Deb Norton Tech

WriQ - A Google Docs Add On to Assess Writing WriQ is a free add-on from the amazing folks at TextHelp . You may know some of the other tools available from TextHelp such as Read & Write   and Equatio .  With WriQ , teachers can assess student writing.  Although WriQ isn't able to measure expression, creativity or purpose, it is able to measure things such as text maturity, sentence length, spelling, punctuation and grammar! Here is a screen capture of one of my documents showing the results of WriQ.  Simply go to this link to get the add-on. Then when you are viewing a piece of writing in a Google Doc, click on add-ons and WriQ. Next choose the type of genre (Narrative, Informative/Explanatory or Opinion/Argument) and then click on Score this Document. Click on any part of the document to add, clear or adjust an error.  You can also score with a built in rubric.  Send feedback to the student including a writt...

CheckMark is an Extension for Giving Feedback Quickly Classrooms continue to become more and more paperless with writing assignments in Google Docs and extensions such as CheckMark can make the process of giving feedback and grading writing assignments much more timely and efficient. Here is how the extension works. First add the extension in the Chrome Web Store . Once you have added the extension, open a writing assignment in Google Docs.  Next click on the extension to turn the check mark green. Then highlight any word or group of words and a popup list of possible comments will appear.  If the popup list does not appear, you may need to click on the Secure or i next to the url to allow for popups.  When you hover over an icon in the list, the feedback text will show.  When you click on a icon, the feedback will be added to the Google Doc as a comment.  Here are all of the choices for possible feedback that can be ...

How was your week? Mine was great!!  Here are some Links and Loves to support your classrooms. Classroom Screen looks like a useful tool for any classroom. Project various items on the screen for your class including a timer, a random name picker, stop light, text box, etc. No account needed and very easy to use. If you are looking for a timeline creation tool for your students, Time Graphics looks really REALLY good!  It’s free and these examples look impressive. Do you want to promote writing with students? Try this simple website.  Set a time and start writing. If the student stops writing for more than 5 seconds, the writing disappears!  When the time is up, the work is saved by date. Students can then download what they wrote or click on the saved file. A student felt this was important enough to share with me. So I must pass it onto you as well. It's the simple things that can bring me to smile. It's been an incredible we...

Writers are going to love Grammarly and Creativity Portal! In this Chat with Deb, you will learn about two great tools for writers. Grammarly is a site and also an extension that can help with checking grammar as you write almost anywhere on the web. Creativity Portal is a site with exercises and resources for teachers and student who write. Here are a few additional features of Grammarly: Toggle sites on and off: Find synonyms: Check a word definition: Thank you to Intel Engage for sponsoring this Chat with Deb.

Movenote is a fantastic tool for recording a video while showing a presentation or images.  It is also a Chrome App .  Recently this Movenote video was shared on Google+ showing a teacher using Movenote to provide feedback to one of her students on a writing assignment. Check it out - Click here What a fantastic way to give a student critical feedback and praise!! This could also be a great way for peer to peer feedback. Or how about students creating a video of themselves reading their writing for an oral reading example for fluency, pace and expression?  I highly recommend giving Movenote a try!

ArtisanCam has a picture book maker that is so much fun to use.  It is easy for elementary students to use with its click and drag options.  The finished product is really nice.  Check out the pictures below! There is no account needed, no logins and no set up.  Now that's easy to use!