Blog #2: Distance Learning Tools Review
As I was pushed into the new experience of online learning last March, I had no idea how much I was going to learn in such a short amount of time. I knew how to use google docs, google drive, shared drives and all that, but I was not using or creating google slides, Pear Deck, Google Classroom, Clever or any of the amazing app’s that I have come to know. WOW! There is a wealth of opportunities and creativities out there on the internet. It is quite over stimulating and overwhelming for me but I have jumped on the train, and I am moving forward. This past week, I have glanced at a few different new app’s. I teach 3rd grade, so some of the app’s, or “tools” are not as user friendly as others for my third graders (and for me, in fact). However, the one that I really found fun and successful for my students was “Quill”. My daughter, Brooklynn, is a 6th grader at River Middle School and they use this tool with Language Arts. She recommended that I look into it because she is learning a lot to support her sentence structure and grammar, and she enjoys doing it. That’s the “catch” for me. I need a “tool” that supports my students’ education AND is fun for them to do. Otherwise, asynchronous work does not get done. Quill is user friendly. It was easy to find on Clever and download to my page. It was simple to set up my class and assign a “premade” lesson for them to work on. The first assignment I assigned was a “Starter Diagnostic’s”. After they are finished, the program examines their results. Now, if I paid for the program, I would get a lot more information but I am not willing to pay for it just yet. However, the information that they give you for free is pretty darn great. For example, this diagnostic’s test documented percentages for me of how each student performed with knowledge in the following areas: capitalization, plural and possessive nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, commas, prepositions, and adverbs. All you have to do is click the students’ name and their individual information comes up. It shows you the details of how they performed and breaks down the concept by each question. It allows me to “see” their thinking. My classroom consists of 90% of students who are English Language Learners. Therefore, “seeing” how they completed their sentences (fill in the blank questions) gives me insight into their speaking skills, also. For example, one of the sentences they had to complete was: Directions: Fill in the blank with one of the words (on, in, at, to) New Years’ day is a holiday _____ January. My student used “to”. So, this tells me he most likely does not know his months and holidays and/or he is troubled with prepositions. It should be “in” because it is relating to time. Another feature that I appreciate is it includes the standards for each task (assignment). Our school is moving toward published target standards and daily learning expectations for our students. I appreciate the standards being included for a couple reasons. One, it simply makes my life easier for my target standards, and two, I know that the assignment is relevant and worthwhile. I highly recommend looking into this program, if you haven’t already.
3 Comments
Jamie Lutz
10/12/2020 09:18:23 pm
Quill sounds like a great resource that you have been able to use well! I appreciate the personal touch that your daughter recommended the program to you. I think it is great to use all different resources from any source. The data that this program is able to give you is a benefit whether you use it as a pre-assessment, during a lesson, or as a post-assessment. Thank you for sharing!
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Betsy Whitt
10/13/2020 08:26:19 pm
I think I need to put something you said on a coffee cup, it is just so perfect and I relate to it 100%. "Technology is quite overstimulating and overwhelming for me, but I have jumped on the train and I am moving forward." That sentence captured exactly how I feel. Plus the train is moving very fast! Thank you also for the input in Quill. I had not heard of it but if it is in Clever then my kids should have access to it also. I will be sure to cehck that out and find out if my LA friends are using it with our kids.
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Kelly W.
10/13/2020 10:19:14 pm
Hi KJ,
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