Enhancing writing and
creativity through ICT
Karen Yager
Knox Grammar School and University of NSW
yagerk@knox.nsw.edu.au
Objectives
 Ways to use ICT to enrich
and improve writing skills
 Access to a range of
effective Web20 tools and
sites
 Planning of assessment for
learning writing task/s
 http://assessment4quality.
wikispaces.com/Authentic+
Assessment
Syllabus Requirements
 “Learning to write and represent for a variety of
creative, personal, academic and functional purposes
will help pupils to express themselves, facilitate
learning in school and communicate effectively with
others.”
 “extensive opportunities for pupils to engage in
sustained, authentic and creative writing and/ or
representation of texts”
 “opportunities for pupils to be exposed to and
engage in producing a variety of multimodal texts to
represent ideas effectively and with impact”
Confident Writers
 Language acquisition takes place when the
learners realise how meaning is expressed
accurately.
 Listening precedes speaking and reading
precedes writing. Each one builds on and
supports the other.
 Students become confident and articulate
communicators of English by utilising their
receptive and productive skills.
Outcomes
 LO3: Generate and select
ideas for writing and
representing for a variety
of purposes, audiences,
contexts and cultures
 LO4: Develop, organise
and express ideas
coherently and cohesively
in writing and representing
for a variety of purposes,
audiences, contexts and
cultures
Outcomes
 LO5: Review, revise,
proofread and edit to
improve writing and
representing
 LO6: Produce a variety
of texts for creative,
personal, academic and
functional purposes,
using an appropriate
register and tone
Planning A4L
As we work
through the ideas
and sites begin to
plan an assessment
task for learning or
a series of small
tasks that you could
use in your
classroom.
ICT & Learning
“Teach both Legacy
and Future. If we’re
smart, we’ll give our
kids their heads to
use all their
technology and
passion to learn, as
we steer them in
positive directions
and truly enjoy the
ride” Marc Prensky,
2008.
Why ICT & Writing?
 Connections: Learning to
‘story’
 Craft: Focus on the writing
process and representation
 Confidence: spelling and
grammar
 Vocabulary: synonyms,
definitions
 Refinement: Editing, spell
check, peer marking,
publishing
 Creativity: Images, sound,
video clips, Web 20 tools…
The Research
 “Technology can become an obstacle to
learning, especially when a student is
first exposed to a new and/or novel
technology. The student may become
too focused on the technology and
neglect the need for developing creative
ideas” (Mohler).
 “Technology is best seen as another tool
in the repertoire available to learners
and teachers for expression and
communication” (Andrews et al., 2006)
 http://cunningham.acer.edu.au/dbtwwpd/textbase/NSWIT/NSW_Digest_1_0
9.html#Availability
The Research
 Lankshear and Knobel (2003)
assert that children are becoming
so adept at ICT use outside of
school and finding computermediated communications so
satisfying that visions of schoolbased literacy, as well as
teachers’ pedagogical
approaches, will need to adapt to
become more rooted in the
multi-modal literacies
encompassed by ICT.
Learning first; technology as a tool!
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What do the students need to learn?
Why does it matter?
What do they already know?
What do I want the students to do or produce
to demonstrate their learning and
understanding?
 How will they get there?
 How can technology be a powerful tool?
 How well do I expect them to do it?
Improving Writing
To improve the quality of student writing:
 Explicitly and systematically teach the structure
and language demands of the writing task
 Focus on audience and purpose
 Explicitly teach the thinking processes involved in
writing
 Immerse students in examples of the required
style of writing
 Model and jointly construct texts
• Use guided and independent practice
• Employ peer and self reflection
The Craft of Writing
 Begin with observations,
chunks of writing, little
moments...
 Jottings: Journal, notepad,
iPhone or wiki/blog
 Write from experience and
passion
 Focus on the sound , look
and feel of the words
 Sentence of the day!
The Craft of Composing a Narrative
Explicit & Systematic Teaching
 Explicitly teach all aspects
of a narrative
 Zoom into the word and
sentence level
 Using short, timed activities
 Listening to the sound of
the writing
 Peer and self marking
 Quality feedback
Features of a Narrative
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Audience
Genre
Structure
Ideas
Character
Setting
Vocabulary
Syntax
Cohesion
Activities
 Using writers to model effective writing: Extracts from
novels:
http://www.randomhouse.co.uk/vintage/offthepage/e
xtracts.htm
 Flash fiction with a motif and extended metaphor.
 Focus on the idea first through images or quotes and
then planning the narrative using a mind map.
 Starting in the middle of the action focusing on the
verbs.
 Peer and self editing through a wiki or blog or insert
comment in Word.
Structure
 Organisation of a
narrative:
orientation,
complication,
resolution, coda
 Sophisticated:
flashback, different
perspectives, circular,
parallel, stream of
consciousness,
moral, reflection
Activities
 Mind maps to plan for a narrative:
Inspiration or Kidspiration
(http://www.inspiration.com/);
Webspiration:
http://www.mywebspiration.com/ ;
Freemind:
http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index
.php/Download
 Co-authoring using One Note
Activities
 Composing the same narrative using a
range of structures such as circular or
two different perspectives.
 12-word novels and six word stories.
 Twitter texts
 Novels in 3 Lines:
http://twitter.com/novelsin3lines:
Invented by Fénéon, these miniaturized,
epigrammatic texts are highly
compressed, self-contained stories.
Blank, befuddled,
thoughtless, bemused,
he sits in front of screen
as boredom ensues.
He accelerates. The thrill
explodes! He clips the kerb,
breathes his last.
Ideas
 Creation,
selection and
crafting
 Sophisticated:
world view,
maturity,
extended
metaphor, satire,
motifs
Activities
 Stipulated in assessment
task that narrative must
feature one or two
significant ideas and at
least one metaphor, motif
or simile that reflects the
idea/s
 Film clips
 A word cloud to
brainstorm ideas using
Wordle http://www.wordle.net/
Setting
 Development of a sense of time and place
 Focus on showing not telling through imagery
appealing to the senses especially sound, colour,
touch and smell, strong verbs, contrast, and a
variety of sentence structures.
 Atmosphere
 Colour
 Symbolism
 Genre
 Authenticity
 Detailed descriptions
 Images and film clips
The Senses
 Creating an uncomfortable atmosphere
Sight
• Harsh
light/darkness
• Sharp
edges
• Cool
colours
• Stainless
steel
•Flickering
light
•Sheets of
rain
Smell
• Sour
• Acrid
• Heavy
scent
Taste
• Vinegar
• Sickly
sweet
Sound
Touch
• Discordant
music
• High or low
pitched
sound
•Rumbling
thunder
•Rasping
sound
• Hard textures
• Extreme
temperature
• Scratchy
coarse textures
•Cold steel of a
school bench
•Raised
goosebumps
Character
 Portrayal and
development of
character
 Idiosyncrasies
 Talismans
 How they move and act
in the setting
 Dialogue and voice
 Relationships
 Actions
 Perspectives and values
Activities
 Build your wild self (primary):
http://www.buildyourwildself.com/
- create a half-human half animal
character and download them so
that they can become the main
character in a narrative or blog
story.
 Voki: http://www.voki.com/ create an avatar for a blog story or
students can play with the crafting
of a character. The students can
add setting, clothing and even
record their character’s voice.
 Podcasts: Audacity
http://www.how-to-podcasttutorial.com/17-audacitytutorial.htm
Dialogue
 GoAnimate:
http://goanimate.com/
 http://www.makebeliefscomix.co
m/
 Pixton Comics:
http://www.pixton.com/uk/home
 http://www.makebeliefscomix.co
m/
 Toondoo:
http://www.toondoo.com/Home.
toon
 http://superherosquad.marvel.co
m/create_your_own_comic
 Animoto: http://animoto.com/
Vocabulary
 Range & precision of
language choices
 Sophisticated:
effective figurative
and sound devices,
powerful verbs,
adverbs and
adjectives, reflects
the genre
Activities
 Glossary: for each task or
unit of work
 Grammar Skills:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/skills
wise/words/grammar/
 Grammar Monster:
http://www.grammarmonster.com/index.html
 Cyber Grammar:
http://www.cybergrammar.
co.uk/index.php
 Visuword:
http://www.visuwords.com/
- a beautiful online
thesaurus to find more
effective synonyms.
Paragraphing & Sentences
Paragraphing:
 Segmenting of narrative
 Sophisticated: Deliberately drives the pace, topic
sentences, varying paragraph length such as a
single sentence paragraph
Sentences:
 Sound and meaningful
 Sophisticated: lexical density and variety of
beginnings and length, such as: complex, simple,
compound sentences
Tapping into Imagery
 Inanimate Alice:
http://www.inanimatealice.com
/ - tells the story of Alice, a
young girl growing up in the
first half of the 21st century in
China
 Dust Echoes:
http://www.abc.net.au/dustech
oes/dustEchoesFlash.htm lyrical animations beautifully
illustrated of Aboriginal myths.
 State Library of Victoria: Mirror
of the World: Books and Ideas:
http://www.mirroroftheworld.
com.au/ - amazing images and
extracts from texts to inspire
writing.
Imagery
 Focus on imagery
through visual images or
film clips
 Video clips from Youtube
or films: the trailers of
films or a short clip from
Australian Screen or Film
Australia: can be used to
stimulate writing Australian Screen: film
clips:
http://aso.gov.au/titles/a
lpha/A/
Digital Text
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A digital timeline
A narrative
A reflection
A life-story
Local hero
A podcast
Choose your own
adventure
Alternative perspectives
A soundscape
A digital poem
A news report
A travel tale: Google
Earth
‘Stories
are the
lifeblood
of a
nation’
Garth
Boomer.
The Steps
 Students create a
folder
 Craft the text – word
limit!
 Storyboard
 Find or shoot the
images that enhance
the text or film the text
 Record reading of text
on MP3 or microphone
 Download any sounds
or music or video clips
The Steps
 Students use a
storyboard to plan
story, transitions
and effects
 http://celtx.com/:
easy to use free
software that has
outstanding
storyboard models
and scaffolds for
students
Digital Storytelling
 Designed for a specific purpose and audience
 Design process with its planning,
storyboarding and selecting images and sound
continually forces students to consider the
quality and impact of the digital narrative
 Selecting images and sound focuses students
on the genre and form
 Peer marking encourages a focus on audience
The Sites
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/audiovid
eo/sites/about/pages/howto.shtml
 http://www.photobus.co.uk/index.php
?id=2
 http://www.changinglives.com.au/200
8/04/abrar-autumn-and-i.html
 http://www.dipity.com/ - Digital
timeline
Poetry
 Distillation of
language focuses
pupils on the craft
of writing!
 Sound and rhythm
of words demand
attention
 Nuances of meaning
‘To see
the
world in
a grain
of
sand…’
Poetic Creativity
 Found poems
 Digital poems with
images
 Podcast poets
 Haiku:
http://www.haikusociety
.com/learn/famoushaiku
s
 Museum Box:
http://museumbox.e2bn
.org/
Imagery Poetry
 http://www.abc.net.au/rn/poetica/fea
tures/pod/ or
http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetry
archive/home.do: Poets reading
 Instant poetry:
http://ettcweb.lr.k12.nj.us/forms/new
poem.htm: Students can create poetry
at this site.
 Sonnet Central:
http://www.sonnets.org/ - access to
hundreds of sonnets and recordings
too inspire writing.
 Readings of Shakespeare’s Sonnets:
http://town.hall.org/Archives/radio/I
MS/HarperAudio/020994_harp_ITH.ht
ml
 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/
Exposition
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Severn Suzuki’s speech delivered at UN
Earth Summit 1992 focusing on the
ideas and the purpose of the speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZs
DliXzyAY
The Green’s television advertisement
election campaign:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gQ
VnIKDoOA
EDF Energy Advertisements:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx3
Y5RV9YR4&feature=related ;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7J
MBa6h7Eo&feature=related
Martin Luther King – Extract from ‘I have
a Dream’:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/spee
ches/mlkihaveadream.htm
Exposition
 Students visit for Persuasion 101:
http://prezi.com/62290/
 Persuasion map:
http://www.eduplace.com/graphico
rganizer/pdf/persuasion.pdf
 Persuasion in 30 seconds
 Students deliver a 30 second speech
presenting their point of view on the
merits of one vs. the other from the
following list:
 Solar power vs. electricity
 Cars vs. walking
 Book vs. Kindle
 Plastic bags vs. green bags
 Class blog created as a platform or
Voicethread http://voicethread.com/
Sharing
 Blogs
 Wikis
 Voicethread
 Peer
assessment
 Collaborative
writing
 Google Docs
Critical Reflection
 Invites deeper
understanding and
promotes greater
self-awareness of
writing skills and
knowledge
 Digital Portfolios
 Wikis and Blogs
 Podcasts
Great Web20
Resources
 Cooltoolsforschools
Wiki:
http://cooltoolsforsch
ools.wikispaces.com/?
responseToken=08d40
fc592f425e0609f7b90
a024fde22
 http://www.learningpl
ace.com.au/deliver/co
ntent.asp?pid=33292