Software "Wizard" for Essay Writing Released: Egorg Writing-1 Trains Middle-School Students
New software is available that helps middle school students master the art of essay writing. Suitable for both home and classroom use, the program is effectively a sentence-by-sentence wizard that coaches students through the process. The software was released by Virtual Learning Environment Solutions, Inc. under the Egorg brand.
Marblehead, MA, February 07, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Virtual Learning Environment Solutions, Inc., announced the release of its software solution for teaching middle school students how to write essays. Available for download from the company's “Egorg” web site, Egorg Writing-1 is the company's response to parents, teachers, and tutors who have requested support for students who struggle with organizing their writing.
After using Writing-1's pre-writing tools for brainstorming ideas, the student uses the program's wizard-like, sentence-by-sentence instructions to create a strong outline. Once the outline is created, Writing-1 automatically converts it to prose. But, as any writer can tell you, the key to good writing is revision. To facilitate the revision process Writing-1 has checklists with help and demonstrative examples to assist in refining the essay. These are the sorts of checklists that teachers themselves use when providing instruction on writing.
“When we were showing around our reading program (Egorg Reading-1) to teachers, tutors, and parents, we kept getting the response of, 'yeah, that's nice, but what we really need is help with writing.' So, we answered with Writing-1,” said Dr. Daniel Himes, who is president of VLE Solutions. Himes says that it's the emphasis on standardized tests that makes writing such a priority. “Understanding a literary theme is a part of the test, but writing spans across subjects,” he added.
The software is appropriate for home use or in a differentiated instruction environment in which teachers group students by interest and strengths in order to more efficiently teach them all. With Writing-1, the students would need little individual guidance, allowing the teachers to manage a diverse classroom more efficiently.
Himes emphasizes that the software doesn't actually write the essay for the student so much as it teaches the student how to do it for himself or herself. “None of our software does the work for the student,” maintains Himes. “Rather it provides a scaffold for the student to learn how to do the work.”
The website, www.egorg.com, includes a video demonstrating the software's features. For more information please visit the website.
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After using Writing-1's pre-writing tools for brainstorming ideas, the student uses the program's wizard-like, sentence-by-sentence instructions to create a strong outline. Once the outline is created, Writing-1 automatically converts it to prose. But, as any writer can tell you, the key to good writing is revision. To facilitate the revision process Writing-1 has checklists with help and demonstrative examples to assist in refining the essay. These are the sorts of checklists that teachers themselves use when providing instruction on writing.
“When we were showing around our reading program (Egorg Reading-1) to teachers, tutors, and parents, we kept getting the response of, 'yeah, that's nice, but what we really need is help with writing.' So, we answered with Writing-1,” said Dr. Daniel Himes, who is president of VLE Solutions. Himes says that it's the emphasis on standardized tests that makes writing such a priority. “Understanding a literary theme is a part of the test, but writing spans across subjects,” he added.
The software is appropriate for home use or in a differentiated instruction environment in which teachers group students by interest and strengths in order to more efficiently teach them all. With Writing-1, the students would need little individual guidance, allowing the teachers to manage a diverse classroom more efficiently.
Himes emphasizes that the software doesn't actually write the essay for the student so much as it teaches the student how to do it for himself or herself. “None of our software does the work for the student,” maintains Himes. “Rather it provides a scaffold for the student to learn how to do the work.”
The website, www.egorg.com, includes a video demonstrating the software's features. For more information please visit the website.
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Contact
Virtual Learning Environment Solutions, Inc
Dan Himes
781.277.1151
www.vlesolutions.com/
Dan Himes
781.277.1151
www.vlesolutions.com/
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