When writing a complex story with multiple plot lines, you may need a little help keeping track of all that is going on. Storybook will be there to help you through the process of writing your book by helping you to keep track of your overview. Basic Storybook has four views to help you, along with other useful tools incorporated in those views. The four views are Chronological View, Manage Chapters and Scenes View, Book View, and Reading View.
It’s difficult for anyone to write when they are distracted. Luckily Q10 is there to minimize distractions and help to increase writing potential. This downloadable software is a full screen environment with all kinds of goodies to help you along. This app remembers what you worked on last and will automatically open it at start up. It also has a timer that you can set to remind you to take a bit of a break; you can even set a word count goal for yourself. One of the best elements of this software is the automatic save. You never have to worry about remembering to save your document while you write, because you can have Q10 save your work by the minute or by paragraphs written.
These are some educational applications for improving READING SKILL:
One of the most innovative websites to be developed in the last several years, Rewordify.com is a free online tool that helps improve students’ reading comprehension in multiple ways.
First, a user pastes or imports text into a text box on the site. Rewordify then analyzes this text, looking for words and phrases that may be difficult to understand. Once the site locates difficult or problematic language, it replaces it with simpler words to aid students’ understanding. TheRewordifying Engine includes multiple settings so that users can choose from several reading levels. Users can click on the replacement words to display either the original, more difficult language or individual words’ definitions (in a variety of forms — in the margins, in separate columns, or superimposed over the initial version of the text).
Students also have the option of reading the original and replaced words with built-in text-to-speech functionality for auditory reinforcement.
After Rewordify identifies the difficult words and phrases, it provides students with a series of activities to help them learn new vocabulary. One way it does this is by collecting troublesome text in a series of flashcards (which also offer integrated text-to-speech). The site can also administer quizzes in different formats (e.g., word bank, matching) to aid in the learning process.
Finally, Rewordify has a collection of classic literature (like Shakespeare’s plays) and historic documents (like the Declaration of Independence) that students can access, read, and better understand by using the site’s unique comprehension tools.
Created for students and teachers, Snap&Read Universal is a Google Chrome extension that reads language aloud (including text on Flash-based websites that typically can’t be copied and pasted) using integrated text-to-speech with synchronized highlighting.
To aid in reading comprehension, Snap&Read allows students to use a text-leveling tool similar to the one found on Rewordify.com. Students can select text that they have a hard time understanding, and the Web browser extension will identify and replace difficult words with simpler ones. The level of linguistic complexity can be adjusted in the Options tab.
In addition, Snap&Read has a unique outlining tool that can also help with reading comprehension. After it is activated, students can highlight the main ideas of a reading, and those passages are automatically extracted and placed into an outline located in the browser’s sidebar that can be easily edited. The outline can then be dragged and dropped into a word processor, like Google Docs, for students to integrate into a reading summary.
The idea behind Newsela is simple but powerful, and it can have a big impact on developing the reading comprehension of diverse learners. Newsela is a website that publishes current events articles each day on a variety of topics pertaining to most school subjects. Every article has five versions, each written for students at different reading levels. After a student reads the version that matches her skill level, she can take corresponding quizzes to test her knowledge.
A professional subscription to the site allows teachers to integrate Newsela more deeply and meaningfully into their classrooms. For example, they can gather data and track the reading progress of individual students or entire classes. They can also create and assign writing prompts based on particular articles as a means of further assessing their students’ comprehension.
All told, Newsela provides a perfect platform for implementing accessible Universal Design for Learning principles — it invites users of various levels and with a range of abilities to participate fully.
Based on the idea that multisensory activities provide deeper and longer-lasting learning, Immersion Reading is an e-book technology that combines recorded audiobooks with synchronized highlighting of electronic text. The result of a partnership between Amazon.com and Audible.com, it allows students to read books with their eyes and ears at the same time, leading to better comprehension and retention of subject matter. Since it does not rely on synthesized text-to-speech and instead uses the vocal performance of a professional actor or broadcaster, it makes auditory reinforcement of written text a more authentic multisensory experience.
Currently, complete Immersion Reading is available using Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet and the Kindle for Android app. Users can also read and listen to books simultaneously on the Kindle for iOS app, but text highlighting is not supported on Apple devices at this time.
Another multisensory strategy for improving reading comprehension involves electronic graphic organizers, and Inspiration Software provides one of the best platforms for accomplishing this task. Available for both desktop computers and iOS devices, Inspiration allows students to create visual representations of the characters, themes, and plot summaries of works of fiction. It also lets them visually map the details of textbook chapters and current events articles. Any language that is included can be read aloud with text-to-speech technology. In addition, users can add links to Web-based articles and videos to provide supporting materials.
One characteristic of Inspiration that sets it apart from other mind-mapping software is its collection of readymade templates. Templates that can aid in reading comprehension include: Character Traits, Fiction Reading Notes, Plot Analysis, Compare and Contrast, and KWL Organizer (KWL is an acronym explaining what students already know, what knowledge theywant to gain, and what they ultimately learned from a reading) .
It can be challenging for students to consume large amounts of written material during their academic careers. Nevertheless, getting through their reading assignments with solid comprehension is a key component of a quality education. Today, there are plenty of technology tools to help.
Five ways elementary teachers can help students improve listening and speaking skills
While other areas of literacy often receive more attention and instruction, strong listening and speaking skills are integral to students’ success in both school and daily life. But teaching students how to listen (and listen well) requires using several strategies, as does teaching them to formulate responses to what they have heard. The following tips will provide some ways elementary teachers can help to hone these skills in students.
1. Provide pre-learning activities that enable students to focus on what is important
These activities might include key vocabulary terms, an outline of what will be taught, study guides and objectives. This information makes it possible for students to know where and how to focus their listening and then develop stronger oral responses that are more focused.
2. Stop repeating instructions
This advice may go against what teachers typically do, which is to repeat directions or steps multiple times to ensure student comprehension. However, giving instructions multiple times trains students that they do not have to listen the first time, and that the information will be readily available if they choose not to listen.
This doesn’t mean students can’t ask clarifying questions, nor does it mean the information is no longer available after the teacher stops talking. Teachers must be clear that students can ask them to clarify themselves, or can ask peers for information prior to asking the teacher to repeat him or herself.
3. Model good listening and speaking behavior for students
Students learn by how teachers listen and speak, which means it is important for educators to model the behaviors they wish students to emulate. This means that teachers need to practice good listening skills (focusing their full attention on the speaker without interrupting) and good speaking skills — paraphrasing the other person’s ideas before responding, clearly articulating ideas and using correct grammar and structure.
4. Provide structured activities for students to do during or after the listening activity
If students are watching a documentary or educational film, the teacher might pause periodically to have students write down questions. Alternatively, if students are participating in a group discussion, tell them to take turns as the speaker and provide specific instructions for those who are listening. This might involve taking notes on what the speaker is saying and reporting or paraphrasing their contributions. This strategies allows students to focus their points or ideas before participating in discussions.
5. Create ways for introverted students to participate and contribute to conversations
Quiet or introverted students often get left out of large group discussions. In order to make participation easier for them, allow students to show their agreement or disagreement with an idea by holding up two fingers for “yes” or three fingers for “no.” This allows all students to participate and indicate they have been listening as well as respond in a way that best suits their needs.
Hopefully it can be useful for the reader.
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