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For PC Compatible computers running
MS Windows 98/ME and for MAC OS

Reviewed by Gerry Kennedy © – ICT Computer Trainer and Consultant in Education and Rehabilitation, Australia

Draft:Builder V1.0 – Available through Don Johnston Inc. [Designed and created in conjunction with the Education Development Centre (EDC) Newton, Massachusetts]

Many students need a ‘scaffolding system’ in order to write cohesively, and require assistance in developing their ideas and thoughts in order to construct cohesive sentences. A study in the USA found that students were struggling with “identifying with what they wanted to write and in organizing their thoughts”. (See web site for more background information at: www.donjohnston.com/djlearning/index.htm ) Draft:Builder provides an intuitive and easy way for students of all abilities to structure their work. It is designed by Don Johnston Inc. (creators of the very popular Write:OutLoud and Co:Writer literacy products). It is a new tool to help you gather, organize and synthesize information in order to complete a successful draft. It has text-to-speech technology, a spell checker and three font sizes.

Quick and Easy Installation

MAC OS: Installing Draft:Builder onto a MAC OS based computer is performed by double clicking on the Installer icon and following the simple directions. An alias (i.e. shortcut) of the Draft:Builder application appears in the Apple Menu. MS Windows: You need only to locate the Setup program icon on your CD drive (normally D:) and then read a few screens, click on Next a few times, and then the software installs into the C:DonJohnstonDraft Builder directory. A shortcut also appears in the Start/Programs list. From there, you start drafting!

Setting Preferences

Before you start using the software, you can set preferences for the size of the display font and the way that Draft:Builder voices the text. It has high quality built-in text-to-speech facilities. Buttons or labels can be voiced as they are pointed to (with your mouse or trackball). Each character, word or sentence can be announced as entered from the keyboard. (Note: Or use onscreen keyboard software or an alternate keyboard). By using a horizontal slide bar you can quickly alter the Rate of Speech. It is a shame that there is no “test” button in the Preferences dialogue box though. You have to leave the preferences and experiment so as to adjust this Rate. Text can be displayed in a small font size (12 point or a sixth of an inch high), medium (14 point) or large font (18 point or quarter of an inch). The font is fixed for both Mac OS (Helvetica Bold) and Windows (Arial Bold). The fonts are actual WYSIWYG size onscreen (i.e. the same size that they will appear as your hard copy after printing).

Starting A Draft

Upon launching Draft:Builder, you are greeted with an opening screen that offers three options; Create a New File, Open a Saved File and Open a Template. To become familiar with the program and how it operates, you can open a series of very useful templates. They include such handy frameworks such as Book Report, Compare and Contrast, Essay 3 Paragraph, Essay 5 Paragraph, Expository Report (Animals, History and Science), Food Groups, Inventor Biography, Kinds of Communities, Letter to Author, Persuasive Essay and many more. These templates are ready made scaffolds that have been created for you to use immediately, modify and edit to tailor to individual user requirements. You can open a template at any time and use the Save or Save As options from the menu. The templates are locked and cannot be compromised. You can also create your own templates and save them as a file (i.e. as a document) or as a template. Teachers, as well as students can design their own templates on specific or generic topics or themes.

Templates save time in the implementation of writing or research scaffolds. They are especially useful in gaining an understanding of what is required and how to develop a writing, research or data collection task.

Open A Saved File

When you choose this option, you are opting to open a document that has been previously created by yourself, or someone else. Students thoroughly enjoy creating documents for peers to use and investigate. Draft:Builder lends itself to collaborative writing as well as individual work.

Creating a New File

Once you have investigated the many and varied types of writing genres that are available to students in each of the templates, you can then go ahead with confidence and create a file. The Draft:Builder User Manual (an extremely comprehensive and readable 241 x A4 pages in length, bound in a folder) assists you in creating files, particularly if you are new to this type of software. It is ideal for computer novices, parents and teachers who need a quick reference that has been written and desktop published with a great deal of care. The graphics and “screen dumps” illustrate each point. It is one the better manuals that I have seen and used in a while. This is typical of Don Johnston Inc. as they are thorough and create excellent resources for students who struggle with literacy.

When you click on Create A New File, a new file opens (see diagram above right). The Main Topic is selected and it is appropriately titled, My Topic. You then type your own topic title. You then press Enter (or Return on a Macintosh computer) and select the first topic and rename it in order to begin your outline.

There are three main views, including Outline View, Notes View and the Draft View. The program has a constant window. Rather than navigating through pages or chapters, you simply click on the tabs (that appear at the top of the window). By clicking on a tab, you move to that ‘view’. It is intuitive and easy to see where you are working and in which mode. The user can therefore focus on one aspect of their writing (dictated by their tutor, teacher or teacher/integration aide). The clever design in offering only one view at a time helps break down the writing process into discrete parts. Many students find that writing is arduous and difficult. The process of constructing sentences and cohesive thoughts restricts their flow and creativity. Many students have the ideas, but cannot convey them in a sequential or logical fashion. Being able to independently move between the three different processes helps them in organizing information cognitively. They see the relationship between ideas and concepts.

Outline View

In the Outline View, you create and organize the outline of your writing or research task. A visual map of your topics appears on the right hand side of the screen. You can also ‘zoom in’ on this map view (see diagram to the right). This provides a quick and elegant way of viewing a writing task or ‘building’ it quickly. Students are more likely to respond favourable if they can readily see the structure in a diagrammatic format, rather than a series of sentences or paragraphs that may well confuse or overwhelm them. You can colour code in the outline view. Each level has a corresponding colour (e.g. 1st level is orange, 2nd green, with blue, red, yellow and purple for 3rd, 4th 5th and 6th levels). You can rearrange topics and subtopics and change the hierarchical level at any time. Students can therefore organize and make meaning of the information a teacher, tutor, trainer or aide wishes to communicate. You reorder the topic by selecting it and then clicking on the up or down buttons. It’s that simple! You can also quickly drag and drop topics by dragging and dropping them. Zooming in and out of the map enables you to examine and scrutinize placement and appropriateness of each topic and subtopic. It also assists students who are vision impaired.

Notes View

This is where the student views the outline on the left and adds notes to the right. You can either connect notes to topics and/or sub-topics or add them as unattached notes (or ideas) until you are ready to use, discuss or include them. This view is ideal for students who can respond orally, but find documenting ideas tiresome or difficult. A scribe, aide or teacher can quickly type the notes in order or at random. The ideas and thoughts (i.e. the student’s contribution) are not lost! So often students respond in class or in a group, but due to inappropriate timing or placement, it is dismissed or later forgotten. This often leads to frustration and ultimately leads to a lack of participation, especially when collaborating in group work. Situations occur in class where students sometimes feel that their ideas are being compromised or not valued. This can lead to where they shutdown and no longer concentrate or contribute. Buttons are used to hear text, perform a spell check or to scroll through the outline or notes. You can delete and rearrange notes and print out the outline with accompanying notes. This form of intervention and support can be used expeditiously to include all students, with all of their thoughts and ideas in a constructive manner.

Draft View

It is in this view that users view the outline on the left while writing the first draft of their paper on the right. The student types directly into the draft. Students can use the outline and notes as a reference and a guide. They can copy items from the outline and notes and include them immediately in the draft. Students or teachers can elect to export the draft to a text file. Then it can be opened in a word processor (such as Write:OutLoud, MS Word or AppleWorks) a text editor (WordPad) or a free, voiced text-to-speech program such as ReadPlease 2002 (www.readplease.com ).

Accessing All Three Views

You can use the scrollbars to move through the outline, map, notes or draft views. There are a number of buttons situated on the screen display at the bottom of the window. A Speak button lets you can hear text. Words or sentences are clearly announced using the voice that you set up in Preferences. A Spell button provides you with a spell check that is available at any time. You can scroll to the left or right, or move a view up or down using four onscreen buttons. A new topic or subtopic can be created or deleted using two buttons grouped together in the centre (i.e. New and Delete). Zooming in and out can also be quickly accomplished with an option to print the view as well using the Print button. These handy onscreen buttons are available in all three views. They are intuitive and accessible with a simple click of a mouse or trackball button press. In the Notes View, a Clip/Attach button allows you to add or clip new notes to the Outline. It is also available in the Draft View.

Navigation

You can cycle between the Outline, Notes and Draft Views. Students can revise and/or reorganize their information and ideas. Data can be voiced, edited or added/discarded in any of the views. The additional tools for checking spelling and for adding bibliographical information assists users in negotiating the mechanics of writing papers, study notes, essays and other curriculum based assignments and projects. The User Manual, as previously mentioned, is highly practical and useful. It has a large section on Getting Started (8 Lessons); a Contents section with two Lesson Plans and black line reproducible masters of each template; an Appendices (including Keyboard Shortcuts) and a wonderful section on using Co:Writer with Draft:Builder) and an Index .

I regard Draft:Builder as a powerful literacy tool that simplifies writing tasks. Students who may have formerly been confronted and challenged by documenting their ideas in various subject areas can now be made more confident and comfortable. They have been unsuccessful and due to failure, denied their writing abilities and avoided study. These students often experience a cycle of failure. Draft:Builder is a new program that can assist students of all abilities, from primary through high school. Check out www.donjohsnton.com or for more information in Australia visit www.spectronicsinoz.com. Draft:Builder has so much to offer, and delivers with powerful resources.

System Requirements for Windows

• PC running MS Windows 98, ME, 2000 or XP
• Pentium II, 450 MHz (or higher)
• 64 MB RAM
• CD or DVD ROM drive
• Suitable sound card

System Requirements for Mac

• Mac OS computers must be at least PowerPC or later iMac, G3 or G4 based processors
• At least 32MB RAM available
• 16 MB RAM storage on the hard disk