DRAFTING Much of the controversy around AI and writing revolves around the drafting stage. The purpose of drafting is to generate ideas into coherent, well-organized paragraphs. While genera- tive AI can generate entire essays, using it in this way prevents the student from fully participating in the drafting process. The purpose of the tools in this article is to empower students to grow as writers by supporting skill development, not to encour- age them to offload challenging tasks entirely onto AI. Speech recognition tools such as Google Voice Typing and Microsoft Dictate have been used to support students with fine motor challenges or those who do better sharing their ideas out loud than using paper for decades. As generative AI becomes more advanced, so do speech recognition tools. Rather than simply transcribing the student's words, tools like AdutorAI (https://www.adutorai.com/) and Audiopen (https://audiopen. ai/) provide extra supports by cleaning up language (removing ums), summarizing, restyling, and even translating. EDITING, REVISING, AND PROVIDING FEEDBACK ON WRITING The process of editing and revising can be trying for strug- gling writers. Key to self-editing is the ability to analyze one's own work for grammatical and mechanical errors and awkward sentences. Oftentimes, however, students who struggle with writing also struggle with reading. Tools such as text-to-speech can help students hear their work. Other, more powerful AI tools can provide more advanced supports. Wonder AI (https://www. getwonderai.com/), Text Buddy (https://textbuddy.com/ai-writ- ing-assistant), and Pro Writing Aid (https://app.prowritingaid. com/) identify grammar and spelling errors. Beyond basic edit- ing, they can elevate the quality of the writing by focusing on style, tone, conciseness, and precision, through rephrasing, vo- cabulary suggestions, and sentence adjustments. For teachers, providing high-quality feedback is a time-con- suming yet necessary task. With EditGPT (https://editgpt.app/ dashboard), the AI edits writing using track changes. Editing op- tions include proofreading, streamlining content, changing the style, and increasing conciseness. After teachers process drafts using EditGPT, the immediately apparent needs in student writ- ing can be addressed during one-on-one conferences or small- group interventions. In addition to tools that support the traditional editing cycle, generative AI can also provide feedback on student writing in re- lation to the prompt. One example is MagicSchool.AI's (https:// magicschool.ai/) Magic Student Writing Feedback tool. To create this personalized tool, teachers give it a name and description and select the student's grade level. They can add a description of the assignment, describe or upload a rubric for scoring the writing, and even upload the assignment. Then, they share the join code with their class or add it to their Google Classroom. Students then interact with the Magic School chatbot to receive
immediate feedback on their writing. Similarly, Snorkl's (https://teacher.snorkl.app/home) Writing Tool also provides feedback on student writing. Access the tool by clicking "create an activity". Give the activity a title and select "writing" as the student response type. Next, enter the writing prompt to which your students will respond. There is also an option to upload and attach source material to the assignment. Once the initial assignment information is entered, the teacher generates the AI feedback settings. Options for this include se- lecting the subject, grade level, and answer criteria (or rubric). Once you hit "assign", a URL is generated that can be shared with students. More specifically, improving writing outcomes for students with learning disabilities is the Office of Special Education Pro- grams' (OSEP) funded Project AI SCORE (https://projectaiscore. org/). This AI-powered tool delivers immediate, meaningful, and actionable insights on content, organization, and style to both students and educators. Developed by writing experts, Project AI SCORE utilizes a library of over 100 content-neutral informative writing prompts, all scaled to a third-grade reading level. By mitigating the confounding factors of reading level and background knowledge, the tool directly assesses a stu- dent's compositional ability, rather than their reading or con- tent knowledge. Students log in, receive an informative writing prompt, and then proceed through a process that includes one minute for planning and nine minutes for writing. OSCAR, their On-Screen Composition Assistant for wRiting chatbot, provides just-in-time supports, such as sentence starters and guiding questions, throughout the nine-minute writing period. After the nine-minute write, students can immediately review the AI-pro- vided feedback. Educators also gain immediate access to these results via a data dashboard that tracks individual writing met- rics and longitudinal progress. To get access to this tool, fill out this interest form (https://forms.office.com/r/xTb145tC3E).
YouTube Video - What is AI Score https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkEa1r_7A-4
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