3. TWO MINUTE DISCUSSION
DO YOU USE YOUR STUDENTSā
SMARTPHONES IN YOUR
CLASSROOM TO SUPPORT YOUR
TEACHING?
IF SO, HOW?
4. WHY YOU MIGHT CONSIDER USING APPS IN YOUR CLASSROOM
ā¤ Students enjoy it and demonstrate higher levels of
engagement.
ā¤ Smartphones are a teaching technology that we donāt have to
write a grant for.
ā¤ Prevent sneaky phone use when we have clear phones out/
phones away distinctions within a class period.
ā¤ We can give them a powerful study tool (and they never leave
home without it).
ā¤ Navigating an app builds technical language skills.
ā¤ Tech-literacy often falls on us.
5. APP USE IN THE
CLASSROOM IS NOT JUST
FUN.
ITāS ALSO PRACTICAL
AND SUPPORTED BY
RESEARCH.
References available in your handout
6. ā
āStudents [who worked in
computer and mobile assisted
learning centers] were motivated,
on task, and attentive when
working on their literacy tasks . . .
The learning technology allowed
students to develop independent
work habits and to build both their
skills and conļ¬dence about literacy
and about using technology.ā
(Yunus, Nordin, Salehi, Sun, & Embi, 2013, p.121)
9. APPS FOR VOCABULARY
How to Use
Special
Features
Cost for
Students
Cost for
Teachers
Quizlet
You add words, let
students deļ¬ne,
practice at home,
then play games in
class
Support for images,
ļ¬ashcards, multiple
games
Free $24.99/year
Flashcards
Assign an existing
word list or create
your own and ask
students to practice
at home
Flashcards with word
lists from Common
Core, Latin Roots,
TOEFL prep, and more,
or create your own
Free Free
Wordflex
Use it to look up
diļ¬cult words in
class, encourage
independent use
Gorgeous visuals,
shows relationships
between words
Free Free
10. QUIZLET
ā¤ iOS, Android, Web
ā¤ Easy to use, both for independent
studying and for in-class practice
ā¤ When adding words, the app
suggests community deļ¬nitions for
that word (some of which are
incorrect/unrelated)
ā¤ Print oļ¬ ļ¬ashcards or practice
quizzes
ā¤ Multiple formats for ļ¬ashcards
(word ļ¬rst, deļ¬nition ļ¬rst) and for
games (space race, speller, scatter)
ā¤ NEW in-class game that lets
students use their phones to
compete
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16. FLASHCARDS
ā¤ iOS, Android
ā¤ Best for at-home practice
ā¤ When adding words, the app auto
ļ¬lls with the dictionary.com
deļ¬nition
ā¤ Multiple formats for ļ¬ashcards
(word ļ¬rst, deļ¬nition ļ¬rst),
detailed settings, and a quiz
option
ā¤ Will pronounce the word with a
native-sounding non-robotic
voice
ā¤ Share lists via email, Twitter, or
Facebook
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22. WORDFLEX
ā¤ iPad only
ā¤ Fewer clear applications
ā¤ Great for curious and
independent students who
want to explore language, not
for those who resist learning
ā¤ Makes a good learning station
with classroom iPad(s)
ā¤ A beautiful way to explore
word deļ¬nitions, word forms,
and synonyms as a class
27. APPS FOR READING COMPREHENSION AND FLUENCY
How to Use Special
Features
Cost for
Students
Cost for
Teachers
Nearpod
Use existing reading
units or build your own,
embedding assessment
and reļ¬ection questions
with leveled texts
Can be used either as an
in-class or at-home
assessment tool, and
can allow for some
student choice in which
Nearpods they complete
Free
$12/month
(optional)
QR Reader +
MReader
Using your schoolās
leveled reader library,
attach QR code links to
the inside of book
covers, letting students
take the quizzes they
choose
Allows students to
select the books they
prefer and take the
quizzes in their own
time, and teachers can
keep track of student
progress through
MReader
Free Free
Plickers
Do a quick, 3-5
question quiz to see if
students understood the
key concepts in a
reading
Students love using
Plickers cards and they
rarely think of it as
assessment
Free Free
28. NEARPOD
ā¤ iOS, Android, Web
ā¤ Can embed .pdfs, videos, even
other websites to be read by
students
ā¤ Multiple assessment options
(quizzes, polls, drawings,
matching, writing prompts)
ā¤ Tons of existing Nearpods with
quality content for free (and
others for $$)
ā¤ Awesome for interactive in-
class practice OR take-home
assessment
29. QR CODE READER
+ MREADER
ā¤ iOS, Android, Web
ā¤ A great way to embed assessment into
an extensive reading program
ā¤ Quizzes are already written by the
Extensive Reading Foundation
ā¤ Teachers just add QR codes to the
inside covers of graded readers linking
students to that bookās quiz which
they can then take on their phone
ā¤ Provides teachers with reports and
students with visual of their progress
ā¤ Teachers can control the level at which
students can take quizzes
ā¤ Account creation is arduous and
requires a teacher-administrator who
distributes access codes to the other
teachers in her/his district/university
30. ā
āWe found no diļ¬erences in reading
attitudes of students who took
weekly ER quizzes compared to
students who did not . . . For
teachers who feel their students
need more external motivation for
extensive reading than mere
encouragement or supplementary
classroom activities, the use of
extensive reading quizzes is
appropriate.ā
(Stoeckel, Reagan, & Hann, 2012, p.194)
31. PLICKERS
ā¤ Only the teacher needs the app
(iOS or Android)
ā¤ Great for all levels and classes
that are tech-resistant
ā¤ Only A, B, C, D and True False
options
ā¤ Extremely playful and low-
stakes, but still gradable and
useful for gathering data on
student understanding
ā¤ Can laminate, print on card
stock, or paste into their
textbooks
33. WEBSITES TO SUPPORT THE APPS YOU USE
ā¤ Read Write Think
ā¤ Intended for K-12, but many of the lessons
translate well to EAP
ā¤ Lessons on speciļ¬c grammar, reading, and
writing topics with interactive games and
apps as well as worksheets and lesson plans
ā¤ Read Works
ā¤ Incredible bank of short readings with lexile
measures as well as comprehension questions
ā¤ Lesson plans to accompany a variety of
leveled novels
ā¤ Skill-based lessons for every grade level
ā¤ Vocabulary activity to accompany most
lessons
34. WEBSITES TO SUPPORT THE APPS YOU USE
ā¤ Lit2Go
ā¤ A collection of short classic readings including
fairy tales, short stories, and poems
ā¤ All have audio ļ¬les
ā¤ Most have comprehension questions to pair
with the passages
ā¤ Extensive Reading Foundation/MReader
ā¤ Hundreds of graded reader quizzes
ā¤ Incredible resource for those who want to
encourage students to read graded readers
ā¤ Amazing depth of information on the beneļ¬ts
of extensive reading and how to set up a
program in your school
35. USE THE QR CODES ON YOUR
HANDOUT TO EXPLORE!
WHAT ADDITIONAL READING
ACTIVITIES CAN YOU
ENVISION WITH THESE APPS?