Description: Write the World is dedicated to improving the writing of high school students through a global online community and guided interactive process.
Young writers are empowered to develop their voices, refine their editing skills, and publish on an international platform. Write the World helps students develop the writing strategies and communication tools essential for success in school, career, and life.
Pain Points: Writing Skills, Creative and Critical Thinking, Community Building, Collaborative Learning
Platform: Write the World works best on all newer (< 3 years) MAC and PC based desktops, laptops, tablets and smart phones. The screen will change if you switch to a smaller device, but all of the same features are available.
Usability: The platform can be used by educators as well as kids aged 13-18.
For educators: Educators can create and manage online spaces for students to practice their writing. “Write the World Groups” provides an easy-to-use platform for creating prompts, rubrics, and resources for all types of writing and subject areas to meet the curriculum objectives. As a group manager, educators can create assignments, facilitate peer review, comment on student work, and measure students’ growth through individual portfolios. Membership for the group can be set to “public” or “private” depending on your needs.
For kids: Kids get to explore their ever-changing library of prompts establishing a daily writing practice and expanding the repertoire of writing styles, all the while building portfolios of polished work. Also, kids can enter competitions and challenges for the chance to receive feedback from authors, writing teachers, and other experts in the field. By joining this vibrant community, kids can share work and exchange feedback with writers from all over the world. Earn badges along the way as you build your writing portfolio keeps kids going and motivated to explore more about it. Write away writer’s block, pushes beyond the comfort zone, and introduces an array of topics and styles from op-eds to poems, from flash fiction to memoir.
Walkthrough: After signing up on the platform, user can easily start with their writing projects. The platform gives you the option to opt for free writing style or chose from their “prompts”, the various specific styles. Also, students can enter into various competitions. Each month Write the World holds a new competition, developed around a particular idea or genre of writing, such as poetry, fantasy, sports journalism, or flash fiction. The good thing about the competition is that initially kids have to submit the first draft of the piece and after they got their draft reviewed they can further make the changes and work to their best potential. Deadlines must be respected and all the submission must be done wishing confined time. The winning entrant receives $100, and the runner-up and best peer-reviewer receive $50. Also, all the winners will be featured on their blog, with commentary from the guest judge. User can also join the existing groups on the platform to explore more about the writing community. The groups may focus on a particular style or topic so if users’ interest matches with the group’s they can learn a lot from this feature.
For educators, this platform can be of great help as they can easily manage their class over the site and help them with the assignments, collaborative learning, and implementing creative writing into an already packed curriculum. The group feature is of great benefit to the educators as you can assess and assist the whole class on the same platform. Connect your classroom to a global community of young writers. With members representing over 80 countries, Write the World offers your students the excitement and vibrancy of writing for a “real” audience, beyond the walls of a classroom. Your students can enter monthly competitions, exchange peer reviews with writers from all around the world, and respond to our weekly prompts. Access the suite of resources, and utilize the platform’s publishing and portfolio tools all while incorporating prompts, competitions, and peer review into your curriculum.
Pricing: Free of cost.
Like the platform says, “Words are Powerful”, the platform in itself is a powerful tool helping young minds to come out of their shells and explore their writing talents. A good way to extend and showcase the talent you hold. It bridges the gap and helps students connect with the community with similar interest helping them polish their skills and explore more about the skill.
