Technology and NaNoWriMo
Reliable access to internet-connected computers was critical to our success with NaNoWriMo. The first year we wrote novels was well before schools had 1:1 technology programs. Thanks to a generous grant from a local foundation (Petaluma Educational Foundation), I was able to add a full set of laptops to my classroom. Prior to the grant, we wrote in our library's computer lab, but we soon discovered the tremendous benefits of having devices in our room, available to us any time we needed them.
Although our students are often called "digital natives," even with all the technology they operate today, they really do need a great deal of direct instruction from adults when it comes to safe, appropriate, and academic uses of technology. If you're wondering why it can be so frustrating to work with students and technology, you might find it helpful to read my blog post about the Myth of the Digital Native.
Here are ways that technology helped to make this project successful while also teaching my students valuable digital literacy skills:
Although our students are often called "digital natives," even with all the technology they operate today, they really do need a great deal of direct instruction from adults when it comes to safe, appropriate, and academic uses of technology. If you're wondering why it can be so frustrating to work with students and technology, you might find it helpful to read my blog post about the Myth of the Digital Native.
Here are ways that technology helped to make this project successful while also teaching my students valuable digital literacy skills:
1. Google documents:
Our school is a Google for Education school, which means that all students are given a district Gmail account. Google documents work really well for NaNoWriMo:
Our school is a Google for Education school, which means that all students are given a district Gmail account. Google documents work really well for NaNoWriMo:
- Google docs are saved within their Gmail accounts, which meant no one loses their writing and no dogs eat any homework.
- Students "share" their novels-in-progress with me via their Google doc, which means that I can check in on their writing at any time during the process. I don't have to collect any rough drafts or interrupt their writing, and I can give them feedback in the margins of their document, next to highlighted sections of their writing, during the writing process.
- Students can also "share" their writing with others via Google docs, meaning students can get ideas from each other without disrupting the rest of the writers in the room.
- Since the students write every day for a month, they get lots of word processing practice, and increase their skills and comfort level with online work (email, online accounts, etc.).
2. Research:
My students loved researching details that would make their novels more realistic. That provided a great opportunity for me to teach them some basic online research skills in a context that really mattered to them. Even your youngest learners can start building their research skills as part of a writing project. We especially enjoyed researching the setting(s) of our novels, as we were able to locate some specific places for our characters to hang out with friends, go on vacation, encounter their nemesis and meet new people.
My preference is for students to have the freedom to write whatever stories they want, but if you want to combine novel writing with history curriculum, your students could research the history to make their stories more accurate.
My students loved researching details that would make their novels more realistic. That provided a great opportunity for me to teach them some basic online research skills in a context that really mattered to them. Even your youngest learners can start building their research skills as part of a writing project. We especially enjoyed researching the setting(s) of our novels, as we were able to locate some specific places for our characters to hang out with friends, go on vacation, encounter their nemesis and meet new people.
My preference is for students to have the freedom to write whatever stories they want, but if you want to combine novel writing with history curriculum, your students could research the history to make their stories more accurate.
3. Publishing our novels via Blurb.com:
In addition to being a great motivation for writers, the publishing process is also a valuable experience for students. They follow a multi-step process that asks them to:
What if you don't have technology in your classroom? Here are some suggestions for making NaNoWriMo work for you:
In addition to being a great motivation for writers, the publishing process is also a valuable experience for students. They follow a multi-step process that asks them to:
- upload their novel
- choose a book size and style
- make adjustments on the page designs
- design a front cover
- submit information for publication of their book on Amazon.com.
What if you don't have technology in your classroom? Here are some suggestions for making NaNoWriMo work for you:
- use a campus computer lab
- check your area for funding sources: education foundations, businesses, parents, etc.
- take advantage of online resources like DonorsChoose to raise funds for technology
- consider offering NaNoWriMo as a lunch time or after-school club; maybe you could use a computer lab, or students could write at home and meet as a club to discuss the process and their stories.
Novels published by Laura's students.