AudacityDavis and McGrail (2009) describe a new approach to revision called "Proof-Revising," the main goal of which is for students to rethink their writing. When students proof-revise, they use podcasts to listen to their work out loud to ensure "the good ideas in their heads are communicated effectively" (p. 523). First, students download Audacity, a free online recording software. Next, they read their draft out loud. After they finish recording, they can listen to their written work and identify if they have captured what they intended to communicate through their writing. Davis and McGrail (2009) explain that this approach to revision "creates for student writers the opportunity to listen for meaning" as they switch roles from writer to active audience (p. 523).
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GrammarlyUsing Grammarly.com, students may upload an existing draft and instantly check for grammar, punctuation, contextual spelling mistakes, and more. By signing up for a free account, writers are granted access to a personal proof-reader 24/7, from any internet-enabled device. Grammarly goes beyond the spell-check capabilities of even the latest releases of popular word processors like Microsoft Office Word and Apple's Pages. If your writers are drafting online, for example using Google Docs or posting to a blog, Grammarly can be installed directly into the Google Chrome web browser for instant conventions feedback. Even as this description was being typed, Grammarly was busy editing my spelling and grammar usage for even subtle mistakes the untrained eye might have otherwise overlooked. It took the guess work out of proper usage of conventions and made me reflect on and learn from the patterns of mistakes I observed myself making. McCormick, et al. (n.d.), citing Hacker, et al. (2009), stipulate that "Writing is an 'act of meaning production' that involves use of metacognitive monitoring strategies through 'reading, re-reading, reflecting, and reviewing'" (p. 78).
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Hemingway EditorThis tool goes beyond acknowledging common errors of misspelling, punctuation, and verb tense. While these are not excluded, the Hemingway Editor App also analyzes sentence structure, the use of adverbs, passive voice, and dull or complicated words. For $6.99, the editor can be downloaded to a Mac or PC for use at any time, with or without Wi-Fi. The Hemingway App strives to aid in making a writer's work bold and clear through a simple-to-use color coding system. For example, in the event that the sentence structure is not as strong as it could be, the text will be highlighted in yellow signaling that the sentence is hard to read, or red if it is very hard to read. Tips for how to best revise these sentences is provided on the right margin. Overall, the Hemingway Editor App fosters independent learning while strengthening the revision and editing components of the writing process.
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References
Davis, A., & McGrail, E. (2009). "Proof-Revising" with podcasting: keeping readers in mind as students listen to and rethink their writing. Reading Teacher, 62(6), 522-529. doi:10.1598/RT.62.6.6
Hacker, D. J., Keener, M. C., & Kircher, J. C. (2009). Writing is applied metacognition. In D. J. Hacker, J. Dunlosky, & A. C. Graesser (Eds.), Handbook of metacognition in education (pp. 154-172) New York, NY: Routledge
McCormick, Christine B., Carey Dimmitt, & Florence R. Sullivan (n.d.). Assessment of metacognition. Chapter 4: Metacognition, Learning, and Instruction (pp. 69-97). Retrieved from http://people.umass.edu/florence/meta.pdf.
Davis, A., & McGrail, E. (2009). "Proof-Revising" with podcasting: keeping readers in mind as students listen to and rethink their writing. Reading Teacher, 62(6), 522-529. doi:10.1598/RT.62.6.6
Hacker, D. J., Keener, M. C., & Kircher, J. C. (2009). Writing is applied metacognition. In D. J. Hacker, J. Dunlosky, & A. C. Graesser (Eds.), Handbook of metacognition in education (pp. 154-172) New York, NY: Routledge
McCormick, Christine B., Carey Dimmitt, & Florence R. Sullivan (n.d.). Assessment of metacognition. Chapter 4: Metacognition, Learning, and Instruction (pp. 69-97). Retrieved from http://people.umass.edu/florence/meta.pdf.
Created By Alison Hester, Stella Ikhnana, & Osiris Alday