Top Writing Tools for Students in the Era of AI
TL;DR: Google Docs users can use free extensions like Process Feedback to reflect on the writing process and share the process with their teachers.
In this evaluation, we will delve into the writing tools designed to help students enhance their writing skills. Our goal is to explore what each tool has to offer, how it addresses the unique needs of teachers and students, and which tool stands out in developing authentic and meaningful writing practice. So, let’s take a deep dive to discover the best tools for nurturing the next generation!
Writing Tools for Students
1. Rumi
Rumi is an online writing editor equipped with various modern features to enhance the classroom writing experience. To implement Rumi in a classroom, instructors or departments must attend a personal demo with the co-founder. Teachers may find features such as full draft history, FERPA-compliant privacy measures, and AI prompt usage tracking, advantageous in their classrooms. Students too can analyze their writing and revisions, view AI prompt reports, and playback the writing process to enhance their writing abilities. Implementing Rumi can transform classroom writing and feedback by providing detailed progress tracking and personalized insights, developing a more dynamic learning environment.
Writing Analytics is an online platform that helps writers develop regular writing habits and stay motivated throughout their projects. It is very convenient to use; students simply need to create an account, purchase a subscription, or start a free trial, and begin using it. It offers features appealing to both teachers and students such as real-time progress tracking, collaboration with other writers, detailed analytics on writing metrics, milestone awards, and built-in editing tools. It also includes a fast-drafting mode to boost student’s productivity, and version history to track changes. With support for importing and exporting from various writing apps and cloud sync functionality, teachers can seamlessly access their student’s work across different devices.
3. Inputlog
Inputlog is a widely used keylogger tool designed to enable researchers to study the writing process. A copy of the software can be requested through an application on the tool's website for its usage. It records various input actions of the students, including keystrokes, mouse movements, clicks, and speech input, with detailed timestamps and contextual information like URLs for the teacher’s better comprehension. As a top choice for writing process analysis, it also offers valuable insights. It creates a professional learning and academic environment in the classroom for students to learn and grow and teachers to be active participants.
Draftback is a Google Chrome extension that offers students and teachers the ability to replay the revision history of any Google Doc to which they have editing access. Draftback can be used with any Google Doc, including those created in the past. This tool provides a unique retrospective view of the writing process, allowing teachers to revisit the evolution of a document as if looking back over their student’s shoulders while they write. With the playback feature, teachers can expect students to be more engaged in their writing. It can also become a conversation starter for student to discuss with their peers. Since Google Docs is probably the most popular online writing platform, using Draftback can be the most convenient way for students to see the process behind their writing.
Process Feedback’s online writing platform is specifically designed for students to write and for teachers to see their students' writing processes. It offers students extensive insights into their writing journey, so they can reflect on the process themselves. At the same time, students can also generate a PDF report of their writing process to share with their teacher. Students simply need to open the website and begin using the editor with no sign-up or login requirements. The reports provide detailed information for students’ introspection, including active typing time, breaks taken, and added or removed texts. For the teacher’s evaluation, there are details like copy-paste actions, edited paragraph locations, and frequently used words. Students can also use AI in the platform in a safeguarded manner. Process Feedback is designed to make it easier for teachers to grade faster and provide personalized feedback to students.
With this extension, students can continue to use Google Docs, along with an easy choice to create a comprehensive process report to submit to their teachers at any time. This tool serves as an upgrade to Draftback, allowing students to continue writing in Google Docs while generating comprehensive process reports powered by Process Feedback. Within the familiar interface of Google Docs, students can collaborate on documents and simultaneously benefit from the insightful feedback provided by Process Feedback. Since the extension is powered by Process Feedback, all features of Process Feedback are accessible to students through this extension. The Process Feedback for Google Doc Chrome extension can be accessed through the Chrome Extensions store and shows a full writing process report in just one click.
When selecting a writing tool, teachers should prioritize those that offer maximum value for the price. This means evaluating tools based on their cost-effectiveness and the range of features they provide.
Comparative Analysis
For instance, Writing Analytics, priced at $9 per month offers daily stats and the ability to compare progress over multiple days. However, it shows limited process-related data, which might restrict a comprehensive understanding of the writing development process. For people with a limited budget, especially taking into consideration students’ financial conditions, it might not be a viable option for everyone.
Rumi, in this case, stands out as a noteworthy option at just $1 per month and provides key features such as AI prompt usage, collaboration capabilities, and playback functionality. Yet, much like Writing Analysis, it does have limitations, including showing limited process-related data and not being available for a trial before purchase.
In comparison, Inputlog is a free writing tool that offers significant value for educators by providing microanalysis of the writing process, tracking active times, and enabling visual comparisons of the writing process and final product. But it requires installation and is only compatible with Microsoft Windows and Word or Open Office.
The Draftback Google Chrome extension for Google Docs could be a better alternative as it is free and provides detailed timestamp analysis and playback of the writing process. However, it too shows limited process-related data and loses document formatting during playback. Additionally, this setup only works on desktop devices as Chrome extensions are not supported on mobile devices.
For many students, the online editor at Process Feedback could be a better alternative as a free writing tool. It is highly accessible as it does not require students to create an account and provides many features including playback of the writing process, detection of copy-pasting, detailed revision-to-revision comparison, and insights into breaks taken. Additionally, Process Feedback includes a calendar view of daily activities for writing habit tracking, identifies taxing sentences and paragraphs, and generates PDF reports for submission to teachers. However, it lacks support for collaborative writing, which may limit its use in group projects.
Finally, the Process Feedback Chrome extension for Google Docs could be the optimal choice for most needs. It has all the rich features offered by Process Feedback online editor and works with Google Docs. Its compatibility with Google Docs makes it particularly appealing for most educational needs. This means students can use the Process Feedback extension to view their writing process in-depth and generate a PDF to share with their teacher.
In comparison, Inputlog is a free writing tool that offers significant value for educators by providing microanalysis of the writing process, tracking active times, and enabling visual comparisons of the writing process and final product. But it requires installation and is only compatible with Microsoft Windows and Word or Open Office.
The Draftback Google Chrome extension for Google Docs could be a better alternative as it is free and provides detailed timestamp analysis and playback of the writing process. However, it too shows limited process-related data and loses document formatting during playback. Additionally, this setup only works on desktop devices as Chrome extensions are not supported on mobile devices.
For many students, the online editor at Process Feedback could be a better alternative as a free writing tool. It is highly accessible as it does not require students to create an account and provides many features including playback of the writing process, detection of copy-pasting, detailed revision-to-revision comparison, and insights into breaks taken. Additionally, Process Feedback includes a calendar view of daily activities for writing habit tracking, identifies taxing sentences and paragraphs, and generates PDF reports for submission to teachers. However, it lacks support for collaborative writing, which may limit its use in group projects.
Finally, the Process Feedback Chrome extension for Google Docs could be the optimal choice for most needs. It has all the rich features offered by Process Feedback online editor and works with Google Docs. Its compatibility with Google Docs makes it particularly appealing for most educational needs. This means students can use the Process Feedback extension to view their writing process in-depth and generate a PDF to share with their teacher.
Conclusion
Given the uniquity of Google Docs, most teachers and students may not want to switch to a new writing tool such as Writing Analytics or Process Feedback. Hence, Chrome extensions to Google Docs are the most viable choice for most teachers' needs. Among all the extensions we reviewed, the Process Feedback extension is probably most suitable for educational settings as it is designed for students to download a process report and share it with their teachers.Image credits: Subodh Dahal
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