This website is part of
Kids on the Net

A website of writing
by and for young people
around the globe.

Dragonsville is an online collaborative writing project created to provide an environment in which children can write and develop their writing. It has been developed as part of the Writers for the Future project, run by the trAce Online Writing Centre and funded by Nesta.

It is digital teacher in residence Simon Widdowson's first project during his residency.

This project is intended to be a stepping stone for teachers who want to begin to use ICT within their literacy and English classes.

The project includes writing letters, stories, instructional and information writing, etc. We also demonstrate forms of writing that can only be produced using computers, such as interactive stories and the further information area of the history of Dragonsville. This project aims to introduce teachers to these new forms of digital writing.

The second project, called Adventure Island, to be undertaken in the summer term of 2004, will incorporate much more new media writing, and provide teachers and educators with tools to allow them to produce the work themselves as part of the ongoing strategy to familiarise them with new technology.

The resources that have been created as part of this project have been placed in the eTeachers Portal - a bank of teaching materials that can be used with various projects and web pages from the Kids on the Net website and other new media writing sites.

The project was initially targeted at a pilot group of United Kingdom schools who received support and workshops from the digital teacher in residence. A small pilot group of non UK schools also provided content, although these schools will be working in a virtual environment.

The site is now open to allow other schools, groups and individuals to contribute work and to use the resources provided in their classrooms.