Each month we're bringing you a new Technology-related tip or trick for your classroom! Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. Let us know if you've tried it out and what you think.  We're excited to hear from you!

Looking for technology to integrate into your ELA Classroom?

I'm always looking for ways to bring technology into my English class so when I found Inky, I felt like I had found a little slice of heaven! Ink Script was created by Inkle Studios, the developers of interaction fiction apps like 80 Days and the Sorcery! series. Ink Script is open source and can be used with the downloadable application called Inky.  Ink Script is compatible with Unity, so you can write interactive fiction that can then be published via Unity to Steam and the mobile app stores. 

If your students can download and install software on their computers, Inky is the free editing app that they want.  If you are Chromebook, there is an online version (inklewriter) for you here. (https://writer.inklestudios.com/)

The first excellent thing about Inky is that it is “play as you write” so, like Alice (with drag ’n drop in the left panel and Java in the right panel), Inky shows whatever you are typing in the left panel and what it will look like to your user on the right panel.  That right panel is completely interactive so you can test your game as much as you want as you are writing. Play as you write.

Second, Inky tells you that you’ve made a mistake right away.  As I’m writing my story, if I’ve left something undone or a connection unconnected, Inky highlights that for me and tells me what it needs me to do.  It’s talking to me!

There are lots of cool Inky things but those are the two that attracted me.... in addition to being free, that is.

If you love teaching your students how to write and they enjoy Choose Your Own Adventure stories [or they love text-based video games (Zork, anyone?)] they will love writing their own stories with Inky or InkleWriter.  

P.S.  If you have younger kids in your classroom, there's a story-writing website that is really cute here.