Subtext in your Classroom or Library

Subtext

"Subtext is a free iPad app that allows classroom groups to exchange ideas in the pages of digital texts.  You can also layer in enrichment materials, assignments and quizzes - opening up almost limitless opportunities to engage students and foster analysis and writing skills."   I see so much potential with this app!  See what teachers say here and I will walk you through how easy it is to get ePub documents on Subtext. 

I collaborated with 5th grade teachers on a series of great tools for students to respond to the book Wonder, by R.J. Palacio.  I want to make some cross-curricular connections by bringing the disease that August had; as well as, bringing in some math and social studies.  The first thing I had to do was build my library with some articles.  You can see my library below.  

You will also have to set up your class groups.  Subtext works with Edmodo, so if you have Edmodo, it will populate your groups for you.  When you create a group, you are given a code that students will need to access their Subtext group.

When you first get subtext, it will ask you to save a link to your bookmarks bar so that you can easily convert articles.  

Next, begin searching for articles you like on the web.  I loved this article.

 When you find an article that you like click the "Save to Subtext" link and you should see this....

 When you click the Save to Subtext, you will see this next prompt asking if you want to save to one, two, or all of your groups.

Then, when you go to your library, you will see your article in ePub format.

Then you have an option to create questions for discussion.  You are given options for True or False, Multiple Choice, Polling, or Paragraph responses.  I chose a poll to bring in some math statistics.

 After a group has been given instructions to read an article, they would choose the discussion link to respond to the literature.

I found this tutorial - so I am going to include it here....

 Can you see the possibilities of this platform?  My mind hasn't stopped spinning since I have come across it.  Please share your ideas for using Subtext in your library or classroom by leaving a comment below!

Effective ways to use TWITTER in the classroom and Professional Development

EDUDEMIC had a great article on how to use twitter in the classroom.  They included this wonderful infographic in that article that TeachBytes produced.  When I investigated all the wonderful resources that TeachBytes had, I was elated.  I have blogged many times about TWITTER and I believe if used effectively, it can be a great tool for teachers and students alike.  Aditi Rao, TeachBytes author, has her work under the creative commons license.  I am going to share a few of her wonderful Twitter resources.

Twitter is also a great way to get free professional development and build your PLN.  There are great twitter chats that you can join in by following the hashtags listed below.  Even if you can't make the actual chat, search the hashtag and you will get the latest tweets from the ongoing chat. Here is a list of educational chats that you can share with librarians and teachers alike:

SUNDAYS

#slpchat Speech and Language Pathologists 2-3pm EST

#1stchat First Grade Teachers Chat 8-9pm EST

#titletalk Promote reading and literacy 8-9pm EST

#21stedchat 21st Century Education Chat 8-9pm EST

#caedchat California Ed Chat 8-9pm PST

#edchatri Ed Chat Rhode Island 8-9pm EST

#wischat Wisconsin Chat 8-9pm CST

#iaedchat Iowa Ed Chat 8-9pm CST

#oklachat Oklahoma Ed Chat 8-9pm CST

#spedplc Special Education PLC 8-9pm CST

#edchatma Ed Chat Massachusetts 8-9pm EST

#blogchat Best practices in Blogging Chat 9-10pm EST

#tck The Coffee Klatch (for parents of special needs students) 9-10 pm EST

MONDAYS

#mathchat Math Teachers Chat 3:30-5:00pm EST

#engchat English Teachers Chat 7-8pm EST

#sschat Social Studies Teachers Chat 7-8pm EST

#pechat Physical Education Chat 7-8pm EST

#4thchat Fourth Grade Teachers Chat 8-9pm EST

#flipclass Flipped Classroom Teachers 8-9pm EST

#musedchat Music Teachers Chat 8-9pm EST

#edtechchat Educational Technology Chat (**NEW - 4/22 Start)** 8-9pm EST

#stuvoice Student Voice 8:30-9:30pm EST

#ellchat English Language Learners Chat 9-10pm EST

#ILEdchat Illinois Ed Chat 9-10pm CST

#Aledchat Alabama Ed Chat 9-10pm CST

#ohedchat Ohio Ed Chat 9-10pm EST

#21stadmin 21st Century Administrator Chat 9-10pm EST

#kinderchat Kindergarten and Early Childhood Chat 9-10pm EST

TUESDAYS

#edchat Education Chat 12-1pm EST and 7-8pm EST

#apushchat AP US History Chat 7-8pm EST

#5thchat 5th grade Teachers Chat 8-9pm EST

#hiphoped Focus on using Hip Hop in education 8-9pm EST

#mdedchat Maryland Ed Chat 8-9pm EST

#nced North Carolina Educators (biweekly) 8-9pm EST

#patue Pedagogy and Technology 8-9pm EST

#spedchat Special Education Chat 9-10pm EST

#pblchat Project Based Learning Chat 9-10pm EST

#scichat Science Teachers Chat 9-10pm EST

#STEMchat Science,Technology,Engineering and Math (STEM) Chat 9-10pm EST

#hsmath High School Math Chat 9:30-10:30pm EST

WEDNESDAYS

#iolchat Inside Online Learning 12-1pm EST

#ipadchat Ipads in education Chat 1-2pm EST

#web20tools web 2.0 Tools in teaching 6-7pm EST

#ctchat Critical Thinking Chat 7-8pm EST

#edmusic Music Education 7-8pm EST

#3rdchat Third Grade Teachers Chat 7-8pm EST (2nd Weds of each month)

#coachchat Athletic coaches Chat 8-9pm EST

#2ndchat Second Grade Teachers Chat 8-9pm EST

#libchat Librarian's Chat 8-9:30pm EST

#ntchat New Teachers Chat 8-9pm EST

#atchat Assistive Technologies Chat 8-9pm EST

#nebedchat Nebraska Ed Chat 8-9pm CST

#histed History Education 8:30-9:30pm EST

#txed Texas Ed Chat 8:30-9:30pm CST

#1to1techat 1:1 Teacher Chat 9-10pm EST

#psycchat School Psychologist Chat 9-10pm EST

#sbgchat Standards-based Grading (SBG) Chat 9-10pm EST

#ptchat Parent-Teacher Chat 9-10pm EST

#teachchat General Teaching Chat 9-10pm EST

#yalitchat Young Adult Literature Chat 9-10pm EST

#fycc First Year Composition Chat 9-10pm EST

#educoach Instructional Coaching Chat 10-11pm EST

THURSDAYS

#mathchat Math Teachers Chat 7-8pm EST

#artsed Arts in Education Chat 7:30-8:30 EST

#collabed All things collaboration 8-9pm EST

#ecosys Group committed to helping support education in the US 8-9pm EST

#langchat Foreign Language Chats 8-9pm EST

#6thchat 6th grade teachers Chat 8-9pm EST

#psychat Psychology in schools Chat 8-9pm EST

#tichat Technology Integrators 8-9pm EST

#INelearn Indiana eLearning Chat 8-9pm EST

#denchat Discovery Education Network Chat 8-9pm EST

#mschat Middle School Chat 8-9pm EST

#chemchat Chemisty Teachers Chat 8:30-9:30pm EST

#lrnchat Focus on how people learn 8:30-10:00pm EST

#diversedu Focus on diversity in education 8:30-9:30pm EST

#moedchat Missouri Ed Chat 9-10pm CST

#atplc All Things PLC based 9-10pm EST

#byotchat Bring your own technology chat 9-10pm EST

FRIDAYS

#connectedpd Connected Professional Development Chat 12-1pm EST

#gtchat Gifted and Talented Chat 12-1pm and 7-8pm EST

#midleved Middle Level (middle schools) 8-9pm EST

SATURDAYS

#satchat Saturday Chat (General Ed Topics) 7:30-8:30am and 10:30-11:30am EST

#catholicedchat Catholic Ed Chat 9-10am EST

#rechat Rethinking Education Chat 9-10am EST

Originally compiled by Tom Murray @thomascmurray

and Chad Evans @cevans5095.

Part of the beauty of Twitter is the ability to isolate millions of tweets to a particular subject or hashtag.  Here are educational hashtags you should be familiar with:

Coding - have you considered using it in your school?

CODING

I was a computer information systems major when I first started college back in the 1980's and I remember the pages and pages of script it took to create simple tasks in C and C++.  When I began teaching back in the 1980's I had my students use Apple LOGO to learn simple programming tasks.  Programming languages, computers, phones and other digital devices have evolved immensely. Aaron Skonnard wrote an article titled, "Cracking the Tech Job Talent Crunch by Teaching Kids to Code."  With the growth of tech jobs,  why aren't educators teaching students to code.  Coding not only requires a lot of thinking and planning, but it requires students to learn through trial and error.  Skonnard goes on to say that the market is out there for programmers, developers and computer science graduates, but there aren't enough skilled workers to handle the demand.  Shannon Miller also wrote a blog about coding titled, "One Thing I Am Going to Focus On and Learn This summer...Coding and Integrating It Into Our Curriculum." Ms. Miller also shares her focus and game plan to make this happen in her school.  I definitely see where Miller,  Skonnard and the video producer, Code.Org are coming from.  We need to be teaching students how to design, compose and test out programs.  Scroll over the image below to see some very informative videos about coding and why you should be using it at your school.  You will also find out about some organizations that target teens and girls to teach them how to code.

                                   

Shannon Miller gave me permission to embed her Symbaloo Mix titled: Coding, Coding, Coding!  In this mix she has compiled a number of coding sites that will help you implement some coding into your curriculum.

Code .Org offers programs  that will help students learn coding.  You can go to their site to see other suggestions and tools that they offer.    What ways can you incorporate coding into your classroom or library?  

Thanks to Shannon Miller for sharing her symbaloo matrix.  You can find out how Sharron will work with her staff to implement coding.  Her blog is found here: http://vanmeterlibraryvoice.blogspot.com/

Revisiting VINE

I love twitter and vine.  The fact that you are forced to summarize a thought into 140 characters or 6 seconds of video is the perfect way to get students to get to the point.  I look at creative experts that I follow and see how they really have to find a beginning, middle, and end to their outcome.  I wait patiently for the following #vine posts daily.......



Here are some book trailers I have created and that are only six seconds long.


Here is a six second video of an art exhibit I went to...


Getting students to think about what they put on social networks is a daunting task. Giving them a purpose for their posts, makes them think, plan and organize their thoughts.  Right now educators host educational chats using twitter.  When using vine educators might ask students to summarize a book, create a book trailer, show how their science experiment works, create a historical timeline, or develop a step by step art project video.

 How can you implement this into the curriculum you teach?

Critical Thinking Skills Road Map

[Source: Enokson]

Personal Learning Progress

I recently posted about a birdwalk I took through new technology tools.  While I haven't mastered everything I mentioned, I have begun scooping with enthusiasm.  Scoop.it! is a handy way to collect and organize news and blog articles I find on the web and either want to read again or share.

I'm sort of all over the map right now with my scooping, like a kid making a sundae at Baskin-Robbins...

I see in my future separate Scoop.it! pages for my book-related scoops to keep them separate from my technology finds which could be separated from my advocacy scoops which can be separate from humor scoops... You get the idea.  

What a great classroom tool!  Teachers can create Scoop.it pages for students, rather than printing articles or sharing cumbersome links.  And we can create additional pages for different grade levels and contents when we collaborate.

I look forward to using Scoop.it! for teaching students evaluation of resources and relevancy of online information.  Students can create Scoop.it! pages that relate to a subject they are studying.  Research articles can be curated in one easy place to revisit and reread.  Critical thinking is involved in selecting the right scoops. 

So many ideas... I need to get back to my scooping...