Storyboarding: Pre-Writing Activity

The more we podcast and have our students create video clips or other digital storytelling projects, the more we need to teach storyboarding as part of the process. Being able to pre-visualize how your story will unfold is becoming a vital skill to have for storytellers.

■Some schools are using digital tools to teach writing

Education Week reports: Innovative language arts teachers find that adapting writing instruction to technology can enhance engagement without sacrificing the fundamentals.

Text messaging: does it harm student writing?

Some teachers say text-messaging could be taking a toll on students' academic writing. Teachers have noticed -- and students admit -- that common text-message abbreviations and lingo are being included in student writing. Teachers also say students often do not know the difference between social and academic writing. Common mistakes include using the letter "u" instead of "you," and using "r" instead of "are." Details in this story from Minnesota.