James Hosler Explains Textivate:
(Click here to download a larger size poster)
Section A, the red section, lets you scramble a text for students to un-scramble. In my view this lines up with reading, because it forces the students to re-read the text and then make the changes necessary for comprehension. I have used the activities in this section several times now in a whole-class setting with only one computer and a projector. You can do a few paragraphs together as a class and then have the students complete one or two sections individually on their own paper.
Section B, the blue section, also lines up with reading, but is more interactive. The students will get the most out of the activities if they themselves are able to use the computer and click around. I can imagine this being a very good use of some time in a computer/language lab.
Section C, the green section, seems to line up most with writing. Each activity is essentially a “guided-writing” activity. (Like in Section A, the students can use their own paper.) The students get some help, but most of the spelling and grammar will be up to them to supply. This is especially true in languages like Latin, Spanish, German, etc. where the words change a bunch based on grammar. For example, if the last three letters of a Latin verb are missing, the student must make the choice as an author whether they should be -bat or -vit or whatever else based on the context. This all feels a lot like that power-house activity known as “dictation,” but based on reading instead of listening.
Chris
Wow! I”m liking the new format
Ben Slavic
Thanks Chris. Those hard links are my attempt to do at least some consolidation of the major blue chip breakthrough ideas we have come up with over the years. Otherwise they scroll out. And the Beginner Training hard link is going to be my attempt to make more room here on the PLC for those like Greg who are new to the method by offering short training videos that reflect much of the content in TPRS in a Year!
We have kind of turned this PLC into a big room for brown and black belt instructors but we need to remember that not everyone reading here is a black belt – yet. But they will be. I sense in this group the capacity to kick the shit out of the old way of teaching, to kick it out the back door, the one by the lunchrooms, of many schools buildings in America today.
We all feel the energy. It’s fun. Finally, after a lifetime of dull plodding through my career where I could barely drag my ass out of bed (24 years of that), teaching is suddenly fun! It’s because of (name everybody in group).
So Chris keep your eyes on those hard links above as they grow and morph and become what I want them to be – a place of very useful, practical, instant high quality clarification of the high octane ideas we talk about here.
In that light, I am open for suggestions from the group about any requests they have for rubrics or templates. I will write them up and anyone with tech ability (see James example of the R and D rubric he made and thank you James for that) who feels so inclined is welcome to create and share the flow charts/rubrics/templates because I couldn’t make a flow chart anymore than I can fly to the moon.
Grant Boulanger
I played around with this a bit last night. Seems kind of glitchy to me, but I like it a lot and could see using it in class. I’m fairly excited about it, actually.
Brigitte
Just read on the moretprs list that the free trial period ends at the end of March, then you have to pay to use the site (I think it’s £10/year). It’ll still be worth it.
Chris
I just mean all of the new categories at the top of the screen
Ben Slavic
I use this Textivate after the class reading has been processed using Reading Option A. So it is one of the things we do to get more reps, but reading reps, of the story, using the computer. As someone said here recently, it nicely sets up writing. It is part of my new bi-weekly schedule.
One thing that helps is to paste the reading of the story into IMTransaltor and click on “Say it” and then minimize that window to reveal the just-discussed Textivate text. The kids are able to read and listen to their story at the same time.
That is some serious CI going on there in those moments. Then, to keep them honest, I end the class with the quiz on the reading (created by the quiz writer in class the day before), as described in the new bi-weekly schedule.