Delivering Evidence-based Reading Instruction with Technology Webinar from CrowdED Learning

Hi Steve!

Thanks for attending and for your kind words! Here are a couple additional links I’d like to share that might be helpful: 1) a recording of the webinar, and 2) a Wakelet that contains all of the resources we talked about in one place. 

In terms of coordinating these resources, one of the things CrowdED Learning has been focusing on in the past month with our PD is to consider this: as we educators learn about a variety of different tools to ensure we continue learning for our learners, how might these tools not only benefit me in this moment, but also when we return to “normal.” To do this, we have been having instructors think about a blended learning sequence (here is a link that shows a “station rotation” model for blended learning) and, with that in mind, considering how the tools they are using or are interested in using might fit into a blended learning sequence. 

Consider “Flipped” Learning to Maximize your “Zoom Time”

Flipped learning is the notion of assigning students something before class so they come to class with some background or having thought about the topic to be discussed during class. I think this is SUPER important right now, where our live/synchronous “face-to-face” time (albiet virtual) is so very limited. Since we have such limited time, think about ways to maximize the time students have together. If you can assign things students can work on independently, then that means students will come to “Zoom time” having done some thinking about the topic in advance. 

Some examples from the reading resources we discussed: 

• Lead Class Discussions | Assign a passage from CommonLit ahead of time and ask them to complete the assessment. Then, during class, the teacher can lead a discussion using the Discussion Questions that are available for every passage. (To see what I’m referring to, you can jump to 1:14:06 in the video recording shared above.)

• Collaboration around Current Events | Pick a current events topic for which you want learners to find a recent article about. Or, assign a particular topic using either Newsela (not always free, but free at the moment) or Breaking News English. Or, select a current events topic from ProCon.org for students to explore. Using Google Classroom to create the assignment, include a Padlet with categories for students to add their thoughts and opinions on the topic, asking them to provide a quote or evidence from one of the readings to support their opinion. Then, during class, use the Padlet as a tool to drive a discussion around students’ reactions—common themes that emerge, what the core arguments are for or against the topics, etc. We used Padlet during the session as a tool for teachers to contribute how they support each of the components of EBRI. Padlet is a great tool that can be used both for synchronous and asynchronous collaboration, allowing for more learner to learner engagement—an important element of blended learning. 

Consider What Resources Can Be Used by Learners Independently

There are plenty of resources that learners can be working on independently; for this to happen, you need to think about how learners will be accessing these resources, and how learners will know what they can/should work on.

Some examples from the things we discussed: 

• Independent Vocabulary Study | With ESL learners, think about a topic you want learners to be focusing on. Then use a tool such as Learning Chocolate to find specific word sets you’d like students to study. Once you find a related set, assign it via Google Classroom, or push it out to students using a tool such as Remind or What’s App. Both of the vocabulary resources you mention above can also be easily assigned by teachers, say as a weekly assignment, and completed by learners independently. 

• Leveled Reading Practice | For all learners, the Comprehension resources we discussed provide leveled reading options at all levels. ReadTheory is completely personalized, so once learners take the initial diagnostic assessment, they can read as many articles as they want...with the assurance they are getting new readings based on their performance. If you know the appropriate levels for students, you could also have the explore readings from Reading Skills for Today’s Adults. Have learners add the URLs for one or both of these sites to their phone’s homescreen so they always have access, then create some type of tool (a Google Doc, a Google Form) for them to set weekly reading goals.  

• "All in One" Self-guided Lessons | Create weekly “lessons” for students around a topic using a tool such as Wakelet, which  allows you to pull together resources from various places into one “collection.” A collection might include a link to a reading, a link to a video related to the topic, a link to a Quizlet vocabulary deck to practice related vocabulary, and a link to a Quizziz to check class comprehension. Here are a few Wakelets I’ve worked with teachers to create that use Reading Skills for Today’s Adults as the basis (for fluency practice), then include Quizlets for vocabulary practice and a Google Forms quiz for comprehension: I Miss My Mom; Baby Kate Loves Books; Joe's Workday; Madge Is Stressed Out; Calling in Sick; 9-1-1 Saves Lives. 

Ultimately, we have so many great tools at our disposal that can help to develop all four components of EBRI. These tech tools make it easier for us to pull all of the components together in meaningful ways and, at the moment, they essentially are all we have at our disposal! But, they can and should be leveraged when we get back to “normal,” because they increase our capacity to provide engaging learning experiences for our learners, and they afford learners the opportunity to be able to learn “at any time, in any place, at any pace.” If we carefully plan what we are doing now, we will all be stronger educators when we return to the classroom—whenever that may be.