Supporting Literacy with Activelylearn.com

Last week I attended a technology workshop and learned about the website www.activelylearn.com. This website was created by teachers and is free to join (although there is a pro version available for a fee). It allows us to upload articles for students to read and embed questions in the article. Teachers can also annotate and make notes off the side if there is something we feel may need further explanation.

As students read, they can highlight words they don’t know and get them read aloud to them and/or defined. Students can annotate while they read and can ask questions if there is a part of the text they don’t understand. They can adjust the settings so their questions can be seen by either the teacher, or the teacher and the class. This is a great way to open up discussion amongst students about a text. When students get to the questions we have embedded, they have to stop and answer the question before moving on. Once they have answered, they can see what their classmates have answered and check their understanding. As teachers, we can monitor their progress and answers, as well as provide feedback as students work. Another feature I really like is the ability to upload a short video into the file. This can be done in the note section or anywhere throughout the text when you are asking a question. I am really excited to try this and have already created my first few assignments. I am currently in the process of setting up my classes and we plan on trying this out this week. I encourage all of you to check it out and see if there is a way you can use it too!