Short description of app/product:
Write About is a classroom writing platform that improves literacy outcomes for K-12 schools by helping students to write more and grow as writers.
Formats:
Web
Website:
What does it help with?
Write About makes writing more engaging and increases stamina by helping students choose topics that excite them and giving them ways to safely share with peers. This results in teachers reporting a 50%+ increase in student writing volume! Write About saves teachers time with an easy place to manage writing assignments and monitor student progress. Additionally, teachers and school leaders get rich metrics and student portfolios, allowing them to track writing outcomes.
What grade and age range?
1st - 12th Grades
Is this core/supplemental/special needs/extracurricular/professional development or what?
Write About is used for daily core ELA and content area writing as well as a supplement to existing ELA curriculum.
What subject, topic, and standards is it mapped to?
Write About’s teacher-created content is mapped to all core writing genres and is customizable for writing across all content areas. Popular genres include Opinion, Informative/Explanatory, Narrative and Literary Response.
What lesson time does it use?
- Write About facilitates daily student writing (~15 minutes) for Quick Writes, Journaling, Creative Writing, Sacred Writing Time, etc.
- Students draft, edit/revise and publish longer process pieces for Language Arts (time varies)
- Students complete weekly content writing (ie Science or Social Studies) using Write About. (time varies)
What is the pricing model?
Trial: Free for Teachers (all students can write up to 5 posts)
Classroom Annual License: Single teacher upgrade for unlimited access
School Annual License: Building-wide upgrade for unlimited access and additional Data, Collaboration, and Management features
Are there services around it?
Write About provides extensive on-demand PD resources to support purposeful adoption, instructional design, and curriculum alignment. Custom virtual or on-site professional implementation services are available to Schools and Districts.
What makes _______ unique?
Write About creates students who love writing and gives schools measurable writing success. The platform can be customized for local curriculum, allows teachers to share best practices, and empowers students to publish to peers in a safe community. Write About was created by teachers and has put student and teacher feedback at the heart of the platform’s development.
A description of the characteristics -- how is it optimized for user interface & user experience? What instructional design principles are at work here?
Write About leverages the two biggest factors for motivating students to write – Choice and Audience. On Write About, students are inspired to start writing from thousands of diverse visual prompts (ie sports, music, or sci-fi), can do open-ended writing with their own media, or they respond to topics from their teacher. Students are empowered to publish to their (local or global) peers and read and comment on each others’ writing.
Teachers know they most important factor for developing writers is to get students WRITING MORE. On Write About, teachers customize their students’ daily experience by creating assignments or offering choice writing time that can be easily monitored. They provide instruction on drafts, helping them to improve with annotated feedback. Teachers utilize student portfolios and data to measure academic progress.
School Leaders adopt Write About to support an increase in writing schoolwide and to make digital writing more accessible. They share schoolwide writing topics and leverage writing data or student work samples to meet school writing goals.
Teacher reviews:
For me, the biggest barrier to getting students writing has always been a lack of interest among students. Write About solves that with its endless ideas and safe peer connections.
Collin Nuismer, ELA Teacher, Portage Central Middle School
“Write About gives kids the opportunity to write for a broader audience. Children learn how to respectfully make comments to others. Teachers are able to provide feedback to students throughout the writing process.”
Jennifer Klawiter, 2nd Grade Teacher, New Century School
Students don't just want their teachers to read their writing– they want feedback from others. Write About is a perfect platform for that!
Jennifer Luce, ELA Teacher, Hamilton Heights Middle School
