https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r Made with serendipity en-us 2019-03-29 14:32:38 UTC 2026-03-14 12:24:07 UTC hello@padlet.com kiarageiger https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346575883 The program that I have selected to focus on for this project is Actively Learn. I have worked with Actively Learn in the past to assess students analytical skills in regards to obtaining Social Studies content. I find that the site is a perfect way to see follow along with students has they pull their thoughts together based passages they are reading. The program allows the teacher to take the role of a facilitator by using technology to actively show their progress as they read content-based material. 
I found that this program meets students in that it helps them to get instant feedback from the teacher in regards to content. The teacher is able to type in critiques or words of praise to their students, and they are also able to return students' work back to them if it is missing information. 
While every teacher is not required to use Actively Learn in our school, in the future I would like to do a professional development course on how to use the program. I believe that my school would benefit from the program in the areas of ELA, Science, and Social Studies. The program helps to build reading comprehension skills, analytical thinking skills, as well as helps students become discipline readers and writers. 
In my research and analysis, I hope to view this program as a resource students can use in order to become 21st century thinkers, and why it is important to understand different aspects of History and Social Sciences as we read about it. I also hope to improve students' assessment scores by opening their minds to questions that take reading comprehension skills a step further. ]]> 2019-03-29 14:39:43 UTC https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346575883 kiarageiger https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346586047 The program was founded by Dr. Deep Sran and Jay Goyal in 2012, but the company is built on more than 15 years of work to improve the design, practice, and experience of formal education. Deeps doctoral work in educational psychology focused on creating and academic program that would promote students' ability to think critically and to reason about complex questions, all in a learning environment where they would be happy and motivated to learn. After completing his doctorate, Deep worked at Cesar Chavez Public Charter High School in Washington, D.C., as a social studies teacher, instructional designer, and department chair. Deep began to notice that students were not fully engaged in the reading comprehension process when they were reading away from the teacher, and vice versa.
Goyal had a knack for working on big problems and social equity, and had an extensive background in instructional technology. They piloted a prototype at Deep's school in which student's performed 23% better on post reading comprehension tests and over 80% preferred it over traditional methods. The two then finalized the program and published it. The company was designed to help students learn, think, and become people who do great things. The company's mission is to enable every student to learn deeply (Actively Learn, 2019).


]]> 2019-03-29 15:00:56 UTC https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346586047 kiarageiger https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626135 The target population for this program are educators with students grades 4-12. The goal of Actively Learn is to take reading comprehension skills to a new level by forcing students to venture beyond the "gist" of what they are reading. The site builds on analytical thinking skills, as well as gives teachers a deeper look into their students' thinking processes. It gives those students who have trouble exercising verbal responses a way to communicate with their teacher.  According to EdSurge, a highly trusted review site for educational technology,   the site is an online tool with a library of thousands of texts and Common Core-aligned lessons that both teachers and students can interact with in real time (EdSurge, 2019). 

]]> 2019-03-29 16:32:46 UTC https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626135 kiarageiger https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626280 Actively Learn provides a giant window for teachers to implement formative assessment. Students can receive feedback on the ungraded draft of his or her writing assignment. The teacher can return the student's work with corrections, and can provide the student with extra time to correct the assignment. The site allows teachers and students to do this almost in an instant. ]]> 2019-03-29 16:33:14 UTC https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626280 kiarageiger https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626455 2019-03-29 16:33:42 UTC https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626455 kiarageiger https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626599 2019-03-29 16:34:13 UTC https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626599 kiarageiger https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626710 According to research done a Graceland University, technology provides students with an active way to learn. It opens the door for students to learn at their own pace, and increases student engagement (Graceland, 2016). Actively Learn fits into this format in that students take the traditional style of learning from a desk to the next level by actively engaging with their teacher using via a technological device.
However, according to the Ornstein & Hunkins text, 95 percent of teens between the ages of 12 and 17 are online now, with three in four using their cell phones, tablets, and other mobile devices to access the Internet--compared with only 55 percent of adults. Experts believe this proliferating technology is altering our brains and their development in both positive and negative ways. While some cognitive skills (like visual-spatial skills and the ability to scan and evaluate information quickly) are developed, other skills--like the ability to concentrate and persevere in challenging tasks--are deteriorating. Neuroscience research suggest that the mental calisthenics involved in evaluating hyperlinks, deciding whether to click, and adjusting to different formats, among other processes, disrupts concentration and weakens comprehension (Ornstein & Hunkins, 2017, p. 114-115).]]> 2019-03-29 16:34:31 UTC https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626710 kiarageiger https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626984 2019-03-29 16:35:16 UTC https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346626984 kiarageiger https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346627063 2019-03-29 16:35:27 UTC https://padlet.com/kiarageiger/6jct4yow7k8r/wish/346627063