ISTE Toolbox Highlights WriteToLearn
by Jana Bennett
We were thrilled when WriteToLearn won Best of Show at ISTE 2016 Tech & Learning. Even though this award generally recognizes new products, this award highlights both the need for this type of personalized writing and reading comprehension tool and the continuing evolution of WriteToLearn.
This week we found out that WriteToLearn was also featured in the ISTE Toolbox. Mary Walton, author of the blog Who Invented Homework?, listed 9 Ed Tech Tools to Help Boost Essay Writing. I loved what she had to say about teaching writing even if you aren't an English teacher. "You might not have the opportunity to teach writing in your science or social studies classroom, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help students hone their persuasion skills."
ISTE released a 2016 set of Standards for Students "that empower learners who live, work and play in a technology-infused world." (the ebook is available from ISTE here) ISTE devised the standards to "empower student voice and ensure that learning is a student-driven process of exploration, creativity and discovery no matter where they or their teachers are in the thoughtful integration of ed tech." And what can do more to empower student voice than the mastery of language.