Vsra 2014 presentation

Engaging the Internet: Tools to
Support Literacy Instruction and
Parent Involvement
Presented by:
Jennifer Floyd
VSRA 2014

The Purpose of This Presentation
• To introduce a variety of web-based tools and
show how they can be integrated into daily
literacy instruction.
• To identify how web-based tools can also be
used to enhance parent communication.
• To demonstrate how to get started using web-
based tools.

Why Should We Incorporate Internet
Tools?
• To motivate students and foster engagement
• To provide opportunities for collaboration
– Educator/Educator
– Educator/Student
– Student/Student
• To communicate with parents
• To keep us organized
• Easy to use!
• Saves on paper
• These are the tools of the future!

The tools we’ll talk about today
wikis
blogs
Twitter
Google Drive Survey Monkey
Todaysmeet
QR Codes Popplet
Livebinders

Wikis
• Wikis are wonderful tools that allow anyone
to create a site where information can be
posted.
• Creating a wiki is like making a website, but
much easier.
• Wikis are easy to create!
– If you can attach a document to an e-mail, you can
upload files to a wiki.

Classroom uses for wikis
• Create a class wiki
– Post information about your class
• Schedule
• Important events
– Post handouts from lessons and activities
• Great for students who are absent!
– Post samples of student work

Classroom uses for wikis
• Content-area instruction
– Create a wiki for individual units with information
that students (and parents) can access.
– Have students create a wiki for a unit of study.
• American Revolution wiki
• Civil War wiki
• Oceans wiki
• Geometry wiki

• Maintain lesson plans in one place
• Keep track of a variety of teaching materials
– Videos
– Photos
– Notes
– Powerpoint presentations
– Rubrics
– Review activities

Examples of wikis
• http://nkduke.wiki.educ.msu.edu
• http://mrsanderson10.pbworks.com/w/page/
33263525/FrontPage
• http://mrsibrahim.wikispaces.com/home
• http://kids-book-club.wikispaces.com/home
• http://mysideofthemountain.wikispaces.com/
home

Getting Started With a Wiki
• Decide on a topic for your wiki.
• Choose a site (i.e., wikispaces).
• Create an account.
• You’re ready to go!

Sites for Wiki Creation
• http://www.wikispaces.com
• http://wikisineducation.wikifoundry.com/?t=a
non
• http://education.weebly.com

My Title I Reading Wiki
• Created primarily for parent communication,
although students have also been interested
in the wiki and like seeing what I’ve posted.
• Includes information specific to the Title I
Reading program
– Title I School Plan
– Title I Program Description
• Allows me to post examples of student work

• Reminders of important events at school
– Family Reading Night
– Report Cards and Interims
– SOLs
• Post the English SOLs for each grade (K-5) for
parents to reference.
• Teacher blog
– One page that I periodically update with a variety
of information, comments, etc.

• My wiki allows me to control who can add
content.
– Right now, that involves me (and my
administrator)
– I don’t have to worry about what is being posted
on the site, and comments in particular.

What if I want a tool that
is more interactive?
Then you’ll want to
consider a blog!

Blogs
• Short for “weblog”
– This is a great term to mention to students
– Portmanteau word
– Include in vocabulary study
• Blogs are sites where you can post
information, but you don’t have to set up your
own webpage.
• Others can read what you have to say and
then comment on your post(s).

The Professional Use of Blogs
• A blog is a great idea if you want to share
ideas with other colleagues (and not be bound
by geography!).
– For example, if you have a successful method for
establishing literacy stations, you could blog about
your method so that others could then implement
your idea, too!

Using Blogs in the Classroom
• A blog can also be used to connect with families.
– Blog about what you’re doing in your classroom
– Allow students to be involved in this blog as a way to
encourage writing.
• They can contribute posts (With careful monitoring)
– Topics for these posts
• Students could also be allowed to comment on your posts
(again, with careful monitoring)
– For example, if you write a blog post describing an activity in your
classroom, the students could comment on their participation in
this activity

More Things to Consider
• When posting, keep in mind the following:
– You’re representing your school district, whether
you’re posting information personally or
professionally.
– Be positive, not negative
• Don’t make disparaging remarks about students, your
school, etc.
– Think carefully about the information that you are
posting.
• Is the information relevant or is it a case of TMI?
• Is the information of a sensitive nature?

Sample Blogs Created By Educators
• It’s a good idea to look at examples of blogs
when you are getting started.
• You can see what others have done and
decide what you like.
• You can also see the variety of possibilities
available to bloggers.

Twitter…It’s not just for celebrities!
• Twitter is a tool that allows users to
“microblog.”
–Messages are limited to 140
characters
• Although Twitter is often thought of
as a tool used by celebrities to
connect with fans, Twitter has
educational uses, too!

Educational Uses of Twitter
• To Establish Professional Learning
Communities
– Connect with other educators without being
bound by geography
• Particularly valuable for teachers in rural and/or small
schools, although any teacher can benefit.
– Exposure to new ideas
– Don’t have to wait until a conference to interact
with other educators.

• Connect with children’s book authors
– Students can interact with authors via Twitter
• Ask questions
• Post comments
• Read the author’s tweets to learn about the author.
– Some examples of authors who tweet
• Seymour Simon
• Judy Blume
• Mary Pope Osborne

• Many authors of professional materials also
have established Twitter accounts.
– Donalyn Miller
– Kelly Gallagher
– Cris Tovani
– Stephanie Harvey
– Ralph Fletcher

• Many professional education organizations,
such as IRA, have Twitter accounts.
– Post links to articles
– Provide information about conferences
• Many of these professional conferences create
hashtags for communication during the conferences.
– This facilitates locating other tweets on the same subject.
– #vsra2014 is being used for this conference so you can share
your experiences!

• Many education-oriented websites also have
Twitter accounts
• I have gotten some great ideas from tweets
provided through these accounts.
– National Writing Project
– Reading Rockets
– Read Write Think

• Parent communication tool
– Share ideas and tips for supporting their children’s literacy
– Provide alerts about upcoming events at school
• Family Reading Night
• Parent-Teacher Conference nights
• Book Fairs
– Post pictures of classroom activities
• Students can also post tweets about their reading (with
supervision)
– This could be a component of independent reading.
– Tweet summaries of books
– Tweet questions about books that other students can answer
(also while using Twitter)

• Morning meetings
– Students can help you construct a tweet (or more
than one tweet) as a part of a morning message.
• “Tweeter of the day”
– Could be a class job that rotates.
– The selected student could help you compose tweets during the
morning meeting.
– This student could provide suggestions for tweets or responses to
other tweets.
– Maybe a student could be responsible for taking
pictures for you to upload with the tweets.
– A great time to address what is appropriate to post
online.

• Twitter pals
– In lieu of pen pals
– Follow other classes who are on Twitter
– Correspond with each other via Twitter.

Things to Consider When Using Twitter
• If you plan to involve your students (and parents, too) make
sure that your administrator is aware of what you are
doing.
– It’s often a good idea to share administrative
privileges/password information with the principal.
– You should also obtain parent permission.
• Use your professional e-mail account if you’re tweeting for
parents or involving students.
• Watch out for Promoted Tweets.
– These are tweets sent out by businesses and many of these
businesses would not be appropriate for school
– You can block these, but you have to go to the profile page to do
so.

Things to Know About Twitter
• The messages that you send and read are called
tweets.
• “twitter handles”
– @jen4literacy
– @IRAToday (International Reading Association)
• Hashtags
– Place the # in front of the topic
• #vsra2014
• #teaching reading
• #literacy

• RT
– Retweet a message that has already been posted
• Direct Message (DM)
– Allows for private communication
– However, the person you’re trying to contact must
follow you on Twitter.

• Favorites
– Yellow star
– Allows you to identify tweets that are your favorite
• This is great if you come across a lesson idea
• Follow
– When you follow someone, you will get their tweets.
• Just click the follow button, unless their tweets are
protected-then you’ll have to request
– A follower is someone who receives your tweets.
• They just click on the follow button to do so.
• However, if you’ve protected your tweets, potential
followers have to send a request for you to approve.

• Mentioning
– Including another person in a tweet
– For example, if I wanted to mention that my class
was reading a book by Seymour Simon, I could
create a tweet that said something like: “Third
graders are reading nonfiction by
@seymoursimon.
– Another example could be “Attending a
conference session where @donalynbooks is
presenting.”

• Protected Accounts
– You can protect your tweets so that only the
followers that you have accepted can access your
tweets
• This would be a good idea to implement for Twitter
accounts used for parent communication and student
use.
– This can be accessed in the account settings.

• Blocking
– Great for commercial tweets
– You’ll need to visit the profile page for the
person/company whose tweets you want to block.
– There is a person icon that you will need to click.
– This activates a menu that includes “block.”
• Unblocking
– Similar process to blocking
– Go to the profile page and click on the person icon to
reveal the menu that includes “unblock.”

Getting Started With Twitter
• Go to www.twitter.com
• If you do not have a twitter account, you will need to
click on “New to Twitter? Sign up.”
• You will need to provide your name, create a password,
and include an e-mail address.
– If you are going to use this as a professional resource, I
would suggest using your professional e-mail.
– Just a reminder: I would keep professional and personal
accounts separate.
• So if you are going to follow Bradley Cooper, do that on a personal
account linked to a personal e-mail.
• If you’re going to follow the DOE, use your professional e-mail.

Organizing Your Tweets
• You may find it helpful to download a tool
such as TweetDeck or HootSuite to maintain
your Twitter feed.
– I have Tweet Deck, which I downloaded from the
App Store.
– These tools can usually be downloaded onto a
smartphone, which facilitates your monitoring of a
Twitter account.

Todaysmeet.com
• This is another great tool for the classroom that can be
used in large or small groups!
• Go to http://www.todaysmeet.com and create a
“room.”
• After you create the room, you will need to decide how
long you want to keep the room open.
– A variety of choices are available from two hours to one
month.
• You can print the transcripts if you want them available later.
– This is particularly helpful if you want to identify areas to target for future
instruction.
– Could also be used as an artifact for teacher evaluation purposes.

Why use todaysmeet.com?
• Provides a platform that encourages
collaboration.
• Allows all students to contribute their ideas.
– Particularly nice for quiet students who like to fade
into the background!
– Also great for students who need some wait time
• They can construct their answer at their own pace.
• Allows students time to organize their thoughts
before answering.
• Gives students practice with keyboarding.

I direct students to use
only their first and
last initials when signing in.
A Sample Transcript
PW

An example of a todaysmeet.com
conversation

Another example of a todaysmeet.com
conversation

Suggestions for using todaysmeet
• Todaysmeet.com can be used for review purposes.
– I often insert queries about skills that have been previously
taught.
• For example, I might ask about the author’s purpose for writing
the text that we’re reading.
• I will also ask about the main idea of a text.
– I often ask students to identify elements of fiction
• Characters
• Setting
• Problem/Solution
– I also ask questions related to the elements of nonfiction
texts
• Text structure

• Students can respond while they are reading a text.
– For example, my third graders were read an autobiography
of Clyde Robert Bulla and wrote about the text using
todaysmeet.
• They described what the author’s school was like and how it was
different from their school.
• They responded to my query about the meaning of a word used in
the text.
– My fourth graders read a nonfiction text about fish.
• One student moved through the text much more quickly than
another, so I could have them respond at their rates.
• One student did not need to wait on the other student, creating
the possibility of disengagement.

• Could incorporate todaysmeet.com with
Reciprocal Teaching
• Students can respond as they participate in
their specific roles.
– Summarizer
– Questioner
– Clarifier
– Predictor

• Use as a backchannel during lectures and whole
class discussions in content areas.
– Again, students may feel more comfortable expressing
questions in this format.
• Have todaysmeet available to students during
out-of-school hours.
– Students can continue to post their questions and
comments.
• You may get an additional view into their misconceptions
about a topic.
– Students may dialogue with each other, encouraging
collaborative learning.

Why use todaysmeet?
• Provides an opportunity for discussion that
encourages everyone to participate.
• I haven’t noticed anyone copying another
person’s answer because all students seem to be
very intent on typing their responses.
• Students can pose questions of their own, as
well
• You can have individual conversations with
students, especially if you want to tease out
what’s a problem for students, as well as to
encourage the further development of ideas.

Guidelines for using todaysmeet
• Since this is an online tool, I use this
opportunity to talk about Internet safety.
– Students only use their first and last initial when
they join the “meeting.”
– I go by “Ms. F” in the meeting room.
– Students are instructed not to refer to anyone by
their name, but are instructed to use initials.
– No personal information is to be posted.
• This is pretty easy to monitor as all comments are
posted and I use this with small groups.

Another Great Tool: Google Drive
• Do you want or need an easily
accessible group of tools that foster
collaboration, organization, and
assessment?
• Then Google Drive is just what you
need

But what is Google Drive?
• Google Drive is available through Gmail and
contains a variety of tools.
– Google Docs
– Google Forms
– Google Presentation
– Google Spreadsheet
• We’re going to focus on Google Docs and
Google Forms today.

Using Google Drive
• Go to Gmail and on the top right side, you’ll
see the following:

Google Docs
• Word processing application available as a
part of Google Drive.
• Can be used on any device that can access the
Internet.
• Works like any word processing program-If
you can use Word, then you can use Google
Docs.

But Why Use Google Docs?
• Provides opportunities for collaboration that
“traditional” word processing cannot.
– Google Docs allows for documents to be shared so
that multiple people can be working on the same
document at the same time!
– You just select who you want to be able to access
the document and Gmail makes it available to
them.

How Can We Use Google Docs?
• Lesson planning and collaboration with other
educators
– Grade level teams
– Special education
– Reading Specialists
– Instructional Assistants

How Can We Use Google Docs?
• Students could use Google Docs to collaborate
with each other.
– Group research projects
– Reciprocal Teaching
• Students could assume one of the roles and contribute
to a Google Doc
– Questioner
– Clarifier
– Summarizer
– Predictor

You just have to
type in the e-
mail address

Google Forms
• Also available through Google Drive.
• Provides opportunities for teacher-created
assessments through Google Forms.
• Pre-assessments and formative assessments
• They can also be used as a part of a teacher
evaluation portfolio, especially if you need to
provide examples of teacher-created
assessments.

Google Forms
• Forms can be created that require students to
respond in multiple formats.
– Questions don’t all have to be in a multiple choice
or short answer format.
– These assessments can provide practice for SOL
test’s new TEI questions
• Particularly where students have to type answers into
boxes

Google Forms
• Results are reported in a spreadsheet
– Easy to read
– Can see all student responses on one page so
patterns can be easily identified.
– See all student answers
– Time/date stamped
– The spreadsheet is created automatically-you
don’t have to input the data

Using Google Forms
• I already had a Gmail account, so I used that
account to create my Google Forms.
• At the top of the Form, you’ll see “View Live
Form.”
– Click on this and a student can access the form.
– After the student has submitted his/her form, a page
will pop up noting that the response has been
recorded.
– An option will also be provided on this page to record
another response.
• The next student simply clicks on this link and is taken to a
blank version of the form.

Let’s see what this all looks like…

QR Codes
• We see QR codes everywhere now
– The McDonald’s cup with my sweet tea
– Stores
• Advertisements
• Coupons
– Museums
• Information about exhibits
– Website information (URLs)

QR Codes
• Looks like a barcode, but is a little different
– Can contain text/information
• Apps that read QR Codes can be downloaded
to your smartphone or tablet.
• The app scans the QR Code and converts the
code into text.

How can teachers use QR Codes?
• Response to literature
– Changes things up for students.
– Provides them with a new, different platform for
sharing about books.
• Fourth and fifth grade Title 1 students created QR
codes about the characters in chapter books they read.
– They identified a character.
– Then they described the character.
– They also explained what the character’s problem was and
how the character tried to solve their problem.

• Summarizing reading
– 20 word summaries
• Book recommendations
– Have the resulting QR codes posted around the
classroom.
– Students can scan the QR codes and then choose
a book.
• Books with QR code recommendations could even be
stored in a particular basket or space for easy access.

• Literacy stations
– A QR code can include directions needed to complete
a station.
– Materials for the station can be embedded in the QR
Code.
• Fluency poems
• Reader’s Theater scripts
• Writing prompts
• Words to sort
– Students can scan a picture of a posted QR code and
then use that information to complete the required
activity.

• Parent communication
– Newsletters could contain a QR code for parents
to scan for extra information.
– A QR Code could be placed on student agendas
• These QR Codes would contain information that would
be necessary for year-round reference.
– Teacher’s contact information
– Website for accessing homework
– Website for accessing student grades
– Homework policies
– Class rules/expectations

This is the message embedded in the
previous QR code.

Free sites for creating QR codes
• https://www.the-qrcode-generator.com
– This is the site I use the most.
• http://www.qrstuff.com
• http://www.visualead.com
• http://www.qrcode-monkey.com/#text

You (or a student) would type
their text here. Then, click on
SAVE. Then, click on the

Popplet
• Popplet is a tool that allows students to make
connections between concepts and ideas.
• Popplet provides students with a visual
representation of information.
• Resembles Kidspiration

Popplet
• Go to www.popplet.com
– You can create an account.
– However, if you want to skip the log-in process
with students, popplets can be created without
having an account.
• On the website’s main page, you can click on “try it
out.”
– The Popplet app is also available through iTunes.

Popplet
• Very user-friendly (for teachers and kids)
– Visuals provided on the main page that illustrate each
step of the Popplet process.
• This walk-through can always be accessed by clicking on the
question mark in the upper right corner of the pages.
• Many options allow students to personalize their
Popplets.
– Color
– Font
– Allows drawings to be added

Popplet and Literacy Instruction
• Describe a character from a book
– Popple with the character’s name
– Other Popples describe the character’s behavior, physical
appearance, likes/dislikes, problems, etc.
• Story maps
– Characters, settings, and plot
– Construct these maps during and after reading
• Brainstorm ideas for writing
• Map out vocabulary words
– Have one popple in the center with the vocabulary word
– Other popples branching out could define the word, provide
synonyms and antonyms, and use the word in a sentence.

Popplet and Literacy Instruction
• Demonstrate SOL skill knowledge
– Identify and map the different types of nonfiction
text structures
– Work with prefixes, suffixes, and roots
• Have one popple with a root
• Other popples could represent words with that root
– Choose a word and map out the synonyms or
antonyms for that word.

Tagxedo
• A free website (www.tagxedo.com)
• Generates word clouds
– Similar to Wordle
• You do not have to sign up for an account.
• You do need Microsoft Silverlight downloaded
on your computer in order to use Tagxedo.
– Most Windows-based computers have this,
especially if they’re relatively new computers.
– Mac users will need to download Silverlight.

Using Tagxedo As A Part of Daily
Literacy Instruction
• 20 word summaries
– After students complete 20 word summaries to
summarize a text, the words from those
summaries can be typed into Tagxedo to complete
a word cloud.
– All students’ words can be combined into one
cloud or individual students can create their own
clouds.

• If you’re teaching a skill like synonyms or
antonyms, students can use Tagxedo.
– Students can collect words that represent the
targeted element (i.e., synonyms for the word
“fantastic.”
– Then, they can combine their lists of words by
inputting those words into Tagxedo.
– The resulting word cloud can illustrate how often
certain words appear.

• Brainstorm a list of a character’s traits and
plug into Tagxedo to determine which traits
occur repeatedly.
– Then, students can use that information to make
some inferences not only about their character(s),
but also about what they have noticed.

Livebinders
• Organization of materials
– Keep materials in one place
• Collaboration
– Great for grade level teams who want/need to
share materials.
– Also great for regular and specialists to share
materials, lesson plans.

Livebinders
• Students could even create Livebinders.
– As students work on research projects, they could
maintain materials here.
– Writing assignments could be stored here.

Livebinders
• If you are going to set up a binder for school
materials, I recommend using that binder only
for school materials-it’s a lot less confusing
• I also recommend not saving materials that
might have student information (particularly
sensitive student information) in a Livebinder.

Livebinders
• Go to www.livebinders.com
• You can watch a video about Livebinders on
the website.
• You can access public binders to get an idea of
how others have established their binders.
– Check out the featured binders.
• However, you don’t have to make your
binder(s) public.

Education-themed binders
• Cover a variety of areas
– Art
– Counseling
– English
– ESL
– Gifted
– Library
– Preschool
– Reading
– Writing
– And many more!

Things to Consider When Using
Internet Tools…
• Make sure that you provide opportunities for
modeling and scaffolding as you introduce and
use these Internet tools.
– You will need to provide on-going training and support
as students use these tools.
• Always make sure that your administrator is
aware of how you’re using Internet tools.
• Always inform parents about your use of Internet
tools.
– Permission forms are a good idea

Things to Consider When Using
Internet Tools…

Thank you for attending this session
My contact information:
jaf9d@virginia.edu
jennifer_floyd@rockbridge.k12.va.us
On Twitter:
@jen4literacy

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