Summary

Overall, I must say that Ceilidh has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a chat function for hikers. The program has advanced beyond the capabilities of most software packages designed to be used for teaching writing. The program clearly has great potential as not only a medium for classroom communication, but as a valuable tool for teaching and demonstrating important writing concepts. While the online site for our English department has many other features and programs, I essentially run my entire class using this program and could see how a department could easily facilitate an entire online program using just Ceilidh. I have tested all of its features and I am currently in contact with the developers as they continue to refine the program and add additional features which will not only improve communication with students over the Web, but actually help students to understand many difficult writing concepts.