RUNNING HEAD: LITERATURE REVIEW OF ARTICLE DESCRIBING CLASSROOM APPS

A Literature Review of Quality Teaching:

Seven Apps That Will Change the Way You Teach in the
English Language Arts Classroom.

Allis Snyder-Crabb
In Partial Fulfillment of TED 690
Dr. Shepherd
NU
7/31/16

Abstract

RUNNING HEAD: LITERATURE REVIEW OF ARTICLE DESCRIBING CLASSROOM APPS

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There are endless APPs designed for classroom use and student support. In this
article a tech-savvy English Language Arts teacher recommends apps he believes to
be especially effective for use in the single-subject Language Arts setting.

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In his article "Quality Teaching: Seven Apps That Will Change the Way You Teach in the
English Language Arts Classroom" author James Marshall describes apps that have been
beneficial in his English Language Arts instruction.
He asserts that well-chosen apps can be useful. "Engaging students, differentiating
instruction, demonstrating understanding, and increasing productivity are just four potential
benefits apps can provide to English Language Arts' teachers and their students"(2016)
The first app he suggests is the communication-based "Remind" app. It allows a teacher to
communicate with students and parents using a one-way communication app if necessary or chat
can be enabled for conference benefits. Remind can keep students abreast of classroom
assignments, activities and grades. It can alert with notifications for classroom, club or other
activities in a text- style format.
Research has indicated that "Remind" has been very helpful in maintaining communication
with parents. Often in lower socioeconomic homes a phone will be available when other email
devices aren't.
The author here segues into the cautionary reminder that teachers should verify that students
have technology available to them before teachers decide to use that technology for daily
classroom and student support.
"Gooru Learning" is the next app described. This is an app designed for individualizing
instruction and delivery. It also functions as a curation app. Curation apps offer device features in
organization of media and content library-ing. "Gooru" helps teacher assemble media for the
purpose of designing student interest-based learning quests called "playlists" Gooru compiles and
embeds content, activities, and assessment all in a format easy for monitoring.
The next app is useful for demonstrating student learning and knowledge. The first app
"'Explain Everything' enables both teacher and student to use ink, images, text, and voice, to
build multimedia products that can teach content or demonstrate understanding". This app allows
users to access digital media for the purpose of building e-projects.
"TouchCast" app also can assist with demonstrating student learning. It is a TV studio app
"with tools that allow the user to embed web-based content and interactivity". It supports

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students to build professional quality media productions with interactive web-based content and
features. Through multi-media projects students can take a creative and tech skill building
approach to demonstrating proficiency towards content standards.
Another app is "Socrative" which allows students and teachers to interact and build with
chosen media for the purpose of demonstrating learning interactions.
The three above apps allow students to create content to display their level of mastery. Rather
that the instructor choosing the medium and method, students can work within a rubric and
develop content relevant to them.
The next two apps are billed as "teacher productivity" apps. "Doctopus" is an app that helps
organize the huge assortment of assignments generated by classroom activities that use "Google
Drive". Another Google Drive add-on to which the author directs is "AutoCrat". This app
allows teachers to use spreadsheet data in other formats by merging this data with data stored on
a document other than a spreadsheet.
Although I can see that theses apps could function as interesting, creative, and supportive
to curriculum and other class functions, the communication apps are those I would be most likely
use. They appeal to what would likely be my most immediate need and that is communication
with home or guardian and student.
Those apps which assist with organization of media are less useful to me and likely others
who still live largely in a paper-driven world. I know this is changing and quickly. But
sometimes I ponder if having a book or a stack of papers to work with isn't easier than a device.
This could be the burden of an aging brain OR it could be the sage wisdom of a by-gone era that
functioned just fine without all this technology.
There were also apps introduced that facilitate students demonstration of skills and knowledge
through creative constructions. These apps are far in my future as I would have to understand
them to teach them and that feels like an undertaking I would likely not invest in.
It is fat more likely that I would seek out Google certification or mastery of one "software"
package or design that managed ALL these things simultaneously. I have watched personal
computer technology evolve for a few decades now and my experience suggests to me that it's

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just a matter of time before things evolve to better or they fall away. I thinks sometimes that we
are far more enamored with the frilly, new app based on availability rather than need. This excess
is fine for people with lots of time and interest in technology for technology's sake. However I
am not that person and need my technology to be comprehensive and general in its service. I
gravitate towards technology and software which has proven enduring appeal.
This article was extremely useful to me as one considering returning to the classroom. The
learning curve on technology is always a tad challenging. It's beneficial to have app information
before entering the teaching profession again. This author has done a great deal of research for
me. The article is written recently so this information is still fresh, useful and relevant to my
technology learning experience.

Reference
Marshall, J. (2016). Quality teaching: Seven Apps that Will Change the Way You
Teach in the English Language Arts Classroom. Voices from the Middle, 23(4), 66-

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73. Retrieved from:
http://ezproxy.nu.edu/login?
url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1788221399?accountid=25320