LEARNING TO LOVE YOUR STUDENTS’ SMARTPHONESHow Mobile Apps Can Breathe New Life into Your Reading Class

SELF-IDENTIFIED TECH-SAVVY TEACHERS

RAISE YOUR HANDS AND STAND UP!

FIND ONE OR TWO TEACHERS WHO NEED YOUR EXPERTISE AND SIT WITH

THEM.

SAY HELLO TO YOUR NEW FRIENDS!

TWO MINUTE DISCUSSION

DO YOU USE YOUR STUDENTS’ SMARTPHONES IN YOUR

CLASSROOM TO SUPPORT YOUR TEACHING?

IF SO, HOW?

WHY YOU MIGHT CONSIDER USING APPS IN YOUR CLASSROOM

➤ Students enjoy it and demonstrate higher levels of engagement.

➤ Smartphones are a teaching technology that we don’t have to write a grant for.

➤ Prevent sneaky phone use when we have clear phones out/phones away distinctions within a class period.

➤ We can give them a powerful study tool (and they never leave home without it).

➤ Navigating an app builds technical language skills.

➤ Tech-literacy often falls on us.

APP USE IN THE CLASSROOM IS NOT JUST

FUN. IT’S ALSO PRACTICAL AND SUPPORTED BY

RESEARCH.References available in your handout

““Students [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 confidence about literacy and about using technology.”

(Yunus, Nordin, Salehi, Sun, & Embi, 2013, p.121)

VOCABULARYBoost and Supplement

“ “Vocabulary knowledge would seem to be the most clearly identifiable subcomponent of the ability to read.”

(Nation & Coady, 1988, p. 98)

APPS FOR VOCABULARY

How to Use Special Features

Cost for Students

Cost for Teachers

Quizlet

You add words, let students define, practice at home,

then play games in class

Support for images, flashcards, multiple

gamesFree $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 difficult words in class, encourage independent use

Gorgeous visuals, shows relationships

between wordsFree Free

QUIZLET➤ iOS, Android, Web

➤ Easy to use, both for independent studying and for in-class practice

➤ When adding words, the app suggests community definitions for that word (some of which are incorrect/unrelated)

➤ Print off flashcards or practice quizzes

➤ Multiple formats for flashcards (word first, definition first) and for games (space race, speller, scatter)

➤ NEW in-class game that lets students use their phones to compete

FLASHCARDS➤ iOS, Android

➤ Best for at-home practice

➤ When adding words, the app auto fills with the dictionary.com definition

➤ Multiple formats for flashcards (word first, definition first), detailed settings, and a quiz option

➤ Will pronounce the word with a native-sounding non-robotic voice

➤ Share lists via email, Twitter, or Facebook

WORDFLEX➤ iPad only

➤ Fewer clear applications

➤ Great for curious and independent students who want to explore language, not for those who resist learning

➤ Makes a good learning station with classroom iPad(s)

➤ A beautiful way to explore word definitions, word forms, and synonyms as a class

READING COMPREHENSION

AND FLUENCYRead Read Read Assess Read

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 reflection 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 school’s 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

NEARPOD➤ iOS, Android, Web

➤ Can embed .pdfs, videos, even other websites to be read by students

➤ Multiple assessment options (quizzes, polls, drawings, matching, writing prompts)

➤ Tons of existing Nearpods with quality content for free (and others for $$)

➤ Awesome for interactive in-class practice OR take-home assessment

QR CODE READER + MREADER➤ iOS, Android, Web

➤ A great way to embed assessment into an extensive reading program

➤ Quizzes are already written by the Extensive Reading Foundation

➤ Teachers just add QR codes to the inside covers of graded readers linking students to that book’s quiz which they can then take on their phone

➤ Provides teachers with reports and students with visual of their progress

➤ Teachers can control the level at which students can take quizzes

➤ Account creation is arduous and requires a teacher-administrator who distributes access codes to the other teachers in her/his district/university

““We found no differences 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.”

(Stoeckel, Reagan, & Hann, 2012, p.194)

PLICKERS ➤ Only the teacher needs the app

(iOS or Android)

➤ Great for all levels and classes that are tech-resistant

➤ Only A, B, C, D and True False options

➤ Extremely playful and low-stakes, but still gradable and useful for gathering data on student understanding

➤ Can laminate, print on card stock, or paste into their textbooks

WEBSITES TO SUPPORT APP

USE IN THE CLASSROOM

Readings and Resources

WEBSITES TO SUPPORT THE APPS YOU USE

➤ Read Write Think

➤ Intended for K-12, but many of the lessons translate well to EAP

➤ Lessons on specific grammar, reading, and writing topics with interactive games and apps as well as worksheets and lesson plans

➤ Read Works

➤ Incredible bank of short readings with lexile measures as well as comprehension questions

➤ Lesson plans to accompany a variety of leveled novels

➤ Skill-based lessons for every grade level ➤ Vocabulary activity to accompany most

lessons

WEBSITES TO SUPPORT THE APPS YOU USE

➤ Lit2Go

➤ A collection of short classic readings including fairy tales, short stories, and poems

➤ All have audio files

➤ Most have comprehension questions to pair with the passages

➤ Extensive Reading Foundation/MReader

➤ Hundreds of graded reader quizzes

➤ Incredible resource for those who want to encourage students to read graded readers

➤ Amazing depth of information on the benefits of extensive reading and how to set up a program in your school

USE THE QR CODES ON YOUR HANDOUT TO EXPLORE!

WHAT ADDITIONAL READING ACTIVITIES CAN YOU

ENVISION WITH THESE APPS?

THANK YOU!courtneyelizabethking.com

king2ce@cmich.edu