Resources for marking text

[Ronnie Ancona]

Technology ideas - I am interested in hearing about any computer technologies other than interactive smart boards and tablets that people are using successfully for marking up text in class (and perhaps also saving that result for posting later on something like Blackboard). I am thrilled to have gotten a technology grant from my institution this summer and am busily learning lots of things, both theoretical and practical. We have very few smart boards where I teach and I have a laptop, but not a tablet. The sort of thing I'm talking about is what I was able to do while teaching a webinar last year (highlighting, drawing over the text, etc.). Any suggestions are very welcome! Thanks in advance.

Ronnie Ancona
Hunter College and The Graduate Center, CUNY
New York, NY

[Jennifer Sheridan Moss]

Ronnie, I got a grant to work on the same thing this summer. I bought a peripheral pen tablet (made by Cintiq) because I use a mac and didn't want to switch to PC. I got money to have a student assistant prepare all the text for me (in JPEG files) and I will use a graphics program to mark up the text in class. The plan is to post every slide on Blackboard so that the students can look back at the material for review. I'm in the process of going through the IRB process so I can report the results when the semester is over (that is, when I'm done trembling in fear in front of the mighty IRB). I'm working with an educational tech person and an instructional design person now to use the technology the best way possible and to record the results in a meaningful way. So I'll keep you posted on how it goes. Jenni

[Ronnie Ancona]

Thanks much for this information, Jennifer!

All best,

Ronnie

[Ronnie Ancona]

Jennifer,
I am going to be using something called an Interwrite Pad to mark up text. My educational technologist helped me to choose it and we've now tested it a bit. I should have my own for teaching soon. Ronnie

[Jenn Wilkey]

Hi Ronnie,
I took your AP course at LaSalle in 2005. I am a very lucky teacher at a private school with a 1:1 tablet PC program. My students and I use our tablets daily to mark texts at all levels of Latin. I import my texts from Word into Windows Journal, which I really like. It has a variety of colors and thicknesses of pens and markers that are easily changed. I have devised a system of marking verbs, nouns, adverbs, etc. with specific symbols. I allow the kids to mark the stories but not to write out translations during class. I always project my screen onto the whiteboard and the students and I go back and forth marking and discussing the text. I have started requiring students to mark some of their texts on quizzes and tests also as a follow-up. I love this system in general because it keeps them engaged and awake and it helps them to recognize patterns and to pay attention to those endings. I also do pre-reading activities on occasion - having the kids take their text and highlight all participles, third declension nouns, etc. That way I can quickly walk around the room and see their progress.
Do you have any specific questions on how this works? i love the tablet for teaching and learning Latin.

Although I haven't started yet, I love the idea of a class blog where notes are published daily. If you are using Windows Journal, students without tablets can still read the notes by downloading Windows Journal Viewer. It is a quick and easy download from the Office website.
Jenn
in Cincinnati, Ohio
[e-mail]

[Ronnie Ancona]

Hi Jenn!

Of course I still remember you from the AP workshop. Thanks for all of this good information. Windows Journal is new to me and I'll mention it to my educational technologist at Hunter. I played with the Interwrite device yesterday and will be doing a brief presentation with it in a couple of weeks at our technology summer grants final session. Fortunately, the course for which I'll be using the device is not till spring, so I have plenty of time to practice and prepare. I'll definitely follow up if I have questions. Thanks for writing!

Ronnie