Google Drive (3rd-12th)Similar to how Google helped support organization in Writing, it can also be a solution to problems with conventions. GoogleDrive has many features that can be helpful to students with writing and spelling difficulties. The first feature is thesaurus. Students can type a word they know how to spell, then highlight the word and select the Thesaurus option. Students can then chose a more complex word they were not able to spell. Another feature is the dictionary option. Students can highlight a word they have typed or chosen, after highlighting it and selecting dictionary, students are able to read whether they are using the correct tense or use. A third feature is error notice. When an error is made, the text will be highlighted red for spelling and green for grammar. If right clicked on, students will be given choices to chose from to solve the problem. All of these features can be found in any word processing program, however, the one feature they do not have is a simultaneous working and sharing capability. Students can share their stories with peer, parents, or teachers to help support spelling errors. They can then collaborate with the writer using the comment or edit feature to help the student edit their story.
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Speech Recognition (set up 4th-12th, all grades can use) http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/set-up-speech-recognition
One solution to students who struggle with conventions might be to show them how to use the Speech Recognition feature in Microsoft Word (if you don't have this program, many word processors have this feature or see other tools below.) Once this feature is selected students who struggle with spelling, grammar mechanics, and/or typing can instead verbally tell their story to the computer and the program will type the story for them. Students can use vocabulary in their writing, they normally would not use due to spelling difficulties. Also, students can focus more on ideas, voice, and word choice then spelling and grammar usage. There are a few things to consider when using this solution.
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Microsoft Word AutoCorrect (set up 5th-12th, 3rd-5th support to use)Like Speech Recognition , Autocorrect is a feature included in Microsoft Word (as well as other programs.) You can use the AutoCorrect feature to correct typos and misspelled words, as well as to insert symbols and other pieces of text. AutoCorrect is set up by default with a list of typical misspellings and symbols, but you can modify the list that AutoCorrect uses. AutoCorrect can also correct a misspelled word if the word is similar to a word in the main spelling checker dictionary. (Micorsoft, 2010)
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Other Tools
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