Getting started with Co:Writer

The Texthelp Academy contains everything you need to become an expert in using Co:Writer.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to best use the learning resources in Co:Writer Academy so that you and your colleagues can get to know Co:Writer. Read the whole guide, or just dip into the sections that are relevant to you.

But first, let's get up and running with Co:Writer

If you need some extra help to install Co:Writer, we've got you covered. 

Here's where you can find all the information you need to get started with Co:Writer:

  • The Co:Writer installation page provides instructions on how to add the Co:Writer extension to your browser.
  • Once you’re ready to get up and running, the Co:Writer Reference Guide contains instructions on creating accounts, giving students access, signing in as student and accessing student data. 

If you’ve got any questions, please contact your dedicated customer success team.

Now, let's explore how to use the Texthelp Academy to introduce your staff and students to Co:Writer.

Introduce staff to Co:Writer

Now that you know how to install Co:Writer, it’s time to start introducing it across your school. Let’s start with staff.

Academy is a comprehensive resource for learning about all Co:Writer and how to use it in your classroom. Here's what we recommend sharing from it to introduce staff to Co:Writer:

  • Intro to Co:Writer features short introductory videos, making it the perfect place to start learning about how Co:Writer can work in the classroom. 
  • Watch specific Feature Tour videos in Academy for a closer look at how each feature works.  
  • How To Articles includes bite-sized articles and FAQs that show staff how to get the most out of Co:Writer.

Best Practices:

  1. Identify educators to become Co:Writer experts - select educators from different areas of the school, district, or campus to encourage widespread adoption
  2. Find early classroom adopters of Co:Writer to determine best practices/use-cases to share with colleagues
  3. Use internal message boards, or the school intranet to encourage educators to share their findings, ask questions, etc.

Rolling out Co:Writer across the school

Next, let’s go over some suggestions on how to roll out Co:Writer to both educators and students. 

For educators

  • Have your Co:Writer champions and early adopters train colleagues. The Train-the-Trainer materials have everything you need to help appoint these champions, and then equip them with the materials needed to train everyone in your school. 
  • The Learning Resources contain useful resources and guides to help staff continue to deepen their knowledge of Co:Writer
  • Webinars are a great way to help staff learn more about Co:Writer
  • Create your own internal promotional pieces using our Promote Usage materials for guidance
  • Set up Lunch & Learn days to review specific features of the tool
  • Include training for new hires

For students

  • Encourage teachers to spend a few minutes in class introducing new features.
  • Identify students to become Co:Writer champions and set up peer mentoring
  • Include training during orientations
  • Use the school intranet/LMS to share resources and success stories for students and parents

Co:Writer Training

New software can be a bit daunting. But don’t worry, we have training resources that can help at each stage.

The Quick Reference Guide contains an overview of Co:Writer's tools to help you get to grips with the features.

Across Academy, we also recommend using the Train-the-Trainer materials to help you appoint trainers or champions. These colleagues will be equipped with everything they need to help train everyone to use Co:Writer. 

If you want to learn more about a certain product, each one has its own dedicated learning platform in the Academy. We recommend starting with the Intro section for each product, where you’ll find a short introductory video.