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NoRedInk

This week I decided to research NoRedInk a little bit. Our regular education ELA classes use this website in their classrooms, and I have been meaning to look into it a little more. NoRedInk is an online program, free and premium versions available, where students can practice various skills as they relate to English Language Arts. 


Summary of reading: 

I found a dissertation titled, Exploring the Use of NoRedInk as a Tool for Composition Instruction written by Alyson Snowe. Her dissertation is 211 pages, so admittedly I didn’t read it cover to cover, but I was particularly interested in the 5th chapter: Students respond to NoRedInk. In her paper, Snowe notes that all students with the exception of one was able to make progress on their grammar skills. I also enjoyed reading the comments the students made on the program, and they said they wish NoRedInk would add an audio component that will read feedback aloud to you when you get something wrong. 


The appeal: 

I have no problem admitting my deficiencies, and one of them has to be teaching grammar. It is hard, students hate it, and it is very confusing. There are so many rules and exceptions to the rules it is challenging for me to keep everything straight (which truthfully, I struggle with). In examining NoRedInk, I can see the appeal. It has lessons for everything grammar related you can think of. It is interactive for the students, and self paced. This is where I can try and make a connection to my ELL students along with my special education students. In Snowe’s article the student who didn’t make any progress commented that he had a lot of work to do on his grammar since he had very little background knowledge. This makes me think this program might not be the perfect fit for students who traditionally struggle with reading and writing. I also read a few excerpts from the website and articles that were published that said that students reported a positive reaction to the fact that the program is self-paced and they didn’t feel rushed. Since this is something we are currently using in our schools, I do feel the self paced aspect is a positive for our students who may struggle more. 


The plan: 

I plan to do a test run with NoRedInk in my classroom and see how it goes with all of my students. I have a variety of ability levels in my class, but all have some sort of disability. I am interested to see how a program like this will work with my population, especially if there isn’t that audio feedback option. 


Source: 

Snowe, Alyson, "Exploring the Use of NoRedInk as a Tool for Composition Instruction" (2017). Open Access Dissertations. Paper 627.

https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/oa_diss/627

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 30, 2021 at 2:36 PM

    Thanks for sharing. I have always heard about No Red Ink as well and have wanted to look more into myself. I teach math but we are required to collect samples of student writing each marking period. Even in 7th grade they seem to completely disregard punctuation and grammar conventions. It would be nice to have a resource for students to work on writing skills to improve the quality of their writing math.

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