Rob Morrill
Job application materials
Technology: assessment and instruction strategies
With the boom in technology tools, there are an increasing number of ways to give students feedback on their work and to model different reading and writing strategies. Google Docs comments and the Notability iPad app are two means I often employ.
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Essay feedback
Here is an example of how I use Google Docs comments to give feedback. Students can make edits, then "Resolve" my comments, and I can easily see what changes were made from draft to draft. This assignment was an in-class essay on Odysseus' tact and diplomacy, which the student later revised. The arrows are here to help you connect feedback to the correct text.
Feedback on a website project
I gave this feedback for a student's contribution to a collaborative website on ancient Greece. She was assigned Demeter and wrote up her research, included images and videos, and created a custom Google map, as the Myths Resources assignment requested. I used the Notability app to take screenshots of her work so that I could write on it and the rubric.
Annotated screenshots of student's web page
. Google Classroom
Google Classroom is a great way to distribute and collect assignments and student work while keeping all the associated Docs organized. Here is a good screencast explaining set up and use:
Google Classroom Tutorial by Ashley Reisbig
Teaching close reading, writing
This is a passage from The Secret Life of Bees. I projected it on the board and annotated it with the ideas my students had generated in teams about archetypal and other symbolism. I then shared an example of an analytical "CEE" paragraph (below), which teams also analyzed. This way, students see the thinking and writing process from creative, messy generation to well-structured and supported composition.
