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Education Genius allows teachers to give annotation assignments on any text in any discipline to their students and have all of the class see the annotations and comment on them. The teacher can accept or reject annotations before they are viewed by everyone. The site comes with pre-loaded text which you can use as is or make editing changes. The site creator says: “You should add a text if it is not already on the site and is in the public domain, or 2) It is specifically for your class (e.g. your own copy of The Great Gatsby or curriculum that you yourself have written).” A teacher can add any text written before 1923, as that is public domain. Anything else that a teacher would like to add, the site creators will contact the publisher or author and get permission to put on the site. But the list of available texts is extensive, so a text you might want to add may already be on the site.
The site is a good tool for annotating short articles that the teacher can upload and have students annotate on their own, and receive feedback from each other and the teacher before the formal class begins. Or the teacher can prepare the text with areas to be covered by highlighting it so students can see what areas will be discussed as they read the text. The site is essentially a tool for teachers and students to be able to see and discuss what everyone in the class has written and avoid the discussion being limited to only those who are comfortable speaking in a group setting. |
Curriculet is an uncomplicated yet versatile digital reading platform that contains a wealth of popular reading titles online. There is no fee to access the website, and most of the titles are free to rent. However, there are titles you have to purchase if you are interested. Students and teachers have access for two to three months each time a title is rented. Titles can be rented for whole class use or independent reading. There are also shorter, non fiction texts available under the “current events” section that are ideal for assessment preparation and multiple choice question practice.
An interesting feature of the website is that: “As students read a text, questions, quizzes and annotations pop out of the text, so students are instructed and assessed as they read. This digital layer of questions, quizzes and rich media, placed on top of a digital text is called a ‘curriculet.’” This is an ideal way for English teachers, reading teachers, and ELL teachers to keep track of students’ progress as they read online, and some of the curricular work for these titles is already done. For secondary English teachers, this is a new and efficient way to suggest AIR titles to students, and it can serve as another option for required titles in the curriculum as some of those titles are available on this site. Most of the titles have questions, annotations, and quizzes already loaded for them, while others still await teacher input. Any teacher can add one of these options (question, annotation, or quiz) to a title, and these then become public for others to use. Once you save a curriculet, you can edit as needed so it pertains to your specific class, curricular requirements, and style. |
The Newsela app is a site that gets students to read news articles, geared towards their reading level, and that combines the components of social studies, current events and close reading. Many articles include short quizzes or short answer questions that accompany the article in the right column. This app builds reading comprehension by giving students relevant, daily articles from various news sources at the reading level that’s just right for them. It is effective, engaging, and easy to use. Articles cover topics such as arts, astronomy, economics, geopolitics, music, sports, and zoology. Each of the articles published has five different reading levels and even the most hesitant readers can become news junkies. As you read and take quizzes, the Newsela App automatically will adjust the reading level to keep you challenged and engaged. You can also keep track of your improvement over time as Newsela gives you a visual record your progress.
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Bookopolis.com is a website where teachers can assign books to read; students can read them, write a review, share the review with others, and discuss their thoughts on the book. Each student has an account. The teacher has an account that allows her/him to create a classroom with an account for each student. (If a student already has an account, the two can be linked.) In each individual account, there are book shelves: Books that I’m reading, Books that I want to read, Books that I’ve read. Once a book is finished, the student can write a report on it, share the report with the teacher and classmates, and the teacher can monitor and comment on the student’s work. While reading, students can keep an online reading log, which allows the teacher to see and comment on the students’ progress.
The site has tutorials on features you can use, such as creating classes, importing student names from PowerTeacher or other sources, managing the class list, and monitoring student progress and writing. Once a class list is created, students appear on the teacher’s dashboard as “friends.” The teacher can then access the students’ profiles to monitor their work. Students can only talk to other students in their class or students that are their “friends.” There is a feature which allows a parent to be contacted if a student tries to access/talk to a student outside their classroom. When choosing books, teachers can hand pick selections or align their selections to Common Core standards. Regardless of how the teacher picks a book, the site will give information on a recommended grade level for the book, interest level, Lexile level, and guided reading level. Once a student (or the teacher) has read a book they can review it, write a report, answer questions, or recommend it to their friends. The site promtoes reading as a fun activity or a book club setting. The ads that appear on the side and every time you click on a new feature can be distracting, especially to students with the inability to ignore them. There is a constant push to buy the books chosen and/or trying new features that allow you to win stickers with the object to get a free book. These may be easy for teachers to ignore, but not so easy for students. In addition, signing on and creating an account can be a chore. Proceed with caution. Bookopolis is accessible on the Web and iPad, but you must create the account on the Web before you can access it on iPad. |