Alula - Great Creative Writing App

There's always that great go-to assignment whenever you need a no prep activity. You have one student say/write the start of a story, "Once upon a time there were three beautiful butterflies."Then the next student would continue the story, "They wanted to be explore the world, but they were afraid their wings wouldn't fly."

I am going to discuss three reasons I love this app for my students, and a few ways I think you can use it, and include a video showing you how it works.

1. I hate to say it, but the app is free. When you use as many different apps as I do in class it can be tough to charge students all the time. So, when you find a great free app, it kinda feels like you won the lottery.

2. It is offered on iTune and Google Play. My classes are about equally divided between Mac lovers and Mac haters, so having an app that works on both devices is great.

3. It is ridiculously user friendly. A fast sign up and voila, you're ready to get creative. Also, because the stories are so short, students shouldn't get overwhelmed.

As far as how to use it:
1. Have students collaborate to make stories. Then vote on the best.
2. Have students select their favorite quotes from a text that you are reading in class to start an Alula. See how others change the meaning from the original text.
3. Have students pick a story that they like and make it longer on their own.
4. Choose a story that has some errors and have students correct it.
5. And more!

What's it look like? Check out:

Pensoul in Class

As I have mentioned before I am not an artist. Yet, we've all read the studies, and we know that, especially with students who are newer to English, there is a need to use visuals when teaching.

I've recently been using an app called PenSoul to create amazing graphics I can use in my class.

Since I got a little excited about how easy it is to use, I made a short list of other ways to use the app.

• Have students create their own book covers for a novel
• Have students create a WANTED poster for a character in the story
• Be sure they include traits in addition to their picture
• Let students use the app to create a fake Instagram picture or Tweet of a character
• Encourage students to create art that they feel a character would have made.
• Make a menu that the characters would have enjoyed (include pictures of the food!)

And so much more! What would you have them do?

Plicker to Check Student Comprehension

I've read on quite a few message forums that many teachers would love to use programs like Kahoot or the Socratic App in their class, but they have problems. Some schools have a strict no cell phones on campus policy. Other students don't have the financial means to each have an electronic device (cell phone, tablet, laptop, etc.). Sometimes my students all have the technology, but the school WiFi is so slow that the apps and websites just don't work.

There are also completely online alternatives like using Google Forms or SurveyMonkey where you can have students answer directly on the site, but often allowing students to take these quizzes online gives them the chance to use notes, or discuss answers with friends. Sometimes great, but not every time.

There are also plenty of old school no tech ways to get students to answer questions. This blog post is about technology that only requires the teacher to have technology.

Plickers is a free app that can be downloaded on Android or Apple products. This version of low-tech meets hi-teach is made possible through the use of  Plicker's cards. There are enough cards for 40 students, so any class of 40 students or less is set! If you are a technophobe, this may be a great first step for you! You will be using a device, but your students won't.

I like to say it is a 10 step program:

1. Sign up. You can download the app and sign up there, or sign up at their website 
2. Create a class. This has to be done on the site, not an app. 
3. Add students. Simply put in your students' names and they will be assigned a card number.
4. Print the cards (or purchase them from Amazon). If you are printing them yourself I'd suggest you print them on card stock instead of paper. You can laminate normal paper to make it last longer, but sometimes laminating paper causes glare making the reader difficult to work.
5. Make a poll. This is a "quiz" that your students will answer. You can add questions from the app or the website.
6. Give the students the question and answer options. This could be on a PowerPoint, Prezi, verbally, or on a piece of paper.
7. Let your students answer by holding their card up so that the option they think is correct (A, B, C, D) is upright.
8. Use your tablet / phone to "scan" the class and record your students' answers (anonymously).
9. Use these answers to immediately decide if students have a grasp of the material, 
10. Later go back and examine different trends for individual students and try to find ways to help them personally understand the material. This is GREAT to help you differentiate later.

 I don't think this form of technology is useful for every teacher. If you have a 1:1 program in your school you have other options. If you would rather use lo-tech options, that's great too. This is just another tool for your tool belt!

What do you think? Would you ever use Plicker?

Quizlet for at Home Studying

I recently had the honor of hosting a guest post about the use of flashcards to help students study. One of my favorite ways to help students is by using Quizlet.

Quizlet allows me to create flashcards for students. In addition to making these for vocabulary words, you can also make them for collocations, dates, authors, math formulas, etc. Pretty much flashcards can be made for anything you want to help your students review at their own pace.

Students can view lists that you make without logging in or creating an account. They can also look for lists other users have created (things like GRE, TOEFL; SAT, etc. are very popular). If they create an account they can create their own lists or access them via tablets / smart phones.

Here are some of the ways students can use Quizlet. All of these examples use vocabulary words from Lewis Carroll's The Walrus and The Carpenter. You can click on the screenshots to make them bigger for a better look.

Definition

Word / Phrase

On the Internet
They can use them as traditional flashcards. The Quizlet website has a, "cards" section. Using the mouse to click from the term to the definition (or the arrow keys). Your students can set their own preference: term-->definition, definition-->term, or a mix of both.

"Learn" with quizlet

 "Learn" is a step up from flash cards. The definition is shown and you type the vocabulary word. This can help students with spelling and recalling the word (and not just relying on word banks. If your students are more auditory they can click on, "speak text" where the definition is heard instead of read. This can also help your students with their listening skills.
 

Practice the spelling

The "Speller" option lets your students hear the word being spoken as they see the definition. Then they try to type the word correctly. This is great for students who struggle with English's less than phonetic spelling. It is also nice for character names, authors, and other proper nouns. Not the most dynamic or interesting option, but I know some students have found it very helpful.

Sample Test

 My least favorite option, "Test." The reason I don't like this is  I think students focus too much on memorizing definitions and not enough on understanding. Nonetheless, Quizlet will randomly generate a quiz made up of multiple choice, true false, matching, and written answers (they give you the definition you write in the word). This can be useful for students and teachers as well (though for teachers why not try a more creative quiz)


GAMES!

Scatter!

Gamification is AWESOME and a great incentive for many students. Quizlet has many different options.One is called "Scatter." Essentially the definitions and terms are both scattered randomly on the screen. Your students can click and drag the terms / definitions to their corresponding term. Quizlet times you, so your students can try to make their best times. 

Can you guess the answer?

Word Clue!

The other game is space race! The definition (or term depending on your preference) will scroll from the left side to the right side of the screen. Before it gets to the right side you need to write the term (or definition). Scoring? Each time you guess incorrectly you lose 10 points. If you guess correctly, you get 100 points. By the time it gets to the right you will be given the definition and answer and asked to correctly type the answer. Repetition is key!

Phone / Tablet

Students can search for lists

Here's the most recent list

There's also a free App for the iPhone or iPad as well as Androids. Your students do need an account, but it is free to create an account and their terms of use are pretty standard. The app they can download is also free, so the price is right! 

Once they log in they can access lists that you have made (or other users have made) as well as few different ways to study.

The first perk of the app is it includes access to a list of all the terms and definitions.

Definition

Word

From here, the students  have the same flashcard function under "cards," as the website with some more options.

You can start with the terms, definitions, or both sides.
Another option is to shuffle the cards or keep them in the same order.

Once more, for the auditory students, there's the option for the text to be spoken.

Swiping up and down lets you switch in between terms and swiping to the right shows you the definition.  

"Learn"

Another section is "Learn," this shows the definition and students type the word, so more involved than just a flashcard. Plus it helps them with spelling.

All in all though, not the most exciting function.

Luckily though the app also has a game!

Match

This matching game is more organized than the scattered version for computers, but has essentially the same rules. Students match definitions to terms and race against a clock to score their best time.

Now, do I think that teachers should depend exclusively on sites like Quizlet for students to learn words? No! I believe there are many dynamic ways to really help students learn words. However, this can be a great supplementary tool to help the students get additional help the best way possible for them!

 As a class? You can also use it in class as a review tool! Put one of the games like "Match" or "Scatter" on the white board and have students get into teams. They can take turns buzzing in (raising their hand) to answer a review question. If they get it right, they can try to match the vocabulary words for an additional point (or to make the point valid).

UPDATE as of April 2016 there's a new way to use Quizlet in the classroom. Check it out here

I know there are many other sites like this on the web, but this is my favorite! Do you prefer another site or love Quizlet as much as I do? I'd love to hear from you!

Drop a comment here, tweet me @mELTingTeacher or comment at The Melting Teacher' facebook page.