Agenda+for+VSTE


 * Description:** This session will focus on preparing students for the online writing SOL and cultivating successful, lifelong writers through use of a variety of learning tools.

What is digital writing and how is it different than traditional writing?  Transmedia example  media type="youtube" key="O9z71iNrlew" height="315" width="560"  Today's Meet example: Fishbowl in 5th Grade
 * Introduction**:

How fast do YOU write by hand? How fast do YOU type? Stand up if you consider yourself a "good" typist. Partner with someone who is still sitting for this next activity. The task is to compare how fast you write by hand to how fast you type random words provided in a 1 minute time period. Decide who is going to type first and who is going to write first. Go to this site and try to start the task at the same time. The timer starts once the first character is entered into the box. Look at and record the statistics provided at the end of the minute. So, how did you do? Switch roles and repeat. Analyze your personal data. How does your writing speed compare with your typing speed? Is the keyboard a barrier for you?

Handwriting Speeds

So how does keyboarding play into prepping for the online SOL test? How does it play into writing as a skill for life?

Share
 * Tools for Writers**
 * Wikis

Break

Share
 * Blogs
 * Edmodo
 * JogTheWeb
 * Wallwisher
 * Voicethread

[|Inside Writing Communities: Grades 3-5]
 * Tools for teachers**

Tools smackdown?

The Power of Youth Voice: What Kids Learn When They Create with Digital Media
 * Closure**