Category: twitter

Webinar: How to use FreshGrade in an ESL/ELL Classroom

On By michellecherylshieldsIn assessment, blogging, image editing, social media, tech inquiry, twitter, video conferencing, video editingLeave a comment

certificate-of-completion-for-webinar-how-to-use-freshgrade-in-an-esl-ell-classroom

This webinar was not quite the video that I thought it would be. I thought that it might be a webinar revolving around how to help non-english students through the use of FreshGrade but instead it is a webinar describing a teachers use of FreshGrade with her English students who are learning to speak French.

Nonetheless it still provided some good examples as to how FreshGrade can be helpful when learning a new language.

The person who ran this webinar is named Michelle Grenne (@MGreenehansen). She has been teaching French for the past 17 years, grades 9-12. Greene works at Stratford school which is famous for its theatre productions. She uses the hashtag #freshgradeL2 if you wish to discuss similar FreshGrade experiences over Twitter with her. She found FreshGrade through Twitter one day and decided to try it out for herself. Immediately she realized that the application has immense potential for helping students learn French. Basically, what she found was that FreshGrade promotes speaking in French through their recording option. This allows class discussions to take place online as students record themselves speaking French on the iPad throughout the class.

Some key points that were discusses included FreshGrades ability to:

  • Encourage shy students to speak
  • Challenge students to use vocabulary in new contexts. For instance, assessment tools can be created to mark students online discussions with regard to the amount of new vocabulary that they are using on the app
  • Motivate students to be more engaged in classroom activities as their assessments about class participation are shown on their portfolios
  • Build confidence in French by allowing students to see their progression over time
  • She likes how she can track student progress online as there is less paper used
  • It also helps her with exit slips as students can post their answers quickly to the application at the end of class. This allows her to see students proficiency in what they have learned on a particular day

Although the title this video is a tad misleading it does provide some helpful information pertaining to how the recording option of FreshGrades app can allow students to practice a second language more comfortably. With that being said, I think that FreshGrade can be an extremely useful tool for middle school French (6-8).

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

 

 

 

Ongoing Research

On By michellecherylshieldsIn blogging, social media, tech inquiry, twitter, video conferencingLeave a comment

This past week while researching FreshGrade I came across a few interesting things. Both of which I found through FreshGrade’s twitter feed.

One new development is the introduction of a new feature on their app. This feature is voice to text. Voice to text is built into most mobile devices that have access to a keyboard. To use this feature on the FreshGrade app you can simply click on the microphone on your device, speak your comments, and the app will translate your words directly to text! Pretty cool right?

Here is a link that explains the new feature in more detail: https://care.freshgrade.com/s/article/How-to-Use-Voice-to-Text-with-FreshGrade?utm_campaign=Teacher+Tips&utm_medium=social&utm_content=77599994&utm_source=twitter

Screen Shot 2018-01-25 at 8.46.33 AM

Another feature that I was unaware that FreshGrade provided was free webinars!

I stumbled across a post on FreshGrades Twitter that stated on Monday November 5th, a webinar would be happening that discusses student development and desire to learn through FreshGrade. With some further reading I was able to locate a page full of webinars that varies in different topics!

Here is a link to the site: https://learning.freshgrade.com/courses/category/Webinars

Based on this new finding, I think that I will devote this weeks research to watching different webinars and summarizing the content for you! This will also allow me to add pertinent information to my report that will be uploaded early December.

Check back in with me later during the week to hear about what I have learned,

Thanks!

 

 

Tech Tool Review: FreshGrade

On By michellecherylshieldsIn blogging, privacy, safety, social media, tech inquiry, tech tools, twitterLeave a comment

CS1YjqqU8AEQ_Kr.jpg large

FreshGrade is an online portfolio and assessment platform that helps educators, parents, and students have deeper conversations about learning. One of the founders of FreshGrade is Lane Merrifield, the co-founder and CEO of Club Penguin, one of the largest virtual worlds for kids. Disney later acquired club Penguin for 350 million dollars, which provided the capital used to create FreshGrade.

FreshGrade was created to reduce teacher workload, improve learning outcomes, and engage parents and students. Specifically, it is used in schools as a digital portfolio; teachers provide feedback and track progression, parents are given ongoing communication about their children’s learning, and students are given the opportunity to self-reflect on their growth.

In my own opinion, I believe that Freshgrade is extremely valuable. As a student teacher I have learned that assessment is ongoing and FreshGrade is one way that holds us accountable to that. Although this app has downsides as described in the cons list below, I believe that it is an extremely useful tool to use.

Some common Twitter hashtags with regard to #FreshGrade have been #needbetterreporting #portfolio #parentalengagement #education #edtech #beyondtheteach #studentdrivenclassroom #innovation. Most posts show how the app is being integrated into the classroom, although right now there is a buzz about Lane Merrifield joining the cast of Dragons Den for season thirteen.

Pros of FreshGrade Cons of FreshGrade
Helps teachers, parents, and students track learning. Need an email.
FreshGrade is integrated with Google translate so that teachers, parents, and students can read and write in the language of their choosing. Not all parents and children will have access to a computer or smart phone.
Online portfolios can be printed if needed. It is green, as less paper is being used. Teachers need to have a device readily available to capture moments in the classroom. This can be a privacy concern, as teachers need to be using school electronics, not personal devices to capture moments.
Individual profiles are available for students, teachers, and parents. Consent needs to be established before posting anything about a student. What happens when certain students can’t be photographed for safety concerns? How do these concerns affect their learning if everything is done on FreshGrade?
It is an ongoing assessment tool, which saves the teacher time. Lacks some tools for creativity, like drawing tools.
It is an extra way to check in with parents. Parents no longer need to wait for report cards or parent teacher interviews to be informed about their child’s learning. Some schools have a no cellphone policy.
Can lead to increased parent participation. FreshGrade is an American app – some privacy concerns with it not being Canadian, as there is a difference in privacy laws.
Helps parents to better support their children in their learning. Further, it allows parents to see their child’s learning as it is happening. One form of assessment does not fit all. Some parents, students, and teachers may be reluctant to use FreshGrade. Need a familiarity of technology.
Allows children to see what they are expected to learn, which improves student ownership and self-directed learning. There is no clear notification for due dates of assignments. There are no notifications or alerts that can be set up to alert students of approaching or past due assignments.
Students receive immediate feedback. In the free version, e-portfolios do not carry over from one year to the next.

There are many more pros and cons of FreshGrade but I am only uploading ten for this Tech Tool Review. If you would like more information please keep up with my weekly blogs and review my tech inquiry assignment at the end of the year.

Have a look at FreshGrade for yourself before then! https://www.freshgrade.com/

Here is a helpful tutorial if you need any help navigating the site https://youtu.be/UbHiGi7_Hi0