Actively Learn

Actively Learn is an online e-reader that allows students to interact with text in a unique way. Teachers can upload texts from PDF files and websites and insert questions, comments, and multimedia. Students can work through the text at their own pace, get help when they need it, and share their ideas with other students. Watch the video below to take a quick walk-through of the site.

Pros

·         It’s 100% FREE!

·         The kids love it.

·         Kids can see and respond to other peoples’ posts.

·         Inserting videos and pictures is super easy and adds a lot to the text.

·         You can assign different texts to different classes. If you wanted small groups you could easily create “classes” with just a portion of your students. (Just your AIG students, one literature circle group, etc.)

·         Kids can sign up easily using their ACS Google accounts and a class code or link. If they use Chrome and log into their Google account, they are automatically logged in to Actively Learn. I use a couple different websites with my kids that they have to sign up for, and this one is BY FAR the simplest.

Cons

·         Uploading a file can sometimes be tricky. Some PDFs don’t load or look right. Sometimes links, comments, or captions on websites end up included in the text. Occasionally I’ve had to upload a text multiple times in a few different ways before it really worked right.

·         Once you upload a file, there is no way to edit the text or things like the title.

·         The site can be a little buggy at times. It occasionally freezes up or doesn’t load. Refreshing the page usually fixes it.

·         There are no alerts or anything to let kids know they haven’t finished an assignment. 

Submitted by guest blogger,

Carlie Abercrombie

7th Grade ELA Teacher at North Asheboro Middle

NowComment

Many of us know how to use Google Docs for online annotation.  It works, but there is an even better tool: NowComment.

Here is a video on the basics:

Some advantages of NowComment over other annotating sites:

• Two panes scroll independently, allowing better focus on flow of text, video, images, and comments.
• Annotations always appear to the right of text, never blocking the text.
• Teacher options control precise access dates when the text can be read, and when comments can be added.  The same time controls can be used to hide classmates' comments from individual students until a specified time; thus, students in the first round of annotation will not be able to simply parrot the comments of peers, nor will they be swayed by what anyone else has said.
• Comments can be sorted by user which allows for easy assessment, or for students to the locate the responses of select peers.
• Notification options can be customized, allowing you to schedule the "feed" from the site, and "Update" lets you stay informed of every single comment that is added.
• In addition to the two-pane view, a combined view aggregates both panes into a narrative timeline, easily allowing you to note which lines and paragraphs receive the most annotation.
• The number of simultaneous viewers/annotators doesn't seem to be an issue; according to the site, over one hundred users have accessed the same document concurrently without a problem.

Some uses for NowComment:

• Students can upload their own writing to engage peers in discussion.  Microsoft Word works extremely well in the interface.
• Many classic works of literature are now available in the public domain online at sites such as Project Gutenberg, providing teachers a huge list of texts.  Mashable also has some online texts.
• NowComment is especially useful for leaving responses regarding images and videos.

~Chandra