With the release of DocsPlus this year, I have been doing more visits to middle and high schools to show districts how this powerful tool can help students move away from picture based supports and create longer pieces of writing.
One of the biggest differences between Clicker 7, for elementary school students, and DocsPlus, is the lessening of pictures and symbol support. DocsPlus focuses on the speech feedback found in the document (triggered by punctuation), as well as the use of the word predictor. The word predictor in DocsPlus has four preset levels and can also be customized to accommodate for individual student’s needs.
Another key feature that is appealing for middle schoolers is WorkSpace. As students move through school and progress to writing (and reading) more complicated pieces of text, this graphic organizer can be extremely helpful. Students can use this as a prewriting activity to see key concepts and new vocabulary laid out in a simple, comfortable way. Teachers have also been using WorkSpace to create index cards or visual study guides to prepare for tests and quizzes. Since WorkSpace is a blank template, teachers have tons of options to make whatever resources are most valuable for their students.
The DocReader is another feature that stands out in DocsPlus. This enables teachers to open PDFs within DocsPlus and have them read aloud to students. Being able to read and listen to text independently is an important skill for students transitioning from elementary to middle school, and this feature also saves teachers time because they aren’t supporting the reading aspect of the assignment. The DocReader is a great feature in DocsPlus, and one of the many reasons why this program an excellent choice for middle and high school students.
Get in touch with us today to set up a webinar on DocsPlus to see how it can help your students succeed!
