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!

Apps for the Inquiry Process

Our school just unrolled the first phase of our 1:1 iPad program tonight.  In preparation of this big event, I spent some time this summer looking into how I could support and guide students through the research process using apps.

It was tougher than I expected to build a list like this....  

Apps come and go.
Opinions vary.
And upgrades can leave a favorite app on the bottom of the heap.

But it was also a lot of fun to read through suggestions, try new apps, and build a chart that includes all phases of the research process.  You are welcome to take it, use it, and share it:

At my school, we follow Kath Murdoch's Inquiry Cycle so I have grouped the apps according to the steps of that model.  But I think they can easily be adapted to other models. 

My simple hope in sharing this is that I get you thinking about which apps you use with students during the research process.

And let's keep the conversation going...

Because apps come and go
Technology evolves.
But the need to be able to locate, evaluate, and use information will continue.

What would you add to the list?

Destiny Quest - From a Teacher's Perspective

Two of the teachers I worked with last year, Jeff Hoffart and Tosca Killoran, have written and published a guide to Destiny Quest for teachers, available through Titlewave:

One purchase provides unlimited access to everyone at your school.  What a great way for teachers to learn at their own pace about all the features of DestinyQuest and how to incorporate them into the classroom.

With your purchase, you also receive a code to unlock the additional features of their website, with extension activities, printable worksheets, and how-to videos.

Having teachers familiar with Destiny and using it in the classroom has an AMAZING effect on the library!  Mr. Hoffart would have his students search for books and create a list BEFORE they left the classroom.  They hit the library door knowing EXACTLY what they were there for and would ask clear, coherent questions of library staff.  His students also contributed the highest numbers of online reviews and recommendations to their friends.

App of the Week: Diigo

I first got excited about online bookmarking when I completed a 23 Things course about four years ago.  And while I really liked the idea, it fizzled out for me.  

Then I took this job, and in February, I found a NEED for social bookmarking (to support our Extended Essay students) as well as a TOOL (via Katy Vance's blog) with which to do so.  

At Diigo, I have created "groups" for each of the six Extended Essay general topics.  While student use is slow to get off the ground, I can see that some teachers and students have already joined and are adding sites.  As I continue to meet with EE groups, I anticipate more will join.  But I expect it will really be next year's group that benefits from this tool.

Since joining, I have added Digolet to my Chrome toolbar and downloaded the app.  Both are easy to use, but in all honesty, I prefer to use this tool via my computer.  The app, however, keeps improving and is an easy way to access my favorite sites while on my iPad.

In addition to curating websites for our six EE groups, I have created a number of lists for myself - library related as well as personal interests.  Some are public, others I have chosen to keep private.  

I can't put my finger on why this bookmarking site is working for me when others have failed, but Diigo has become my new favorite tool.

What bookmarking tools do you use?

Myth #6 - Information Skills Can Wait 'til College

What Sparked this Myth
Recently, I was speaking to someone in a district-level decision-making position about libraries and the subject of learning library skills, specifically locating and evaluating information. This person shared that she did not learn to navigate a library until college and had not considered that perhaps today's students - with electronic resources providing a flood of information - should master these skills earlier.





My Story
This conversation caused me to ponder when I learned to use the library and, later, the internet. In stark contrast to her story, I was provided with formal library instruction staring in 2nd grade. For two weeks I was (gasp!) pulled out of reading my class (gasp!) to attend library class. It was held in a room behind the circulation desk, back where the secret library work took place. (That alone was pretty exciting.) In those two weeks, I was part of a small group of students who learned the differences between, and process of, conducting author, subject, and title searches in the card catalog. We learned shelf order and the Dewey Decimal system. We learned how to find books to meet an information or recreational needs, from looking them up to locating on the shelves.

In this same library, we began learning to independently use media in 1st grade, with stations set up for filmstrips and audio books after book selection.


As 4th grade began, I moved to another school in the same district. This new library had an entire glass-enclosed media room we students could visit after checkout. It accommodated an entire class and was full of all sorts of now-obsolete machines.... My 5th grade teacher was big on inquiry-based learning. We wrote several research reports in her class and she taught us to cite our sources.

In 8th grade, my speech teacher took us to the library and showed us how to use the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature. Remember those??? Look up what you need and then pray that 1) the library subscribes to that publication, and 2) no one had torn out the article you needed.

By the time I got to college, the only thing left was the transition from Dewey to Library of Congress. Somewhere along the way I picked up the difference between magazine and journals. Internet skills were learned as a teacher, through district-mandated trainings, MLS courses, and self imposed learning.


What is Your Story?
As I mused over my history, I recalled that there were students in my MLS classes that were unfamiliar with Dewey until starting graduate work. I count myself fortunate to have grown up in a district that taught me information skills so early. I also feel fortunate to have had a village (librarians, teachers, technology gurus) to teach me.


Now I want to know when and how YOU learned to use the library... and if you think that same plan works for today's students.