My Standard and Inspiration

My standard is pretty easy.

Content Standard 2: Students will produce written, oral and visual texts to express, develop and substantiate ideas and experiences.

How many students abhor writing? I'd say a large chunk. How many students hate the writing process? Again, I'd say a large chunk. Writing, the notion of the blank sheet, the horror of messing up that blank sheet with a mistake, or, heaven forbid, a bad piece of writing...these are all concepts that make my skin crawl. And I love writing. I have seen far too many students give up before trying.

Where digital imagery helps us here...that's obvious. A picture tells a thousand words. If students are able to tell their story through pictures, and let those pictures help shape their writing, how is that anything but a benefit? Furthermore, if they are able to take that a step further, and create a script and use it in making a movie...again, how is this not a benefit?

Using a program like Inspiration or bubbl.us is another way students can benefit in their writing. The benefit here, storymapping, is again one that should be obvious. When students are able to plot out their story, and do so in a way that is easy to understand, malleable, and able to be transferred to many different areas and platforms, the student benefits, as does their family. There is an opportunity for families to become immersed in the students' education, and for it to become an experience the entire family can engage in. TV nights can become writing nights, or production nights.

For visual learners, the thought of pen to paper, or text to Word, is scary. Through using visual devices, though, hopefully the fright can be lessened, and students can begin to think of themselves not just as writers, but creators.