New-Age Digital Tools for Students to Read and Write Better

With technological advancements slowly transforming classrooms all around the world, we must match steps with changing times. So far, teachers have got only nice things to say about the use of technology, and most of them agree that having advanced tech tools in the classroom atmosphere helps students to learn better. Digital tools in classrooms motivate students to engage and interact more in classroom settings. Needless to say, it also gives them a scope to realize their potential to the fullest.

Adjusting to the changes brought on by the digital age, educator these days encourage students to use tech tools that help them overcome many a hurdle in class and home, especially when it comes to studies. With an app for almost everything nowadays, the education sector looks all geared up for the future with a host of tech tools to enable students and teachers to learn and teach in a dynamic environment.

Common reading and writing troubles faced by students

Finding a topic to write on, and articulating the same in their own words is a challenge that almost all students face the world over. However, educators can assist students by providing them with the right learning tools that help them stay a step ahead of the rest. In order to do that, we must get to the root of the matter to identify the crucial problems that students encounter when assigned with reading and writing assignments at school or college. Some common issues faced by students are listed below:

• Problems with finding information on the topic
• Issues getting a grip on the topic
• Muddling up external sources for lack of organisational skills
• Incorrect sentence formations, improper verb usage, and other construction issues
• Turning in essays without proper revisions
• Problems with finding inspiration to compose a well-written piece
• Encountering difficulties in retaining information that they read

Modern reading and writing tools can help students overcome all of these and plenty of other problems that they encounter in their classrooms. That is precisely why this post endeavors to let educators and students know of such reliable and effective digital tools that they can make good use of when faced with the next reading and writing assignment.

Having troubles regarding researching and writing?

These brilliant digital tools can help you now!

Composing a lucid and crisp essay or assignment has many factors to it. It only turns out as per the standards of your educational institution if you can conquer each phase with ease. Here are the digital tools that you can efficiently use at each stage of reading and writing so that you never have to turn in a sub-par assignment in class!

Reading assistants

Are you having troubles with pronunciations and vocabulary? Google Chrome extensions can help you with that! Access any dictionary and learn about the nuances of pronunciation, usage, and spellings for all words that seemed all too difficult before!

Do you have a text that is too difficult to read and has complicated words? Paraphrase it to simpler formats using Rewordify with a simple copy+paste feature! This lets you pick up the meanings of complex words as well, so it is a win-win for all!

You can also check out tools like Tween Tribune, Speak It, Read&Write and Newsela for audio support for texts and solving comprehension difficulties with ease.

Researching tools

There is no beating Google Scholar when it comes to research tools on the Internet. It provides you with access to academic articles and peer-reviewed papers that are a veritable source of information for your next assignment.

If you are looking for a more fun and interactive platform where you can look for ideas and simplify topics, go for Instagrok. Designed for school-going kids primarily, this app lets you insert a topic and creates an infographic or map, highlighting key elements and concepts for future use.

Finally, all your research and those long hours in the library will amount to almost nothing if you do not know how to organise it well. Keeping a tab on all external sources and information that you use for paper is vital, and one of the key skills that you must pick up as a student. Evernote lets you do just that, with unbelievable ease. You can save links, bookmarks, quotations, ideas, pdf handouts, pictures and a lot more using the customisable features of Evernote.

Pre-writing support

Once you know what you want to write, collating all your ideas in one place is essential if you want your paper to turn out exactly how you envision. To do that, you need to create an effective pre-writing strategy, and digital tools that can help you do that. Use Padlet to generate small starter sentences for your arguments or find fascinating adjectives. Build a wall with pointers and topic sentences on Padlet that you can keep referring to when drafting the paper.

Other tools like online graphic organisers (Analogy Organizer, Five-Paragraph Essay, and Cause and Effect) help you create an infographic or map of ideas for the topic. You can use the framework provided by graphic organisers to structure your essay and follow pointers that lead to an engaging conclusion.

Finally, storing ideas or keeping an online idea journal on Evernote is a fabulous way of letting your creative juices flow when you are faced with pre-writing hassles for your essay.

Drafting aids

This is the hardest part for students. The point where they actually have to put pen to paper (or fingers on the keyboard, for that matter) is usually the hardest hurdle they encounter, especially if they come from an ESL background. Since most of them own a Smartphone with voice typing features these days, they can stay a step ahead of the rest of the class only if their teachers encourage them to use the same for their writing assignments too.

However, the Internet offers a variety of writing assistants in case the students find it tremendously difficult to overcome this phase, even with the use of voice typing features on their phone. ProWritingAid, for one, not only checks grammar and spelling as students write but also offers thousands of insightful suggestions for improving the style and tone.

If Google Docs and its awe-inspiring features do not impress you, then you can also pick yWriterfor quickening the process of writing like never before. It breaks down your work into sizeable portions and saves tasks as daily logs so you can swiftly pick up right from where you left it.

Revising and editing apps

Turning in an essay or paper without revisions and proofreading is probably the worst thing you can do to yourself. Without proper editing and revisions, almost all of the hard work that you put in to compose such a crucial piece will surely go in vain. Hence, you need apps like Hemingway Editor to assist you with editing and proofreading. Apart from basic grammar and punctuation screenings, Hemingway Editor also checks the tone, relevance, and readability of the paper, highlighting portions that you may have to rewrite.

If you want to edit as you write, PerfectIt can provide you with instant corrections and alterations to your text. It can be clubbed with MS Word, and it removes double spaces or accidental Caps Lock usage on the go as you type. PerfectIt is thus perfect for an initial editing and revision process while you write.

If you are worried about unoriginal portions creeping into your essay or paper, avail MyAssignmenthelp.com’s plagiarism checker. They check your piece against an extensive archive of scholarly articles, journals, and web pages, and provide you with a plagiarism report in the end.

Presentation and evaluation techniques

After you are done writing and revising the essay or paper to the fullest of your capacities, the time comes to turn it in. However, knowing about the right tools and formats you can use to let your educator evaluate the paper with ease is imperative if you want to score well. Google Docs can be your go-to friend when it comes to matters like these. Submit your essay or paper in the Google Docs format or take help of the basic MS PowerPoint features to create an engaging presentation.

Coming to the matter of evaluation, teachers can always get prompt assistance from the rubrics panel on Google Docs to leave comments and insights on students’ papers and share the same with them. Rubistar can also be a great alternative for taking evaluation to the next level with advanced rubrics features that you can customise as per your specific requirements.

Wrapping it up

Whether it is organising all your research in one place or finding just the software to proofread your essay, digital tools can help you with each stage of writing. We live in a technologically advanced age, and with classrooms, the world over switching to more advanced learning techniques, why fall behind? Take help of the brilliant digital tools mentioned in this post, and you can see the difference for yourself. Be creative, and try out a few strategies for your next writing task. Good luck!