Indiana Reading Journal Volume 44 Issue 1 Volume 45 Issue 1 | Page 22

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Figure 2

Screenshot of Student Notes in Actively Learn™ Using the Gettysburg Address*

*Lincoln, A. (1863). The Gettysburg Address. Abraham Lincoln Online. Retrieved from http://showcase.netins.net/web/creative/lincoln/speeches/gettysburg.htm

* Reprinted with permission from Actively Learn™ Blog @ http://bit.ly/2bMWZ31

Motivating Readers.

If we want our students to love reading, we must consider the role of choice and collaboration, both central to motivation. Actively Learn™ includes access to a catalog of texts with options to filter by grade or interest levels. Students can choose from thousands of pre-created assignments from a wide variety of high interest articles, current events, and text genres. These digital texts can supplement an existing independent reading program.

In Actively Learn™, interactive and collaborative classroom conversations can be embedded directly within the text. Both teachers and students can post conversation threads to allow discussion to develop naturally within the text—opening up deep, quality communication as learners share their thinking and reactions with peers. To further support collaboration, teachers can adjust settings to allow students to view classmates’ responses after answering questions or embedded polls. Students are therefore writing for a larger audience and engaging in a participatory, collaborative learning experience, which is intrinsically motivating. The text becomes a shared exploration between the teacher, student, and community of learners. Figure 3 shares a sample classroom conversation embedded within a digital text.