SOLO

Recently, students were introduced to the SOLO program. The SOLO program is a computer software program that includes word prediction, a text reader, graphic organizers, and talking word processor. This assists students in being more independent during the writing process and is just one more tool for students to write about books we read in class. Students learned how to use the Draft Builder and Write Outloud features of the program to take notes and write a summary of a book we are reading in class, something previously completed with pencil and paper. Each day, students are taking notes about the events in the book. Once completing the book, students will be able to drag their notes into a written summary. Some of the features of this program are its ability to read the text students write, spell check, and click and drag text (instead of retyping it.) Another advantage is the increased student interest and motivation. Not only is the new technology fun for students to use, students are finding the writing process to be less laborious and more enjoyable.