Personally I always found it easy to dismiss ICT tools for
literature classes (possibly because my teachers have never really integrated
such tools in my learning of literature). But I’m suddenly discovering a whole
lot of potential platforms that can, not only engage students better, but aid in
the assessment of student learning.
NowComment.com is a website
where you can upload a document or share a document you wish your students to
read and have them input their comments or annotations alongside it (the
website puts the text and the comments side by side and enables independent or
simultaneous scrolling). Some ideas for comments can be in the form of
interpreting what they have just read, close reading analysis or asking
thinking routine questions along the way (see: visiblethinkingpz.org).
What I also like about the website is that you can sort comments
by users so you can tell who has actively participated the most or what kind of
comments a certain student has been making. This can help in the assessment of
whether their understanding has been superficial (mostly centred on plot,
character and setting) or incorporates a deeper analysis (literary devices).
Since it is an open discussion to those who have access to
the document, this means that peers can simultaneously reply to their comments
or share their own interpretations of a particular passage. Learning in this
case then becomes collaborative and student-centred. It creates a community
among your students that hopefully encourage deeper literary appreciation.
For more information:
For more information:
From the video above:
Teachers can see from the online discussions …
- 1. How many students did the reading (quantifiable)
- 2. How well they understood (comprehension of text)
- 3. What parts did they focus on (points of interest)
- 4. What points did they miss (possible areas for further discussion in class)
Apart from analysing readings, I also like the idea of this
website for students to share their own writing (essays or otherwise) with
their peers for feedback. This means that they are not only exposed to the
primary text and their peers’ feedback, but also can be exposed to their peers’
writing styles and (hopefully) constructive criticism.
The idea of using this website as an assessment tool was firstly introduced through the discovery of this blog, "How to Teach a Novel".
The idea of using this website as an assessment tool was firstly introduced through the discovery of this blog, "How to Teach a Novel".
Wow this is a great site that you have found, I like how this site allows for clear individual assessment and also promotes collaborative learning. I think this resource is something that our ICT module profs would be proud to use as well :)
ReplyDeleteHi Margie, this is a really interesting and great idea. Would you be able to demonstrate the use of this website on the week we are doing discussion? It'll be interesting to see how this takes the discussion online. As with most online stuff, it does create more work for the teacher :) but it is interesting work.
ReplyDeleteI'll be happy to! :)
DeleteHi Margie, this is such a fantastic find! No more photocopying essays for peer editing!
ReplyDelete