Literature Circles, Apps, and Edmodo

I have always used literature circles in my class, and my students have greatly benefited from the deep thinking they use as they are reading. My challenge for the past couple of years was how to incorporate iPads and technology into a system that already worked for me. 

Edmodo was the platform for what I planned. For those who aren't already familiar with Edmodo, it is a FREE website for educators to share resources, collaborate, form groups within the classroom, create online assignments, give quizzes or polls, and more! For me, this was a no-brainer. All I had to do now was to look closely at student roles, which have always been a way for me to introduce literature circles. I needed to bring technology into the picture. 

Students hard at work creating products to share.

I wanted to find apps that really produced something significant and meaningful for my class. Another big challenge was to use apps that weren't just cool and fun, but that actually accomplished what I wanted using the depth and complexity that was needed. Oh, and by the way, the products that students created and shared with their groups could only take 15 minutes to create. The rest of the time was spent reading and discussing. It took a few weeks to get there, but we did it.

These were the basic management rules I used:

This presentation gives an overall picture of how Lit Circles look in my class:

Apps I Have Used:
(but there are so many more I still plan to use!)

Edmodo - Post assignments directly into Edmodo.

Camera - Use for almost anything!

Pages - Create a document and add a photo.

Keynote - Create a short slideshow on Keynote. 

Croak.it   - Record an audio response on Croak.it.
WordHippo.com - Find definitions for Word Wizard role.

Educreations - Create a screencast.

Haikudeck.com - Create a haiku PowerPoint.

Simple Mind - Create a mind map.

Over- Select a photo and label it.

PicStitch - Create a photo collage.

ImageChef - Create a photo collage for theme/mood.

Word Clouds - Create a word cloud of vocabulary.

Notability - Highlight and annotate text.

Creative Commons - Free-use images.

I hope that this list inspires you to think outside the box as you create meaningful literature circles in your own class!