Integrating Technology in English/Language Arts

English and foreign language instructors can use Quizlet to create vocabulary word sets. Vocabulary is taught in three modes--flash cards, short answer term entry, and test mode with different item formats (e.g., short answer, multiple choice). The vocabulary set can be exported as a term list or flash cards for printing. Vocabulary sets can be public or password protected, and teachers can create groups (e.g., AP Biology) that all students or just students with a password may join to access saved sets.

Reading teachers might employ Shelfari to get students and book clubs excited about building personal reading lists. Students import titles to build their own virtual bookshelf of books they have read, and then they can create or join book groups to discuss titles or book genres. A threaded discussion board is built into the system to support group activity. If privacy is a concern, teachers can create book groups and restrict access to a specified set of student email addresses.

NowPublic is a news site powered by consumers who write and upload stories of interest. Students learning to write, particularly in journalistic news-oriented formats, could use sites like NowPublic as a forum to post their articles.

Penzu is a Web tool that allow students to write and save a paperless, private journal or diary. Students can insert images as prompts for writing activities. Journals can be shared with others in support of reflective activities or teacher assessment.

This page contains a link to a presentation you can watch where a first grade teacher discusses her use of blogs, wikis, and podcasts with students. Lots of detailed information on how such activities are supported by specific tools and procedures in her class.

Voicethread is a Web tool that allows a person to post one or more images with oral or text-based annotations, and to share the presentation with other users who can then add their own reflections. In English/Language Arts, a teacher could post images or textual content and task students with writing about that content.

Students can use tools such as Gliffy to create story maps and other flowcharts associated with pre-writing organization. Other students can be invited by email to collaborate and co-edit a diagram.

Writeboard is a simple online word processor that allows students to collaborate on documents. A unique URL is generated for each writeboard that can be accessed with a password. After editing a document, users can sign their name and save a new version, and the tool allows for tracking of versions and changes across multiple students.

Writewith is another Web-based text editor that allows users to collaborate on documents. It is similar to the more popular Google Docs application, allowing users to upload and share Word docs, but it has a few added features like the ability to leave notes for co-authors (e.g., "I deleted your paragraph about X, which I thought was too much information for the word limits we were given.").

Plotbot is another Web-based text editor, but in this case it allows individuals to collaborate on the writing of screenplays. This would be a fun activity for students reading a novel, to write a more concise screenplay for the book or a specific chapter in the book, with the potential for follow-up acting of the screenplay in the classroom. Such projects would also allow students to learn about the English-heavy career of screenwriting.

Story of My Life is one of several genealogical-oriented Web tools available for free use. This tool is a little more comprehensive than most, allowing users to upload photos and videos, write biographies, create networks to share and collect family history, and much more. Take this tour to see what's possible. Since individual and family stories can be marked "private," the tool can be used safely by students in school settings.

What a fun way for students to practice writing their own stories. ToonDoo allows users to create simple cartoons using quote blocks, fun characters, and easy-to-edit templates.

For students tasked with online research, social bookmarking sites may be helpful to organize information prior to writing. Furl is a popular tool that allows users to save an online copy of any Web page visited, create categories and tags to organize the bookmarked page and write comments about the page. Users can subscribe to one another's saved pages and receive emailed notifications when new materials are saved by peers. A group of students working on a cooperative project could add relevant resources to the same Furl account or easily monitor and track information collected across their peers' accounts to inform the group's assigned problem. Other social bookmarking tools with similar features include del.icio.us and BuddyMarks.

LetterPop is a media-rich word processor that allows students to create and publish colorful publications online customized with their own text and imported images. Templates are available ranging from single-page flyers to multi-page newsletters.