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By Vicki Davis Reinventing Writing: The 9 Tools That Are Changing Writing, Teaching, and Learning Forever (Eye on E
In this much-anticipated book from acclaimed blogger Vicki Davis (Cool Cat Teacher), you’ll learn the key shifts in writing instruction necessary to move students forward in today’s world. Vicki describes how the elements of traditional writing are being reinvented with cloud-based tools. Instead of paper, note taking, filing cabinets, word processors, and group reports, we now have tools like ePaper, eBooks, social bookmarking, cloud syncing, infographics, and more. Vicki shows you how to select the right tool, set it up quickly, and prevent common mistakes. She also helps you teach digital citizenship and offers exciting ways to build writing communities where students love to learn. Special Essential questions at the start of each chapter to get you thinking about the big ideas A chapter on each of the nine essential cloud-based tools--ePaper and eBooks; digital notebooks; social bookmarking; cloud syncing; cloud writing apps; blogging and microblogging; wikis and website builders; online graphic organizers and mind maps; and cartoons and infographics A wide variety of practical ways to use each tool in the classroom Alignments to the Common Core State Standards in writing Level Up Learning--a special section at the end of each chapter to help you review, reflect on, and apply what you’ve learned Writing tips to help you make the best use of the tools and avoid common pitfalls A glossary of key terms discussed in the book Useful appendices, including reproducible material for your classroom No matter what grade level you teach or how much tech experience you have, you will benefit from Vicki’s compelling and practical ideas. As she emphasizes throughout this essential book, teaching with cloud-based tools has never been easier, more convenient, or more important than right now.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2014
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331 people want to read
About the author
Vicki A. Davis
2 books102 followersVicki Davis is a teacher, blogger, podcaster, and Mom. With more than 160,000 Twitter followers Vicki was named one of “Twitter’s Top 10 Rockstar teachers” by Mashable and included in Thomas Friedman’s book, the World is Flat.
Vicki’s classroom and blog have won many awards including the ISTE Online Learning Award and more. She is the author of Reinventing Writing and co-author of Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds and writes the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, consistently named one of the top 50 blogs in education worldwide.
Vicki hosts the popular podcast "The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast." Vicki teaches full time and is IT director for her school and has keynoted conferences around the world and online.
Vicki’s classroom and blog have won many awards including the ISTE Online Learning Award and more. She is the author of Reinventing Writing and co-author of Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds and writes the Cool Cat Teacher Blog, consistently named one of the top 50 blogs in education worldwide.
Vicki hosts the popular podcast "The 10 Minute Teacher Podcast." Vicki teaches full time and is IT director for her school and has keynoted conferences around the world and online.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 11, 2015
"Writing is being reinvented. This does not mean you are irrelevant."
- From Reinventing Writing by Vicki Davis
Vicki Davis understands teachers. She's a long-time teacher herself, runs an award-winning internet radio show called “Every Classroom Matters” and mentors hundreds of teachers through her CoolCatTeacher blog. So it's no surprise that her book Reinventing Writing is tailored for the busy, dedicated teacher who wants to learn more about 21st-century digital tools but isn't quite sure where to start. Vicki begins the book with these words of encouragement: "The things you have been doing are important and have value. We just do it differently now. The basic concepts you've always taught are still there; they're just being taught differently."
Vicki helps readers find their bearings by showing how each digital tool in the book is analogous to a common writing tool that teachers already understand. Paper has been reinvented as ePaper and eBooks. Notetaking has transformed from a three-ring binder to a digital notebook. Index cards are similar to social bookmarking, and your trusty filing cabinet has been recreated as a cloud synching service. Remember when you first used a word processor? Now word processors have been reinvented as cloud writing apps that automatically save your work for you.
The world of publishing student work has changed too. Students are no longer confined to writing journals or reports that will only be read by the teacher. Now they can blog about their findings, so their research can be published for a much wider audience. Group reports have always been a challenge, because it is difficult to tell how much each student contributes to the report. Now with the advent of the Wiki, students can write a collaborative report, comment on various sections and lines, and each student's contribution can be easily seen by the teacher through revision tracking history.
Vicki introduces teachers to powerful pre-writing tools such as graphic organizers and mind mapping software. She also explains how illustrations in the digital age now include powerful communication vehicles such as infographics. She dedicates a large portion of her book to discussing digital citizenship - issues such as copyright and online student safety. The final few sections of the book have great titles and equally great content: "Making Your Job Easier: Building Writing Communities Where Students Love to Learn" and "Stay Sane, Stay Innovative: An Action Plan for a Lifetime of Innovation in the Classroom."
Reinventing Writing does not disappoint. It is deep enough to serve as a resource for the more tech-savvy teacher, yet is easy to understand and accessible enough for the teacher who is just starting out. Each time Vicki presents a tool, she gives practical examples of how it can be used in the classroom. She continually encourages her readers not to feel overwhelmed, to focus on learning only a few tools at a time. These words from the final section of the book capture the essence of this encouragement:
"Realize technology's place and that it is there. Technology is more than a person. Technology is more than a company. It isn't a being to be worshipped like the ancient Egyptians worshipped the Nile. It can, however, be channeled to water growth in our lives.... To ignore the river of technology is foolish. To attempt to drink it all in is impossible. So, the best attitude about technology is to coexist with it and use it to make lives better."
I highly recommend Reinventing Writing for anyone who wants to learn more about 21st century digital tools. This book definitely gets 5 stars!
- From Reinventing Writing by Vicki Davis
Vicki Davis understands teachers. She's a long-time teacher herself, runs an award-winning internet radio show called “Every Classroom Matters” and mentors hundreds of teachers through her CoolCatTeacher blog. So it's no surprise that her book Reinventing Writing is tailored for the busy, dedicated teacher who wants to learn more about 21st-century digital tools but isn't quite sure where to start. Vicki begins the book with these words of encouragement: "The things you have been doing are important and have value. We just do it differently now. The basic concepts you've always taught are still there; they're just being taught differently."
Vicki helps readers find their bearings by showing how each digital tool in the book is analogous to a common writing tool that teachers already understand. Paper has been reinvented as ePaper and eBooks. Notetaking has transformed from a three-ring binder to a digital notebook. Index cards are similar to social bookmarking, and your trusty filing cabinet has been recreated as a cloud synching service. Remember when you first used a word processor? Now word processors have been reinvented as cloud writing apps that automatically save your work for you.
The world of publishing student work has changed too. Students are no longer confined to writing journals or reports that will only be read by the teacher. Now they can blog about their findings, so their research can be published for a much wider audience. Group reports have always been a challenge, because it is difficult to tell how much each student contributes to the report. Now with the advent of the Wiki, students can write a collaborative report, comment on various sections and lines, and each student's contribution can be easily seen by the teacher through revision tracking history.
Vicki introduces teachers to powerful pre-writing tools such as graphic organizers and mind mapping software. She also explains how illustrations in the digital age now include powerful communication vehicles such as infographics. She dedicates a large portion of her book to discussing digital citizenship - issues such as copyright and online student safety. The final few sections of the book have great titles and equally great content: "Making Your Job Easier: Building Writing Communities Where Students Love to Learn" and "Stay Sane, Stay Innovative: An Action Plan for a Lifetime of Innovation in the Classroom."
Reinventing Writing does not disappoint. It is deep enough to serve as a resource for the more tech-savvy teacher, yet is easy to understand and accessible enough for the teacher who is just starting out. Each time Vicki presents a tool, she gives practical examples of how it can be used in the classroom. She continually encourages her readers not to feel overwhelmed, to focus on learning only a few tools at a time. These words from the final section of the book capture the essence of this encouragement:
"Realize technology's place and that it is there. Technology is more than a person. Technology is more than a company. It isn't a being to be worshipped like the ancient Egyptians worshipped the Nile. It can, however, be channeled to water growth in our lives.... To ignore the river of technology is foolish. To attempt to drink it all in is impossible. So, the best attitude about technology is to coexist with it and use it to make lives better."
I highly recommend Reinventing Writing for anyone who wants to learn more about 21st century digital tools. This book definitely gets 5 stars!
July 16, 2015
Helpful for teaching 21st century writing in middle school.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews