Writable

Writable is an extensive web-based writing program. It focuses on a recursive writing process with a lot of peer and teacher feedback. Content covers all major writing genres taught in grades 3 to 12: argumentative/persuasive, narrative, and informational/expository. As they complete assignments, students learn how to respond to prompts in quick writes, short responses, multiparagraph essays, and extended writing projects with multiple revisions. Schools that use six traits, writing workshop, and other instructional methods will find that the program works with any of those methods in multiple content areas. Teachers manage the peer feedback and revision process and can jump in to provide additional feedback and assistance. In the anonymous peer review process, students use the rubric to assist with evaluating the writing, assign stars, and provide written feedback. Writers receive and incorporate the feedback, and then the writing goes back to the reviewers for another look. In addition, teachers can assign evaluations of the peer feedback.

In addition to peer feedback, Writable has added a new tool called RevisionAid that analyzes writing and provides automatic, specific feedback, adding another layer in the revision cycle. Students click a button in the writing area and receive recommendations with color-coded stars that categorize the type of feedback. Teachers enable RevisionAid when assigning a writing prompt or project and then review that data as part of the dashboard reports. There are also some additions to support virtual and hybrid learning, including recording and embedding video, providing video and audio feedback, printable reading passages, and differentiated prompts for any assignment as well as more grading control over multisection assignments.

Schools that use Chromebooks and Google Classroom can import their rosters into Writable and set it up to sync with Classroom assignments. Students can write and submit from Google Docs and save the writing to their drive. If schools use the Canvas or Schoology learning management systems (LMS), teachers install the Writable app and then create assignments. The process is slightly different for each, so make sure to verify the steps for your LMS. Students will see their assignments when they log in.

Writable's biggest strength is in its scaffolding of each step of the writing, revision, and feedback process, and how it supports the assessment of both writing and feedback. It helps students by organizing the process and helps teachers monitor the students as writers, revisers, and reviewers. This focus on students as reviewers -- not just writers and revisers -- is particularly notable. While drafting and revising one's work is an important part of the writing process, research supports that peer review is an equally important skill. Writable supports this focus with its Practice Peer Review assignments, and in the way that giving feedback is integrated and assessed alongside drafting and revision. It's a unique approach among competitors in the edtech writing space and is laudable. 

Writable also gets other things right, like making sure there are accessibility features and detailed graphic organizers that support all students, including ELLs and those who struggle with focus and executive function. In addition, the reports that teachers get provide valuable information that'll shape instructional decisions, and the "team grading" feature -- which provides groups of teachers the ability to norm grading and identify exemplars -- also shows a keen understanding of how tech can support teachers. Although this leads to the big caveat with Writable: There's a lot to it, and learning how to use all of Writable's features requires a significant time investment. But since it's a tool that teachers can rely on to anchor their curriculum, that initial investment over, say, a summer, will be worth it. Every element of the program is useful and thoughtfully designed to support effective writing.