Reinventing Writing (Eye on Education Books)

"Writing is being reinvented. This does not mean you are irrelevant." - From Reinventing Writing by Vicki DavisVicki 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 blog at coolcatteacher.com. 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 this book for anyone who wants to learn more about 21st century digital tools. It definitely gets 5 stars!

In "Reinventing Writing" author, teacher, and tech superstar Vicki Davis redefines what it means to pick up the pen.The book is organized around nine Common Core-ready tools teachers can use right now to bring 21st century writing practices into the classroom. Although the objective of the book is "for modern educators to select the right tool for teaching purpose, to determine how to set it up quickly, and to prevent common mistakes," "Reinventing Writing" is so much more. The platforms in "Reinventing Writing" might change over time, but the paradigm shift is the same. "Reinventing Writing" helps teachers bring cutting-edge writing practice into the classroom. The way we write and process information is changing. Vicki shows how allowing students to create and share content for real is improving the way we think about writing and learning. Students must become content creators, not simply passive consumers. Vicki shows us how to help them do that.Vicki outlines specific situations, platforms, and tools. She gives teachers who are beginners or experienced in tech ideas for use and implementation and ways to avoid common pitfalls. She covers the range of spaces where writing can be inserted, showing ways to do so to engage today's learners. "Reinventing Writing" is more than nine simple tools, it's a change in the way you will approach not only writing in the classroom, but educational technology as well."What if I don't have a lot of technology available?" Vicki answers this. You can pick a few strategies or ideas from this book and try them. Vicki explains reinventing writing isn't a race, it's a step-by step conscious reflection. As a beginner or someone from a tech-deprived environment, Vicki shows you how to do it."What if I've got a lot going on? How do I organize this?" Vicki shows ways to organize your thoughts--and student work--in the cloud. This might be the biggest challenge. We're used to papers with writing on them, and piles on our desks. By putting work on the web and in the cloud, we can engage with students, and student can engage with each other--and in-field experts--easily. This helps us shift our mindset from teacher as sole provider of feedback to students using the world to help them become great."What about student privacy and Internet safety concerns?" There is a complete chapter about this important subject. "Reinventing Writing" stresses the critical nature of creating digitally responsible citizens ready to take on the universe, keeping them safe in the process.We must reinvent writing to be social, engaging, and higher-level. Vicki shows how, engaging students and proving they can write, "for real."This would be a great book for a solo read or a professional learning network. It's organized with essential questions at the beginning of chapters and challenges at the end. You can easily put the material into practice. It has a helpful glossary if you're new to the digital journey, and appendices with good resources. There are links throughout the Kindle edition which allow you to access the platforms Vicki referenced.If you're already a tech guru, you can use this book to help organize the people you inspire and mentor. If you're just beginning your journey into cloud-based or edtech writing platforms, you need this book. Either way, read "Reinventing Writing" to see how you're doing, and get some tips along the way.