In an educational world that is
increasingly influenced by technology, various digital tools can now be
utilized to support the development of writing skills, especially for language
learners. This paper discusses two different types of digital writing tools,
namely ProWritingAid, a writing assistant software, and Padlet, a web-based
collaborative platform. Both tools support different stages of writing and are
aimed at different levels of students' abilities and needs.
ProWritingAid is a software that
analyzes user texts to detect errors in grammar, punctuation, sentence
structure, and style. It also provides detailed feedback in the form of reports
that help improve clarity, coherence, readability, and vocabulary variety in
writing. This tool is very effective at the revision and editing stage,
especially when students already have a draft of their writing and want to
improve it. The sub-skills supported by ProWritingAid include grammatical
accuracy, sentence fluency, vocabulary richness, and stylistic consistency. Due
to the complexity of its features and analysis, this tool is more suitable for
intermediate to advanced learners (B1-C1 positions), especially those who are
writing for academic purposes or exam preparation. For example, in a writing
class, teachers can ask students to write an essay, and then use ProWritingAid
in a peer review session to analyze their own or a friend's
draft before submission. In this way, students are encouraged to learn
independently but still in a collaborative environment.
In contrast, Padlet is an online
platform that allows students to write, share ideas and comment in a shared
visual workspace. This tool is particularly useful at the pre-writing and
drafting stages, where students can freely express ideas, respond to topics,
and work together on writing projects. Padlet encourages creativity, discussion
of ideas, and collaborative work, so it is suitable for use by elementary to
intermediate level students (A2-B1 position), especially in project or creative
writing activities. For example, Padlet's chain story writing task allows each
student to add parts of the story to a shared board, thus practicing continuous
idea development while strengthening cooperation between students.
Overall, ProWritingAid excels at
providing in-depth feedback that helps students improve their writing
independently, although the interface can be confusing for beginners and
requires a stable internet connection. Nevertheless, this tool is highly recommended
for academic writing classes as it supports more structured self-directed
learning. On the other hand, Padlet is easily accessible, encourages active
participation, and strengthens interaction between students. Although it does
not have an auto-correct feature, Padlet is very useful in building ideas
collaboratively and improving digital literacy. If used in accordance with the
right writing stages, these two tools can complement each other in supporting
the improvement of students' writing skills.