accessibility · assistive technology · disability · technology · writing workshop

Co:Writer

Stacey Shubitz

As the mother of a child who has Dyslexia, I’m always looking for anything that will make my daughter’s life easier. For instance, a couple of years ago took a deep dive into accessible fonts so I could determine what was the easiest font for her to read. Last year, I taught her how to use the iPad’s voice memos app for oral rehearsal. This year, I’m helping her learn how to use a word/vocabulary prediction app to make writing on the iPad easier for her.

Enter Co-Writer

Isabelle began using the Co:Writer Universal app on her iPad when she was drafting a personal narrative in October. According to the website, “Co:Writer Universal (for Google Chrome and iOS) uses grammar-smart and vocabulary-smart word prediction, translation support, and speech recognition to help unstick ideas and get them to flow in writing.” Basically, it’s a program — offered as an app or browser extension — that predicts the words and phrases one intends to type even if the spelling is off. This goes beyond what the predictive text setting on the iPad can do because Co:Writer can read things back letter-by-letter, word-by-word, or sentence-by sentence. It uses word prediction that offers suggestions based on the topic. Plus, there’s a text-to-speech feature.

Personalizing the Experience

Once Isabelle got the hang of using Co:Writer, she tinkered with the settings and added personal words (of friends and teachers) so that Co:Writer would predict those words accurately when she began typing them.

There are settings for speed, volume, accent, the amount of words read aloud, font, etc.
Isabelle added her teacher’s name so that Co:Writer would predict it for her.
While Isabelle prefers to write on paper, it’s often difficult for her to read. For instance, a couple of weeks ago, she was getting ready to share the contents of a short, all-about book she wrote with her grandparents (who don’t live locally). She began practicing reading it aloud from her handwritten version and it didn’t go smoothly. I suggested that she use Co:Writer to type it up before recording the video of her reading it aloud. After a couple of minutes of convincing, Isabelle agreed to type it up before recording the video to send to her grandparents. While her keyboarding skills are still slow, typing along with Co:Writer speeds up the process and increases her accuracy. Here’s a look:
Turn up the volume so you can hear the voice from Co:Writer.

While Isabelle’s work gets synched to the Co:Writer cloud, she copies and pastes it into a Google Doc she can save each typed piece of writing in her digital writing folder and/or on Google Classroom.

Classroom Accommodations

It’s important to provide students with language-based learning disabilities to have the proper accommodations. Some students might benefit more from voice and dictation software since it takes all fine motor skills out of the picture by allowing a child to compose with their voice. Other kids are ready to type their writing. Students with Dyslexia need more support than Word, Pages, or a Google Doc can provide. Extensions/apps, like Co:Writer, are helpful because they anticipate the type of writing the user will need. Plus, spell-checking happens in real time!

We improve a child’s chance of becoming a stronger writer whenever we provide accommodations. Of course, there will still be some struggle involved with writing! Removing stumbling blocks can improve a child’s chances of writing success.

Investment

There is a cost associated with Co:Writer Universal. Once our trial ended, we began paying $4.99/month for it. (There is pricing listed on the Co:Writer product page that includes district-wide pricing.) For me, the cost is justified since I saw the benefits immediately because Isabelle had an easier time drafting, revising, and editing her writing. As her mom and as an educator, that’s something I love to see!

Published by Stacey Shubitz

I am a literacy consultant who focuses on writing workshop. I've been working with K-6 teachers and students since 2009. Prior to that, I was a fourth and fifth-grade teacher in New York City and Rhode Island. I'm the author of Craft Moves (Stenhouse Publishers, 2016) and the co-author of Jump Into Writing (Zaner-Bloser, 2021), Welcome to Writing Workshop (Stenhouse Publishers, 2019), and Day By Day (Stenhouse, 2010). I live in Central Pennsylvania with my husband and children. In my free time, I enjoy swimming, doing Pilates, cooking, baking, making ice cream, and reading novels.

4 thoughts on “Co:Writer”

  1. We need something like this! I’m going to give it a try. S is still having so much trouble with his printing – much more so than his reading. It’s still quite illegible. He doesn’t want to type though! Maybe this will help him. The word prediction will surely help speed things up and he’s all about being able to get his words down quickly.

    Like

    1. Iz told me it was an extension available on the self-service part of her iPad at school last year. Who knew?
      This makes me wonder if perhaps her district is using it with older kids. So, this is just to say, it could even be an option and it may not have reached your elementary schools yet.

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.