For the last 18 months, we've been almost exclusively focused on Frankenstories. But now we are back to working on Writelike, with the first big update going live this weekend!
This update streamlines current features and lays the foundation for new features next year.
If you want detailed information about any of the changes, see the updated Teaching with Writelike lesson next week. But as an overview:
The most obvious improvements are:
- It's much faster, especially when viewing classes
- Class admin is better organised
- It's easier to skim responses & provide feedback
- Peer reactions are more visible & reinforcing
As part of the streamlining process, we've removed some features that were either a bit too fiddly or not widely used:
- We've removed the Myself group; lessons can only be assigned to classes
- Classes can only have one teacher
- Teachers can no longer save their own writing in lessons
- We've removed the Checkpoint Peer Review feature
IMPORTANT: All students will have to log in with codes
This is a big one!
- We're removing all student emails & passwords and making students log in with codes only (same as Frankenstories).
- Over the weekend, we will convert all existing student emails to codes.
- We will send an email to every student with their new code, but there is a chance we will be blocked by school email filters.
- You'll also be able to view, print & manage these codes.
- If your students did not get emails, give them their codes directly.
- Tell students to save their code in a draft email so they don't lose it and then use it to log in to Writelike & Frankenstories.
IMPORTANT: Teachers will need a subscription to manage classes
Lessons will stay freely accessible so you can browse & display them however you like, but if you want to create classes, assign lessons, and use the feedback & reporting tools, you'll need a subscription.
The good news is that Writelike & Frankenstories will be bundled under the same low-cost subscription, so Frankenstories Pro will include Writelike, and Writelike will include Frankenstories Pro.
That way you get an interactive mentor-text modelling textbook and a multiplayer writing game/colosseum that you can use all year long with as many students as you like, for the price of a couple of paperbacks. It's good value!
(If you're already an active Writelike user, we're giving you a free 1-year subscription. We'll email you with instructions!)
Current Writelike/Frankenstories subscription deals
If you're in USA/CAN we have a "Buy 90 days, get 90 days free"-type promotion on Facebook/Instagram. Basically, if you buy a 90 day subscription during Dec 2023, we'll extend it to the end of June 2024 for you. You don't need any promo codes or anything; we handle it manually. You get both tools for the rest of the school year for just $22.50!
If you're in AUS/NZ, you can get a 40% discount on 365-day Frankenstories Pro subscriptions until 15 Feb 2024 by using the appropriate promo code at checkout—see the Frankenstories site for details. Tell your friends and arm-twist your admin!