This year I am teaching in a Digital Writing lab where students use technology to create and share the written word. Writing in my classroom varies from your typical school writing assignments such as stories or informational reports to real world writing like emails or PSA videos. My class affords students unique opportunities to share their writing quickly and easily with a real audience. In my classroom we have 1:1 iPads, Mac computers, and a Promethean ActivTable. 

The Digital Writing Lab at Clark Creek was the brainchild of our principal, Joey Moss. She saw there was room to improve writing scores schoolwide. As a STEM school, use of technology is used in a variety of ways but Ms. Moss wanted students to use it not just to consume but also create. There is not set curriculum used in the Innovation Lab. Lessons are planned based on grade level needs, GSE ELA standards, GPS Social Standards and ISTE standards. All of the students at Clark Creek experience this unique class as a part of their specials rotation.

This technology allows students to create, collaborate, and communicate in different ways. Younger students enjoy working with words using OSMO and Tiggly games, while older students create persuasive presentations or pseudo social media threads for historical figures.

There’s never a dull moment in my classroom from writing about virtual reality field trips to creating our own mini-movies we find ways to put a fresh new spin on traditional writing assignments.