Feedback on using Actively Learn to read the novel.
Leave a comment with responses to the following three questions. Use complete, thoughtful sentences:
1. What is a positive/useful thing about using Actively Learn to read the novel (even if you don't like this method, what do you think might be helpful for some students?).
2. What is a negative/challenging aspect of using Actively Learn to read the novel?
3. What suggestions do you have for the developers of Actively Learn to make the software more useful/easy to use for students?
1. I like reading the book and answering questions through Actively Learn much more than I did reading the Kite Runner and doing stickies. It feels more organized and I think the notes can be really helpful on the side. I also think the direct questions make you think in the right direction.
ReplyDelete2. The main problem I have with Actively Learn is the internet problems here mainly, yesterday was pretty painful but of course this is less of a problem with Actively Learn but more with the school internet.
3. Make a sidebar in the side so we can skip back chapters or go forwards so I don't have to scroll all the way down each time.
For anyone wondering, the "sidebar" is at the top which allows you to switch between chapters.
Delete1. A positive thing might be that it helps students understand the story more because it asks you in depth questions and makes you read the text again.
ReplyDelete2. For me personally, it has turned me off reading. It's now not an enjoyable experience. Being interupted every other paragraph to have to write another paragraph seems to disruptive when trying to read the book. I liked it better last unit where we read at home and got asked the in depth questions at school.
3. I think they need to allow you to copy and paste so we don't have to keep scrolling up and down trying to copy down a quote.
Copy and paste would be super helpful.
Delete1. It's accessed electronically, and at home, I have a hard time pulling out a book and reading, and the print on books can be tedious to look at, so its a good thing.
ReplyDelete2. It doesn't save where you've left off in the reading, the section function is kind of useless, and OH MY GOD WHY CAN'T YOU COPY AND PASTE OR AUTO CORRECT?!?!?!?!?!?
3. add normal text functions like auto correct and c+p instead of having that dumb drop down menu of a bunch of options no one will ever use. Basically make it as close to google docs and possible since we're all use to that.
I forgot about that copy and paste thing, frusterates me so much as well.
Delete1. I like how Actively Learn allows the teacher to post questions to check for our understanding while reading. And I like how you can comment on the text.
ReplyDelete2. Actively Learn is a good tool to use for articles and maybe short stories, but novels are not a good idea to use on Actively Learn.
3. I suggest that students should be able to read the page and be able to come back to the questions, instead of being stopped in the middle of reading.
1) Being able to have clarification on certain words with teacher comments without having to break away from the book to look up the meaning of something is very helpful.
ReplyDelete2) Not being able to access the story without internet is difficult.
3) To make the software more useful for students, having a way to easily access the novel on mobile devices (with a type of cellular/data connection) would be helpful if Wifi is not available.
I think that Actively learn would be useful in going back and understanding the deeper meaning of the novel, but it is very frustrating when trying to answer a question without reading ahead. Often times, I answer a question one way, and after I have read past that question, I understand it more, and could answer it with more knowledge of the question. I think that the questions should be off to the side next to the correct answer, and allow us to read on without interference from the question. Then, we could go back and answer it with a better understanding of it.
ReplyDelete1. I like to be able to open up my book whenever I have my laptop with me and get some reading done. Its not a completely logical reason to use Actively Learn as opposed to just a PDF of the book, but its nice to be able to read it during my other classes while getting other work done.
ReplyDelete2. I often have to reread passages to answer the questions since my mind is used to skimming through text on computer screens and only pulling out what I think is important.
3. Incorporate something like Spritz for people to be able to read it quickly, as I often have trouble staring at paragraphs for a long time.
1. I think that having questions to answer as we read is helpful on Actively Learn.
ReplyDelete2. We need reliable internet access to be able to use Actively Learn at school, and because we don't always have this, it can be challenging to work on reading at school.
3. It would be helpful if it were easier to navigate the novel(being able to go to specific page numbers or chapters rather than scrolling through entire chapters, for example).
1. I guess Actively Learn could be useful for people who like reading on their computers.
ReplyDelete2. Reading online is terrible for your eyes. Sometimes I read class-assigned books in the car or on a road trip or somewhere where I might not necessarily have internet or have my laptop, so it is super inconvenient. Also the questions are super distracting, I know they might be for 'deeper understanding' but I hate it and it interrupts me and doesn't deeper my understanding. If I want to take a note on a piece of text, I can do that on my own.
3. Actively learn is an amazing tool however not for reading a novel, maybe for short articles.
One positive thing about reading the novel on actively learn is that after some point it asks questions about what you just read, which can be good for the reader because it makes you remember what you just read. The negative aspect about this method is that it's online, and I prefer to have the book in hand because when I open my backpack I remember to read it and I don't get distracted online. Some suggestions is that they should make the text or story like full screen so you don't get distractions with anything on the side of the story.
ReplyDelete1. Actively Learn allows for students to easily access the book wherever they are, simply because when you already have your laptop out you may as well do some actively learn, and it helps make it easier to access it just because you can work on homework while in other classes and the like. Also, it guides your thought process by asking direct questions about the previous text which forces you to internalize the book and helps you remember the text and it's deeper meaning.
ReplyDelete2. The questions about the book make it hard to get immersed in the story, and it feels like you're just analysing it without really enjoying the text.
3. The developers could make some QoL updates such as starting on the chapter you left off at. Also, maybe make it so you don't have to stop reading the text when a question and make it an option to cut off the text at every question instead.
1.) Actively Learn makes you think more about what you are reading and it helps you understand the depth and concepts that aren't surface level.
ReplyDelete2.)Reading on Actively Learn takes a very long time due to questions that are asked after each chapter or after every 3 paragraphs. Also on Actively Learn you can't skip a question which is a hassle if you just want to read it, but that isn't the point of Actively Learn the point is to understand you are reading that is not on the surface so I don't think reading a long novel is a good use for Actively Learn.
3.) On Actively Learn you should be able to skip a question and go back to it later if you want to.
1. Using Actively Learn to read a novel allows me to think deeper about things that I might not normally thing about. The comments that teachers can leave and the questions promote the analysis of details that I might not usually pick up on. The questions also give an opportunity for the reader to reorganize their thoughts about a chapter, and just gives a break to think.
ReplyDelete2. The most negitive aspect of using Actively Learn for me is the difficulty to read while on the go. For me, I usually like to do my reading assignments in the car and during travel time because it is the most portable form of homework I have. The problem with Actively Learn is that since it requires an internet connection, it is harder and more tedious to read in the car than using a conventional book.
3. I think the only issue I have with Actively Learn is its inability to be used offline and in places such as cars. If it was possible to perhaps download books and articles, then it would make it a more enjoyable experience. Also, I think the fact that you cannot copy/paste from the text to you text box and the disabled spell check/find and replace is annoying because it forces you to type out entire quotes if you wish to use them and it is frustrating to not be able to find corrections for misspelled words within Actively Learn.
1. What I find useful about Actively Learn is that it gives the option to highlight sections you do not understand so that your teacher can clarify once he/she sees that. I also think that the questions embedded into the book are helpful so that you can get a greater understanding of the book.
ReplyDelete2. Personally, I do not like the idea of reading a full length novel online. Its not as versatile as a physical book.
3. I think that Actively Learns software is good just the way it is. The only thing I would recommend is that Actively Learn should allow us to copy and paste text. This would be helpful for when we want to use long pieces of evidence.
1. Actively learn can be used to test your analyzation of the novel, which can be helpful for some students. This allows you to get a sense of what you know and deeper meanings of the story. The questions are scattered throughout the book at various checkpoints as needed.
ReplyDelete2. For me, it is very different to read on actively learn compared to a traditional book. It also imposes difficulty because every time I am reading, it feels that I cannot read the book naturally and at my own pace, I am bombarded by questions that take me a while to answer, and I feel like it causes me to fall behind. Also, I feel like I am not actually reading the book, and I am more focused on answering the questions and achieving an advanced grade. Furthermore, actively learn requires internet connection, and unlike a book, you cannot carry a computer around and have internet connection everywhere.
3. I suggest that actively learn be used for shorter reads and not entire novels. It seems to be useful when trying to check for understanding, but more distracting when reading an entire novel.
1. A positive I have noticed with Actively Learn is that the teacher knows where you are in terms of understanding an article or a novel. Another great positive is annotation. It's much easier to annotate an article on Actively Learn than to cover a whole page in post-it notes.
ReplyDelete2. Personally, a negative for me when reading with Actively Learn is that I get distracted really easily. I can't count how many times I have drifted off into Reddit or YouTube because I have the ability to.
1. a positive and useful thing in using Actively Learn to read the novel is that it helps you out with the vocab of Africa's language and learn those vocabularies.
ReplyDelete2. a challenging aspect of using Actively Learn to read the novel is the bad wfi connections that we might get at home or school. Also, the amount of homework someone might get that need to finish before midnight on the computer or can't sleep early because of the homework being on paper, plus the novel reading .
3. I suggestion for Actively Learn to make the software more easy for students, so it would become more helpful and not scare students from fearing in doing something wrong.
1. A positive thing about using Actively Learn is that the novel is easier to read. I think it's easier to access, since we bring our laptop to school everyday. Now I don't have to carry the novel around everyday and because it's online, I can make the words bigger if I can't read them or ask to define a word.
ReplyDelete2. A challenging aspect of using Actively Learn is that it's easy to do other things instead of reading. It's hard to focus on one thing for a long time.
3. Make it easier to revise a comment or comment on something without everyone seeing it
1. I think one positive thing about Actively Learn is how there are follow up questions, and we are forced to answer them before we move on to other sections of the novel. I think this is the best feature on Actively Learn as we have to check our understanding, and it is crucial to know what is going on before reading other sections of the novel. When reading from a regular book, we often skim the story and don't check to make sure we understand what we just read. Even if there were a set of questions on a piece of paper we have to answer, I still do not think it is as good as having question on Actively Learn as we are not understanding what is going on as we are reading. I also like how we can easily search up definitions for words we don't understand. When reading from a regular novel, I am often too lazy to go to the dictionary and search up the meaning. But, with Actively Learn, I could find the definitions very quickly. This encourages me to look up new vocabulary as I spend little time on it.
ReplyDelete2. A negative aspect about Actively Learn is that it is harder to read online, and reading a novel while not actually flipping pages of the book seems unnatural. If I am trying to find a particular paragraph, it takes a long time as I have to flip the pages one by one.
3. A suggestion I have for the developers of Actively Learn is to have a tool where we can quickly scroll through the pages we have already read. As we scroll, there should be the page number and chapter so we can find sections of the book if we need a quote or refresher. This way, we can find specific sections of the book very quickly. I would also have a tool bar where we can click on different chapters quickly.
1) One useful thing about using Actively Learn when reading the novel how it's easier to read the text. Most novel books have a specific ink that is written with and can usually be very small and hard to see based on the font.
ReplyDelete2) A negative comment I have for using Actively learn is how easy it is to get distracted from using it by web surfing on different tabs.
3) Add a function that can help save your written work when you go offline.
1.A positive way about using Actively learn in my opinion is that it is way more easier for me doing it online then writing it down.
ReplyDelete2.The negative thing is that in school we have internet problems & it makes it harder to finish the work at time.
3.i think the internet should be faster,that way we can finish the work at time ,a suggestion should be giving us less paragraphs because it is too much reading .
1. It is much easier to read without having to flip a page.
ReplyDelete2.The challenging part is having to be connected to wi-fi
3. Allow the user to work offline and submit questions once online
1. The one positive thing about reading online is what you can read our responses and figure out what we are struggling with animatedly.
ReplyDelete2. The one problem with me reading online is that even if I don't have tabs open, I am always distracted with Youtube notifications or emails.
3. Make a lot less questions. Every time I have to stop for a question I forget what I just read about, and end up having to skim through the text for the answer.
1. What is a positive/useful thing about using Actively Learn to read the novel (even if you don't like this method, what do you think might be helpful for some students?).
ReplyDeleteI find actively learn helpful at times because the questions you are given require you to really pay attention to the text. This forces me to comprehend the story in a better way and know I need to be paying attention to the storyline in order to answer the questions.
2. What is a negative/challenging aspect of using Actively Learn to read the novel?
The negative aspect of actively learn is reading on a computer. I find it hard to read on my laptop because often times I get distracted and end up clicking away from reading or clicking ads etc. If there was an app or even a Actively Learn (device maybe one like a kindle) I believe that would be a much more effective way of going about reading on actively learn.
3. What suggestions do you have for the developers of Actively Learn to make the software more useful/easy to use for students?
I think they should have a way to make the book more page formatted rather than just a long scroll of text. For me turning the page shows me I am making progress and often times helps me read more.
1. Actively Learn helps people think about the text more with the questions that are posed as you read.
ReplyDelete2. Staring at your computer screen all day and then going home to stare at it more can kind of strain your eyes. Also, it's much more difficult to read on a laptop than it is with a book because computers aren't really meant to be used as reading devices, they were more made for short things as opposed to reading for hours.
3. If Actively Learn had more options with fonts and things like that, I think people might be able to read better.
1. A positive thing about using Actively Learn are the questions. Asking the questions helps comprehend what you read and also it makes it easier for you to remember what you read.
ReplyDelete2. The negative thing about Actively Learn is where you decide to read. If you are gone somewhere on vacation and you need to catch up on reading the place you are at may not have internet access making it hard to read.
3.One suggestion I have is to make the reading available for reading offline.
1. i like activity learn because for me it seems more easier to do the reading in there. I don't have a high chance on getting a paper cut if i read the book.
ReplyDelete2. For me the negative thing about activity learn is the questions because i don't like stooping and just answer the question. I just want to keep on reading.
3. I don't have suggestions.
1) A positive thing about Actviely Learn is how fast we recive feedback from the teacher.
ReplyDelete2) A negative aspect of using activily learn is that I can't concentarte and missread lines. Other tabs are distracting too.
3) There's nothing to change. Just personally I prefer the physical book.
1: is that actively learn has more function to allow the read to have more interaction like if we get stuck on a word we can define it on the spot.
ReplyDelete2: Negative aspect is that if the wifi isn't working or we can't get into our accounts the reading must stop and we can't keep going
3: Being able a mobile application because I can have reading on the go
1. A positive/ Useful thing about actively learn is that you can highlight worlds. Also, you can define words you don't know or ask for help if you don't know something.
ReplyDelete2. A negative aspect of actively learn is the technical issues like sometimes you can't scroll down or not being able to answer a question because of faulty WiFi.
3. I believe that copying and pasting would be a very useful feature and also not many questions between the chapters because you cant really capture the story.Also the amount of chapters we have for homework is challenging, people have things to do after school and sports and is really hard to read a lot of chapters.
What I like about Actively Learn is that you can see the percentage of the chapter that you've read and in a way it's motivating.
ReplyDeleteThe most challenging aspect of Actively Learn is that there is a high potential of getting distracted with other tabs. Additionally, too many comprehension questions in the text can disrupt my flow, making it harder to comprehend the text.
3. What suggestions do you have for the developers of Actively Learn to make the software more useful/easy to use for students?
The most effective thing to do in this case is to develop an interface that can be used on a kindle that mimics the interface of an ebook, rather than a website article.
1. I like that you may easily look up any word that you don't understand. I also like that you can have an audio book playing on the same device while you read.
ReplyDelete2. A negative is that the computer screen strains your eyes after awhile and it's difficult to continue reading. Another negative is that you can't copy and paste any of the writings so that you may paste it on questions.
3. It would be helpful if actively learn can be turned into a mobile app so that you may continue reading the book and write questions on a kindle or other reading device.
1. I think that actively learn is a good way to read the novel. Its cheaper and helps the teacher and I don't have any problems with it. I can't say that I like it better than a hard copy book, but it is not bad and it has added benefits a book does not have
ReplyDelete2.The only negative thing about Actively learn is the questions. often times I just want to keep reading because I am anxious to know what happens and the questions slow me down. I understand that teachers like having the questions to show students progress but I think that end of unit quizzes should be motivating enough to force the students to read.
3.A suggestion that I have is that the teacher should put all of the questions only at the end of a chapter or even at the end of the 4 our so chapters that the student needs to read before the quiz. That way the questions don't interrupt the reading and it will encourage students to go back and review what happened at the beginning of the book.
1. I think that one a positive side to using actively learn to read this novel is that you can use electronic features such as finding a certain word or phrase. Some students might benefit from it because you do not need to carry it around since you only have it on your computer or phone.
ReplyDelete2. I think that the most negative or challenging part about this is to stay on track when you are reading. It is very easy to switch to something more entertaining than reading the novel. This means that in order to stay on task and keep reading, you'll need some self control to do so.
3. I do not have ny suggestions for the developers.
any*
Delete1.A positive thing about Activity learn is how you can highlight the word you don't understand and find its definition.
ReplyDelete2. A negative thing about Activity Learn is that its on a electronic device. Students usually get distracted with using devices
3.None
1. One positive thing that I enjoy about actively learn is how you can see classmates responses to answers that can give you ideas about the text and how they see it. I also appreciate the comment feature which is easier and more efficient than using post it notes that the teacher can see.
ReplyDelete2. One thing that I dislike about actively learn is the fact that after you answer a question, sometimes you read past that question and the text gives you a better understanding to re-answer the question. I feel like the questions should let you at least read one more paragraph past them maybe to get more context.
3. Overall I like to use actively learn as a tool and feel that it is better than having to read a hardcopy book. One thing that I would change is to maybe implement a copy paste so that quoting the book is easier, because when you find a quote if you try to write it down in the question it will just scroll down which then you have to scroll up again to get the quote. It just needs to be easier or you can click and drag parts of the page.
1) One positive thing that i like about actively learn is that it tells you the percent that you've done.
ReplyDelete2) One negative thing about Actively learn is that the questions interrupt the story
3)One thing that can be easy for students is how to use the reading ad the responces.
1. A postive thing about actively learn is that it allows the teachers to make comments on paragraphs and it asks questions which can be helpful to understand the reading.
ReplyDelete2.A challenging aspect for me is that sometimes the chapters have a lot of questions which interrupts the reading. Another thing that i have noticed is that when i read it's a lot easier for me to get distracted when reading on a computer rather than a book or an e-reader.
3.I think its good to offer a feature to read offline.
1. One positive thing about Actively learn is the questions that are stuck into the text. It holds students accountable, and gives teachers much needed data about where the students are at academically. The questions can also build on the text and assist the students in remembering, or act as a refresher when students are going back to remember a specific event in a chapter.
ReplyDelete2. A negative aspect of Actively learn is that the site is clunky. Certain things that students should be able to do such as copy and paste for quotes, are unavailable. There are also many bugs with highlighting and highlighting sentences. Also things such as having to unpin a question in order to submit, which is unknown to me why the developers made this feature. It seems as though Actively Learn wasn't made to read lengthier novels, and instead to check for understanding for smaller documents.
3. The developers should make a separate mode for long term books, and polish the code to make it easier for reading novels.
1. I think that the data that actively learn gives to the teacher is very useful. For example if a student answers a question and it sounds like he/she is not comprehending the story, the teacher will know this and be able to help that student with what ever the problem may be.
ReplyDelete2. A negative challenge of using actively learn is that it is very easy to get distracted. As well as when sometimes when you answer a question the it will glitch down under so you cannot submit the answer or save it.
3. Fix the glitch issue mentioned above as well as a glitch when you submit an answer and there is no arrow to go on to the next section. Also it would be extremely helpful to have copy paste.
1. I prefer actively learn more than reading from an actual book. What could be helpful for some students, is that it gives you a define option that is built into the program. This can help with the challenging and foreign words in the text.
ReplyDelete2. The negative aspect of actively learn is that you cannot skip a question and come back to it later. That really disrupts the flow of reading for me. Also, you can not copy and paste anything. That is negative because sometimes in questions it asks to site the piece of evidence and I have to type it all out which takes forever to do.