Using Digital Tools to Support Writing

It's one thing to enjoy digital tools and understand all the wealth of enjoyment they potentially offer.  It's another thing entirely to actually find time to organize digital resources into meaningful, purposeful learning. This week, I attempt to use the great options out there to help drive our learning.

POBBLE 365
What is this, you ask?
Well, according to Google, this is what Pobble365 is about:

I'm aiming to be using some motivating writing tools for our learners in order to encourage our reluctant writers to write more and feel more engaged in the writing process.  Engagement is a challenging thing to measure, so for the purpose of this, it will be measured by how often they are commenting and how often they choose to write during silent reading time, rather than reading.

This video was interesting in terms of using Google Docs in the writing programme.  I'm wondering if I might be able to use Google Docs to feed more language into their writing by using Google Docs, too.



  Raising student writing levels using Google docs from CORE Ministry Video on Vimeo.

While I've used Google Docs with reluctant writers in the past, this time I'm aiming to scaffold the boys more before and during the writing time, so that they are better able to make use of the tools.

My next thoughts around the inquiry for this are:
How can I keep the design simple so the kids can read and understand their task?
How can I use peer editing to support students in the writing process for realtime feedback?
What tools will be the most interesting for the kids in order to motivate them to write?

Literacy Shed and Pobble 365 seem like two simple tools that could be used, so I will try them first.