There are many different types of writing activities that can be used in the classroom. One that stood out to me the most was the Writely program. It is a collaborative writing program that allows others to share documents with each other. That way others can read and critique each other. It also allows people to share documents in different formats.
PowerPoints can be very distracting. In order to keep my audiences attention, I would just stick to one type of font and one size where it is readable. Also I would limit the uses of different transition effects and animation on the slides. Use calm colors like blue, white, or black. Try to avoid bright flashy colors for that can also be very distracting. I think I can definitely avoid the potential pitfalls that I read in the book.
I think the writing activities and power points have become necessary in the classroom. Kids want to be entertained while being educated. If a teacher can involve these technologies in their lessons' then I highly recommend it.
