One of my colleague with more years of experience teaching than me made an interesting comment today.  When he was teaching language, students were writing 20 pages of CONTENT and not focusing on the bells and whistles of computers with a PowerPoint presentation for example with next to no content and only bells and whistles that looks good.

I would argue that there is a place for writing 20 pages reports or stories.  I have personally encouraged my students to write long narratives and publish them online.  The app and website I recommended was WattPad.

http://www.wattpad.com/

Reluctant writers and beginning writers can be encouraged to write blogs as well using Kidblog.  The interaction with their classmates and addition of pictures and videos makes writing blogs more fascinating than a single page that only the teacher reads.

Using the computer allows additional advantages.  Publishing 20 page stories online allow students to develop a digital footprint.  When we look for someone’s name upon hiring, they can tell: See, I published my first story when I was 13 years old. It is an amazing feeling at 13 years of age and also later to show what they have done.  Knowing that they write for an authentic audience all around the world builds confidence and interests.  My students were much more motivated to write when they knew they could publish and show the world their work.

Today’s world requires other things as well.  The business world may need reports but they also need people who are able to sell, who are able to design publicity or who are able to convince.  I am not sure a 20-page report would work.  Other tools are needed to write publicity posters.  To create a good publicity that works requires just as much thought if not more than the 20-page story.

To express oneself can take very many forms.  Here are some suggestions: from creating timelines to books, letters, menus, newspapers, blogs, play, debate, radio show, editorial and many more.

https://twitter.com/ForTheTeachers/status/295908452402884608/photo/1

Each of these forms can use different applications.  What’s important to know is that all forms of writing should be used to develop critical thinking skills and that technology supports this quite well.