Web 2.0 Tool

I spent a lot of time looking through various lists and descriptions of Web 2.0 tools. I had a really tough time selecting one as there were many that caught my attention. Nevertheless, one that caught my eye is called Write About. I learned about it from Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day.


I teach writing this year and have my students write daily in a journal. I have been giving them a different prompt each day at the start of class.  Since my students have Chromebooks, Write About seems like something that would work really well in my class, and I know my students would enjoy using it. You can learn more about it in my narrated presentation:

About Write About...
With this tool, I can share a prompt with my students to their account. Students can either write what I share with them, or they can select prompts that are more interesting to them by searching through different categories. The neat thing is that students can share their posts with the teacher and their classmates, and they can comment on each other's writing. I could write along with them and provide feedback right away. They could also share these posts publicly with other students within their age group for comments. Students can also use this at home, or they can write during their free time when they finish other work early. 

Teachers and students can see how much they write in a given time each week or month. From various videos I've watched on Write About, teachers have said that their students are writing more because they are writing about things that interest them, and they enjoy being able to respond to their classmates. Check out this video from YouTube to learn more about what others are saying.

You can set up a free account for your class, but each student is only allowed 5 posts with this version. For a fee, you can set up an account that includes unlimited writing for your class or for the whole school.

Image source

Forgot to mention....
One thing that I forgot to mention in my narrated presentation is that teachers could create their own prompt instead of picking one already on the site. That's a great feature! The students can even write about something related to what they're studying in other classes.

So excited!
I am truly very excited that I learned more about this tool this week. I definitely know that it will be a big hit with my students. I can't wait to start using it! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can get my school to buy an unlimited account for the year!! I'll keep you posted....