacher.com/literacypromise

Teacher Question:
I have a book in one format and
want to convert it to another,
can I do that?

Calibre
 You can convert almost any format of ebook
to another using Calibre?
 See The Epic eBook Guide:
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/epic-ebook-guide/
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
Can we easily send pdfs or
other files to someone’s Kindle?

2 Easy Ways to get PDF’s onto a
Kindle
1. Students can set up a kindle email
 Put them in a group and email docs to them (a
small charge will be incurred.)
2. You can drag files onto a Kindle by hooking
it up to the computer with a cable (it looks
just like a thumb drive on the computer)
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
What are some
recommendations to take back
to my librarian?

Reinventing Writing
Recommendation
 Evaluate Amazon Whispernet
 Create a place where you can distribute or
link to free ebook content
 Older students set up a profile on
kindle.amazon.com
 Learn to export notes from books
 Make epublishing part of what you do
Learn More: Chapter 3, Reinventing Writing

Teacher Question:
How should students be taking
notes today?

Teacher Question:
How can you find your notes
after you take them?

Teacher Question:
What are the popular digital
notebook services today?

Popular Notebook Services
1. Evernote
2. One Note
3. Google Keep
4. PAPER! ;-)
Learn More: Reinventing Writing: Chapter 4
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?
#2 Reinventing Notetaking

Notes area
Reminders
Search
Shortcuts for frequently
used items

Did you know
you can create
checklists and
store files?

Share your
notetaking
and files

One Note: Only Collaborative
Notebook service

Teacher Question:
Are there times that students
should take notes by hand?

Teacher Question:
How can I include notes taken by
hand in a digital notebook service
and why would I want to?

How to get hand written notes in:
1) Snap a picture 2) Scan
Why? Retrieval
(Evernote can search handwriting.)

Teacher Question:
What recommendations should
I take back to my school about
digital notetaking?

Reinventing Writing
Recommendation
 Select an official notebook service for your school
 Connect students and teachers
 Share notes
 Learn to capture, annotate, and find
 See if students can find notes at a later date
#2 Reinventing Notetaking

Teacher Question:
Is there an easier way to research
for term papers or research
papers?
(And do students really have to
print out a million pages on my
printers?)

Meet the
new
notecard
Hyperlink is part of bookmark
See: http://www.coolcatteacher.com/diigo-social-bookmarking-tutorial/

Features of
the New
Notecard
(Diigo) Annotate Websites: Privately,
To a group or publicly
Group Bookmarks
http://physicsofthefuture.wikispaces.com
Student efolios
Citation Reports

Teacher Question:
How can I learn about Diigo?

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/diigo-social-bookmarking-tutorial/

Teacher Question:
How can my students share
their research in Diigo?

Reinventing Writing
Recommendation
 Set up a bookmarking group for each class
 Set up a “tag dictionary” for common topics
for the term
 Install the Diigo plug in to add more features
to websites
#3 Reinventing Notecards

Teacher Question:
How can I find my files on
multiple devices?
(computers, smartphones,
tablets)

Teacher Question:
What are the most popular
cloud sync services?

ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?
Dropbox * Google Drive * One Drive

Teacher Question:
What do students need to
know about syncing to the
cloud?

Teacher Question:
What if I want to swap cloud
sync services and use a
different one?

Mover.io
You’re not stuck! You can move your files

Teacher Question:
Are there other things you can
do with cloud services besides
save and share files?

Dropbox: Did you know?
 You can connect to your students and share files
 Dropbox is a great way to share videos
 You can create a folder people can upload to using dropitto.me
 Sortmybox will help you organize and move your dropbox
materials
 Jotform sends forms straight to Dropbox
 Automate Dropbox with IFTTT
 You can create a website from a Dropbox Folder using site44
 My bookmarks of all the things you can do with Dropbox:
https://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/dropbox
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?
#5 Reinventing Filing Cabinets

Google Drive: Did you know?
 You can install Google Drive like a Dropbox
Folder
 You can set up shared class folders
 Google Drive can link with other services (like
wevideo)
 See “Becoming a Google Drive Master”
 http://j.mp/gdrive-master

One Drive: Did you know?
 Integrated with Office and Windows 8 (no need to
install)
 If you don’t buy the service, only 3 students can
sign up PER DAY behind a firewall (I give it as a
home assignment/ school supply)
 Free versions of Word/ Excel/ Powerpoint
available online with your files if you use it
 Replaces the “Jump Drive” more easily than
anything else.

Teacher Question:
What should my school do
about cloud syncing?

Reinventing Writing
Recommendation
 Create shared places in the cloud for students
and teachers to move files between devices
 Educate everyone on how to use them and
what they are doing (even if you don’t allow
them to use popular services)
 Students need places to share video and
other files!

Teacher Question:
How can I have more peer
review in essay writing?

ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?
So much more than the “essay”
- reinventing wordprocessors

Teacher Question:
What are the popular
collaborative essay writing
tools?

ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?
1. Google Drive
2. One Drive (Microsoft Word/
Office 365)
3. Etherpad (for server installation)

Teacher Question:
know about collaborative
writing?

Teacher Question:
How can I do less proofreading,
grammar checking, and use
technology to help students
write (and make my job easier?)

Teacher Question:
How can I coach students in
making writing more concise
and to the point?

Use Hemingway App w/ Grammarly

Teacher Question:
Are there advanced tools I can
use to help students with
mechanics?

Teacher Question:
How can I help students make
their writing easier to read?
(especially in blogging because
no one is reading their work!)

Teacher Question:
How can I help students who
are slow typists and prefer
writing by hand?

Mac Dication
• Press Fn Fn twice on your Mac

Teacher Question:
How can I give better feedback
both with words and my voice?

Teacher Question:
Are there other tools I can use
with collaborative writing apps
like Google Docs?

Extra Features in Microsoft Word
 You can call people and live chat them from
inside Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel
in Office 365?
 You can live edit Microsoft Word now?
 You can get Microsoft Office on the iPad now?
 Microsoft Office has Add Ons too?
 http://office.microsoft.com/en-001/store/
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?
#5 Reinventing Word Processors

Teacher Question:
Can I get files from Google Docs
to Word or older word
processors?

Zamzar!
 Zamzar.com can convert almost any format?
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
What recommendations do I
need to bring back to my school
about collaborative writing?

Reinventing Writing
Recommendation
 Set up collaborative writing tools
 Make sure teachers know how to give text
and voice feedback
 Empower peer feedback
 Train and connect everyone!
 Teach students (and teachers) to convert files
of all types

Teacher Question:
What about blogging and social
media – how has it changed
writing?

Teacher Question:
know about blogging?

Teacher Question:
Can young children blog?

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/classroom-blogging-kathy-cassidy/

http://mscassidysclass.edublogs.org/

Teacher Question:
What if I can’t get comments on
student blogs?

Credit: Sue Waters
Reinventing Writing, Chapter 8

Quadblogging – an authentic audience of peers

Teacher Question:
What kind of writing is Twitter?

Karen Lirenman
Kathy Cassidy
Building Student Learning Communities
through Twitter
http://j.mp/lirenman-twitter
Using Twitter in a Primary Classroom
http://j.mp/primary-twitter
Class Twitter Accounts
Open Doors

Teacher Question:
What if Twitter is blocked or
not allowed in my school?

Did you
know?
http://www.classtools.net/twister/
You can make “Fake Tweets” at Classtools.net

Teacher Question:
What recommendations should
I take back for my school about
blogging and microblogging?

Reinventing Writing
Recommendation
 Set up a blogging platform for your students
 Encourage feedback and connection
 Find a Quadblogging Group for every
classroom in your school
 Use microblogging to communicate and
connect with the world
 Give your classroom a public platform to
share and connect
#6 Reinventing Journals
& Reports

Teacher Question:
What if my classroom needs to
have a group website where we
all share and write?

Teacher Question:
know about wikis?

Teacher Question:
What does a student wiki
project look like?

Teacher Question:
What content goes on the page
and what content goes in the
discussion on a wiki?

See
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/gamifi-ed-project-update1/

Teacher Question:
What are some popular wiki
websites?

Popular Wiki Websites
1. Wikispaces
2. PBWiki
3. Install Media Wiki
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?
#7 Reinventing Group Reports

Teacher Question:
Aren’t there other ways
students can build websites
too?

Students can build websites too:
Wix, Weebly and others

Combining Writing with
Technology

Popular Group Website Creators
1. Weebly
2. Wix
3. Webs
4. Google Sites
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
What are some things most
educators don’t know about
wikis?

Did you know?
 You can set up private projects on wikispaces even if your
overall wiki is public?
 You can have a free ad-free site if you’re a K12 educator
 See my classroom wiki at http://westwood.wikispaces.com
 You can comment in-line like Google Drive?
 You can use Wikispaces classroom to monitor engagement
live?
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
What are some
recommendations to take back
to my school about wikis?

Reinventing Writing
Recommendation
 Create a collaborative wiki community
 Write common information together with
others with a different worldview
 Learn to write collaboratively
 Multi age
 Intergenerational
 Within your district
 Create a platform for student efolios

Teacher Question:
If students are going to write
together, don’t they need to
prewrite together too?

Teacher Question:
What are some electronic
brainstorming and prewriting
techniques students need to
know?

Teacher Question:
What are some student
samples of mindmapping?

http://madaboutmattering.wikispaces.com/Self+Harm

Building a school app – the mindmap students made

Teacher Question:
Do you have to mindmap?
Couldn’t you just outline
together?

Did
you
know?
You should preplan what you’ll write before
you start collaborative writing?
Favorite outlining tools:
Hackpad, Google Drive, Etherpad, Office 365

Teacher Question:
What are some
recommendations for
prewriting and mindmapping
for today’s students?

Did you know?
 You can create a mindmap to organize and embed it or link it
from your document to keep the two connected?
 Live chats with documents usually aren’t saved, so you want
to have people use comments instead to include collaborative
partners
 Partners should know how to find past conversations and
revisions
 If you want to collaboratively write – it starts with collaborative
prewriting
ReinventingWriting
@coolcatteacher
been reinvented?
#8 Reinventing Prewriting

Reinventing Writing
Recommendation
 Teach Prewriting tools and skills
 Teach Collaborative Prewriting methods
 Don’t forget prewriting
 Embed prewriting documents in the final
document
 Include asynchronous partners in your
communications.
#8 Reinventing Prewriting

Teacher Question:
How can we create graphics for
online student work? Aren’t
they important parts of modern
writing?

Teacher Question:
What are commonly used types
of graphics for websites and
online writing?

See: Infographics Tools for Kids
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/infographic-tools-for-kids/

See: 7 Ways to Use Canva to Create
Compelling Graphics
http://www.coolcatteacher.com/canva-how-to/

Teacher Question:
Why are graphics so important
in online writing?
Can they be distracting and
stop people from reading?

Readibility tips?
 Captions under images are read 300% more
than body copy
 Headlines placed below an image are read by
10% more people than headlines above
 Never break the left margin
 Images should either have: story appeal or
demonstrate something
 See: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/shocking-truth-about-graphics/
#9 Reinventing Illustrations

Teacher Question:
What are some
recommendations for helping
kids get started with graphics?

Recommendation
 Teach students how to create and select
images
 Encourage the use of infographics to tell
stories
 Help students visually organize their efolios
 Follow and teach guidelines to promote
readability
#9 Reinventing Illustrations

Teacher Question:
What are the 9 ways writing has
been reinvented?

Teacher Question:
Are there other ways writing
has been reinvented?

Google Forms – A school survey
Top Teaching
•Teaching Helps
•Making Meaning
•Classroom Management
•Finding Cool Classroom Tools
•Building your PLN
•Staying positive

Goes into Spreadsheet
Top Teaching
•Teaching Helps
•Making Meaning
•Staying positive

Cool Trick Copy out of spreadsheet into Wordle!
Step 1: Convert Everything to lowercase by pasting into MS Word.
Top Teaching
•Teaching Helps
•Making Meaning
•Staying positive

www.wordle.net
Top Teaching
•Teaching Helps
•Making Meaning
•Staying positive

What Westwood Students own
Top Teaching
•Teaching Helps
•Making Meaning
•Staying positive

Wikisource: Copy Text from Famous Speech
http://en.wikisource.org
Top Teaching
•Teaching Helps
•Making Meaning
•Staying positive

http://www.tagxedo.com/
Top Teaching
•Teaching Helps
•Making Meaning
•Staying positive

Top Teaching
•Teaching Helps
•Making Meaning
•Staying positive

Teacher Question:
What about online safety and
digital literacy?

9 P’s for
Proactive
Knowledge
1. Passwords
2. Privacy
3. Personal Information
4. Photography
5. Property
6. Permissions
7. Protection
8. Professionalism
9. Permanence
Adapted from Reinventing Writing
by Vicki Davis

Teacher Question:
Are there habits that students
can develop that will make our
class writing community
stronger?

You can build community
CoP: Community of Practice
“Communities of practice are groups
of people who share a concern or a
passion for something they do and
learn how to do it better as they
interact regularly.”
Ettienne Wegner, Communities of Practice: A Brief
Introduction, 2012.
Reinventing Writing

Teacher Question:
Where can I find this
presentation?
How can we connect?

I’m here to help!
 www.coolcatteacher.com
 Twitter @coolcatteacher
 Facebook www.facebook.com/coolcatteacher
 iTunes: Every Classroom Matters
 This PRESENTATION:
 www.coolcatteacher.com/literacypromise
Let’s connect!

Reinventing Writing:
How Transliteracy and EdTech Tools Create Successful
Student Writing Communities
www.coolcatteacher.com/literacypromise
Vicki A. Davis
Teacher, IT Director
@coolcatteacher
www.coolcatteacher.com
Author, Reinventing Writing (June 2014)
Author, Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds
Host, Every Classroom Matters (itunes)
2014 BAMMY Award – Best Education Talk Show Host

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