Google Gifts: Writing Feedback with the JoeZoo Express Add-on for Google Docs

During the weekdays of December, we're sharing one tool per day.  We're calling it our Google Gifts series.  Some of these come directly from Google, and others are tools that enhance Google Apps or Chrome.  

Previously this week, we shared Google Classroom and Grammarly.  Today, we're sharing JoeZoo Express, an add-on that helps provide writing feedback and rubrics within Google Docs.

As an add-on, this is something you would install inside of a Google Doc.  Once installed, though, it will be available for other docs in Google.  There are other add-ons that provide enhanced commenting features (Kaizena) or rubric-building (Orange Slice), but what sets JoeZoo apart is that it doesn't require the student to install the add-on, it has 88 pre-loaded comments for common areas of writing feedback, it color-codes the feedback into 5 major categories (formatting, grammar, mechanics, punctuation, and structure), and has a rubric tool built in.

Why would I use it?  What does it do?
According to John Hattie in Visible Learning, “… when feedback is combined with a correctional review, feedback and instruction become intertwined until ‘the process itself takes on the forms of new instruction, rather than informing the student solely about correctness.’ ” (p. 174)  So, it's important to think not only about providing feedback but making it "visible" and meaningful to the learner.   Here is a brief overview of the 3 main areas within JoeZoo Express:



This is a relatively new add-on which will likely have significant improvements in the coming months.  Its strength is in helping provide customizable, color-coded and preloaded comments for frequently used feedback sets.  However, the rubrics in Schoology are much more flexible, sharable, can be used on mobile devices, and track student performance over time (which is visible to both students & parents).  We'd recommend using JoeZoo during the writing process and using Schoology for rubric grading.

Where can I learn more?
JoeZoo's website has video tutorials to help teachers learn how to install the add-on, add feedback, and build rubrics.  If this is a tool that you think you will use, they also have an option to receive an email when new updates are added.

Tuesday Tech Tip: Reading, Writing, & Listening with Online Discussion Boards

When we think about giving students opportunities to synthesize ideas from multiple sources, it typically involves providing different articles for kids to read and synthesize.  However, in addition to reading and responding to written sources or graphics, our students must also be good online listeners, able to "integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally."*  As teachers, we need to be sure we're providing opportunities to have kids read, write, and listen in a digital environment.

One option for this type of activity is to use Schoology's discussion boards. Not only are they a great entry point into digital writing, but they also provide a way for students to listen, share ideas and "participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively."**  Here are a few suggestions for including a listening component into a discussion board.

1.  Use the recording tool built into Schoology.  As Enterprise users of Schoology, we have the ability to record up to 11 minutes of audio or 10 minutes of webcam video into just about anything, including discussion boards.  If you want to record into Schoology, use the microphone icon (and you can record audio and video on iOS and Android devices as well).  You could read aloud the version of a story or article, provide a link to another resource, and ask students to respond (or have students record themselves and have their peers listen and respond either in writing or using audio).

2.  Upload an audio or video file.  If you have something already stored on your computer or mobile device, you can upload it into the discussion board using the file icon or by choose "Image/Media" under the "Insert Content" menu.  (Be very mindful of copyright, and don't repost something that we can't legally share with students.)  If you are looking for materials you or your students didn't create, the Open Educational Resource Commons is a great place to look (and all copyright permissions are listed for each resource).

3.  Embed web-based video or audio content. If you can get embed code, Schoology allows you to put that into almost everything -- tests/quizzes, assignments, pages, and (you guessed it) discussion boards. You can either paste in the embed code using the link icon, or you can use the "Insert Content" icon to paste in the embed code into the actual topic itself (see animated example on the left).

Need help on using embed code?  See this post.

Don't forget that you can add multiple types of sources into an online discussion.  Images, files, recordings, and links can be included or embedded in a single post so that students can draw from multiple sources for their responses.   For those who are familiar with Google Presentations, those can also be used to embed multiple sources into Schoology (see Amber Paynter's post for more information).

*CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.2
**CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.CCRA.SL.1

Tuesday Tech Tip: 3 Ways to Support Writing Instruction with Schoology

As we begin to think about ways to address the Colorado Academic Standards for writing, conversations are naturally turning to digital tools that can help support the writing standards.  As our students are supposed to be writing routinely in varied time ranges, we have several options for doing this in a digital learning environment.

Assignment Activity: Online Journals or Reading Logs

Whether your students are writing shorter explanatory pieces, arguments, or narratives, you can use Schoology/COLE 3.0 as a way for students to submit their ideas in a digital format.   One option for this is to use the Assignment activity.  

1. Add an "assignment" to your course, being sure that the dropbox option is enabled in the settings.
2. Type the prompt in the description of the assignment.
3. Have students use the "Create" tab in the dropbox area to compose their writing and submit.
4. Assess and give feedback, using whatever rubric or grading scale you wish.

One of the best parts is that you can assess the writing using assignment-specific rubrics or common rubrics (like for 6 Trait Writing).  This gives the student specific, criterion-based feedback which can be used to refine writing, even through several drafts.  All student revisions are captured digitally for the teacher, and separate feedback can be given on each revision.  Drafts can also be saved and revised before final submission, giving the student a chance to edit and refine.

Test/Quiz Activity: Essay or Short Answer Response

If you want students to respond in writing as part of an assessment (either as a standalone question or as part of a larger, mixed assessment), you can create a question type for short answer/essay responses.  

1. Add a "test/quiz" to your course, and add a short answer/essay question to the assessment by writing the prompt into the description area for the question.
2. Decide if you want students to have a character limit or a time limit (helpful for helping students get used to these types of assessment situations).
3. Make the quiz available or visible.
4. Assess and give feedback.

Unlike the journal activity mentioned before, grading based on a rubric is not as easy with an assessment.  However, like other activities in Schoology, the individual test question can be aligned to CAS (Colorado Academic Standards), or teacher-created Learning Outcomes.  Submitting multiple drafts is also not as easy with an assessment, but this is a great way to add shorter writing components into tests and quizzes.

Discussion Board Activity: Online conversations and group interaction 

In addition to individual or private writing opportunties, our students are also supposed to use technology to collaborate, interact, and publish.  Teachers can use a Discussion Board to create an activity that supports this standard.

1. Add a "Discussion Board" activity to your course.
2. Type in the expectations for the Discussion Board in the description area.
3. Decide if the grading will rely upon a rubric or another point scale.
4. Create a "post" under the Discussion Board for student responses.
5. Assess and give feedback.

Students can include pictures, audio, and other rich formatting options in the response, making this a more dynamic experience than your typical blog comment or response.  Teachers can also make sure that students cannot see each other's responses until posting one of their own.  

Finally, for longer selections that are composed using another word processing tool (like MS Word or GoogleDocs), students can upload (or link to) their work electronically in the dropbox area for assignments, where teachers can grade against a rubric, provide audio comments or feedback, and collect further revisions or drafts.  This means that work can be created outside of Schoology while employing some of the powerful feedback tools provided in COLE 3.0/Schoology.

If you are looking for options to provide varied writing experiences for your students in a digital format, COLE 3.0/Schoology is an easy way for both teachers & students to use digital tools as part of the writing process.