App Review
Actively Learn: An Interactive Approach to Reading
In today's world, technology and digitalization is at an all time high. Students are learning in different ways which include the use of phones, iPads, tablets, and computers. With the implementation of these tools, has come the push for online e-readers. Actively Learn is a classroom tool that can fulfill the needs of students in all grade levels and subject areas.
According to Ed Tech Review (2013), "for teachers Actively Learn can act as a helping assistant that reduces the workload as well as improves the techniques of imparting knowledge to the students" (p. 1). Actively Learn gives teachers’ access to grade level specific public domain books, internet articles, or the capability to upload their own documents. Questions are then embedded into each book or article for students to answer as they are reading. These questions can be generated by the teacher or the teacher can use questions already created by the site. All of the questions generated by Actively Learn are Common Core aligned and can focus on one specific skill or encompass multiple skills. Teachers can also embed links, notes, videos, and pictures into each book or article.
Actively Learn is exclusively online, which makes it easier for students to answer questions and discuss the material. Students are able to discuss the text directly online with other students in the class or the teacher by simply leaving a note or replying to a response. This also allows students to directly flag any passages they do not understand or are having a difficult time comprehending. At the same time, students can highlight passages to take notes over, hear words read aloud, and look up definitions of words all with the click of the mouse.
Actively Learn also has many benefits for the teacher. The grading process on Actively Learn greatly increases the timeliness in which the teacher can respond to each student's response. Therefore, the response time for feedback and corrections is increased and the interest of the topics can be maintained among the students. Actively Learn is available in a free option, as well as, several paid options that have upgraded qualities available for both the student and teacher.
Actively Learn has successfully created an interactive, online reading tool that is beneficial to both the students and the teacher. It creates a way for students to read the material and respond to well thought out questions pertaining to Common Core Standards. According to Ed Tech Review (2013), “Actively Learn aims at creating minds that can be beneficial to the society and contribute something for its betterment” (p. 1).
Check Actively Learn out at http://www.activelylearn.com/
Resources
Actively Learn: Transform Your Students into Critical Thinkers (2013, October 30). In Ed Tech Review. Retrieved from http://edtechreview.in/news/732-actively-learn-transform-your-students-into-critical-thinkers
Chelsea Phipps is a 9-12th grade English teacher and K-6th grade Art teacher at Hurley R-1 School District.
Chelsea Phipps
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