Writing-Composition

**Cost:**Free at []
 * Website:** Wordle
 * Description:** This website is a free website that lets you make word clouds. The clouds will point out which words a writer uses more often. You can format the clouds to look however you want.
 * Benefits of Students:** Students who struggle with word choice and organization can benefit from using this website. The word clouds make the more common words, in a paper, stand out. This will allow students to choose a synonym that better suits their piece of writing. Visual learners also benefit greatly from this website. They can physically see all the words right in front of them.
 * Environment:** Wordles can be used in any educational environment, no matter what subject a teacher is teaching.
 * Tasks:** This website will assist with writing composition It can help students make their writing stronger by pointing out words that are used often. It can help with note taking and idea gathering.

(Amanda Reed)

**Cost:** $119 at []
 * Hardware:** Neo (Portable Keyboard)
 * Description:** Neo is a portable keyboard from the AlphaSmart family. It has a long battery life, it is portable, easy to use, and helps students overcome writing barriers.
 * Benefits of Students:** Students who struggle with taking notes or irst drafts will highly benefit from this portable keyboard. It will also assist students who have trouble with spelling. The Neo has a built in spell-check tool that will correct students' spelling errors. It has a file organizing system that will benefit students who have trouble staying organized.
 * Environment**: The Neo could be used in any educational environmental where writing is incorporated.
 * Tasks:** It will assist with any writing composition activity. The Neo can help students compose drafts of assignments or help them take notes on any upcoming assignments. It allows students to stay organized by keeping their assignments in a built-in file system.

(Amanda Reed)

eType- word prediction software eType is a free word predictor program can be downloaded for free. It is from [] (Kara Traub)
 * Description:** eType is a word predictor software that can help students when they are writing. It helps students write what they want to say if they cannot spell the word, or just need a little boost when thinking of a word. This program will help them write the full word that they are intending to.
 * Characteristics of students who will benefit:** students who are poor spellers will benefit very much from this program. Also, students who cannot always say what they are thinking, the program will help them think of that word if they can come up with the first couple letters.
 * Environment:** This program can be used in any content area, but will specially be good for writing.
 * Tasks:** This program will help with any time a student needs to write something. EType can be for spelling or just a helpful guide to think of words.

Dragon Dictation App 

My high tech item is Dragon Dictation for the Ipad. This app allows students to record something and view it as text. The words appear on the screen three times faster than if you were typing. Students can create, modify, and correct text as well, It can be downloaded for free. [] Characteristics of students who may benefit from this tool may include trouble with fine motor skills, problems with typing, or students that have trouble putting their thoughts onto paper. This tool could be used in a general education classroom typically in a writing class. This tool will assist students in time management because they save time by talking instead of watching the screen and typing and also allow them to communicate more easily. (Sarah Callanan)

Special Paper- Raised or Bold Lines This low tech tool is white paper with bold black lines on both sides of the paper. It helps students write in the lines because they can clearly see the lines and there is enough space in between the lines for students to write. The cost is $2.95 and it is from the company Independent Living Aids. The website to find all of this information is []. Students who may benefit from this are students with fine motor issues. They may have a hard time keeping their writing in the lines. This paper could be used in a writing class, but really any subject in general. Students usually have to write at some point in all classes, so this paper could benefit students in really any subject.

Rachel Winter

[|Click Software, Inc.] - $300 for a single computer license, $600 for 5 computer license, $900 for 10 computer license, $1,500 for 30 computer license and $3,000 for unlimited license
 * Clicker (Version 6)**

The Clicker 6 program is a word processing program that provides word prediction using both word and picture cues and review of students’ writing using a text-to-speech feature.

This tool benefits students with dyslexia, learning difficulties, speech or language impairments, physical disabilities, low vision, students with Autism, and students with Downs Syndrome. The word prediction software and the text-to-speech feature are especially helpful to students with dyslexia, students with learning difficulties, students with Autism or Downs Syndrome, and students with speech or language impairments. The text-to-speech feature and the large, colorful section for word prediction help students with low vision.
 * Student Characteristics**

This tool is specifically for writing composition, and can be used for any area of the curriculum in which students are asked to compose a piece of their own writing.
 * Environment**

Writing composition Drafting, editing, or revising writing
 * Tasks**

Erin Entwistle

Vision

Inspiration.com

This website provides multiple means of representation, expression and engagement to help students visualize and organize their ideas to structure writing and improve communication and expression. This website is fun, so the students enjoy writing and keeps the students engaged. Students can brainstorm using symbols and images to represent and sort their ideas and create visual diagrams and graphic organizers to break work down into managable sections. The cost is $39.95, but there are free trials and can be found at []. It is recommended for children with ADHD, autism, Asperger's, dyslexia, aphasia, and visual or auditory processing disorders. It can be used in writing classes to help organize their ideas or reall any class where students need to organize theird ideas or need assisitance with with visual or auditory processing.

Rachel Winter

**High-tech item: Word-Q**

This program provides text-to-speech, auditory proofreading, such as grammar, spelling ,etc., and word prediction. It costs about $200. Source - [] Students will learning disabilities and reading and writing delays will benefit from this program. Inclusive setting - any content area This item will assist with writing and reading tasks. **Kate Stuart**


 * iReadWrite for the iPad**
 * Cost:** $19.95 http://www.texthelp.com/north-america/ireadwrite/
 * Description:** IReadWrite is used on an iPad to access reading and writing support features including text-to-speech with dual highlighting, word prediction, spell checker, homophone/confusable checker, text and picture dictionary.
 * Student Characteristics:** Students with reading and writing difficulties, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, and English Language Learners.
 * Environment:** All curriculum that requires reading or writing.
 * Tasks:** Reading and writing

Matt Craig

**__Visuwords__**

Visuwords is an online graphic organizer dictionary. After typing in a word, different meanings and associations appear to help get a better concept of the original word. **Source & Cost** [] Free Resource **Characteristics of Students** All students can benefit from this resource, but students with attention problems or difficulty organizing their thoughts may benefit from Visuwords. **Environment** Visuwords, considering that it is a free online resource, should be used in the classroom and at home. **Tasks** Students can use Visuwords to research some of their word study or vocabulary words. It also presents a wonderful example of a graphic organizer that students can use to reflect their own style of thinking. (Heather Slavings)

**AT Harware: Braille Note Takers**

[|Humanware.com] $3,895 each

Braille Note Takers help students who are blind take notes by using either a standard Braille keyboard or a QWERTY keyboard. Braille Note Takers can be connected to a computer, printer, or Braille printer to download files and print. Braille Note Takers provide students with a choice of adaptive inputs or outputs.

**Student Characteristics** Blind

**Environment** All curriculum areas that require note taking

**Tasks** Note taking Typing

(Kim Price)

**Web 2.0 Tool: Word Q**



www.goqsoftware.com, $199

Word Q is a word prediction program that makes an educated guess about the next word the student wants to type and presents a list of choices for them to choose from. Word Q helps students with spelling, organizing thoughts, and does not require a lot of keystrokes.

**Student Characteristics** Learning disabilities, ADD, CP, physical disabilites

**Environment** All curriculum areas that require writing

**Tasks** Pre-Writing and Drafting stages of the Writing Process

(Kim Price)

**High Tech: Co:Writer SOLO** Description: This is a word-prediction software that works in any application you write in. It interprets spelling and grammar mistakes and offers word suggestions from a topic dictionary or personal dictionary. It also offers the features of flexspell, word banks, and reads your text.

The cost for a single computer license is $290.00. Source: http://www.donjohnston.com/products/cowriter/index.html Characteristics of students who may benefit include students with illegible handwriting, very poor phonetic or inventive spelling, a physical disability which makes typing difficult, and students with difficulty translating thoughts into writing. The environment it may be used in would be any writing environment including practice with spelling and writing composition. The tasks it may assist with include improving inventive spelling, generating thoughts, writing longer pieces of writing, practicing with spelling, and determining how to pronounce words.

Brittany Cartwright


 * High Tech: Speech Recognition Software**

@http://www.nuance.com/dragon/index.htm [|.] $99.99 for home software

Dragon speech recognition software makes it easier for anyone to use a computer. You talk, and it types. Use your voice to create and edit documents or emails, launch applications, open files, control your mouse, and more. Quickly and easily capture your thoughts and ideas while Dragon helps you get more done faster.

This tool is ideal for students with difficulty writing and reading, especially students with dyslexia.
 * Student Characteristics**

All curriculum areas that require writing.
 * Environment**

Writing text on computer.
 * Tasks**

(Danielle Mooney)