Planning to Write

Most struggling writers spend less than one minute planning (Writing Better, 2005). Many of these students demonstrate poor organizational skills, and feel overwhelmed with all of the requirements involved when completing a writing task. There are assistive technologies available to assist these students.

Inspiration and Kidspiration:
http://www.inspiration.com/
http://www.inspiration.com/Kidspiration
Inspiration and Kidspiration are “The visual ways to explore and understand words, numbers and concepts”. Esentially, they are brainstorming tools that help students visually organize and outline their ideas in order to support the writing process. Students can use images to represent and sort their ideas, all the while being more engaged. These programs can be used to create storyboards, build sequence charts, or break up longer assignments. On the websites, there are examples of how to use this software not only in Language Arts, but also Science and Social Studies, The websites include testimonials and successful stories, as well as a list of awards and studies that reference Inspiration, and there is even a Webinar walking you through the program (to further convince the hesitant buyer). One also has the option of downloading a 30-day free trial to test drive either program before purchasing. If you teach in an elementary school, Kidspiration is the most appropriate program, while Inspiration is geared more toward secondary students.

Draft:Builder:
http://www.donjohnston.com/products/draft_builder/index.html\
This program, developed by Don Johnston, breaks the writing process down into three steps (and unlike Inspiration, helps students transition from brainstorming to writing):
1) brainstorming
2) note-taking
3) writing the first draft
Draft:Builder includes a dictionary, a bibliographer (with APA and MLA formats), a talking spell checker, and new natural-sounding speakers. The website includes numerous testimonials and case studies, as well as a product demo and a free 30 day trial (although you have to be teaching in the U.S.A. to apply). A single computer license is $139.00, but if you outfitted an entire school (50+ computers), the cost could drop as low as $69.50 per computer. The website professes that teachers can be trained on how to use Draft:Builder in a mere 30 minutes.