Review of Wakelet: Curation and Communication EdTech Tool

 

Component Review

Wakelet, part of Reviven Limited, is a content curation and collaboration tool that educators can use to organize, share, and present resources in an engaging and student-friendly way. It can be accessed by searching for www.wakelet.com. Teachers and students can collect articles, images, pdfs, and even their own notes into collections. This cuts down on the need for sharing of multiple links in a clunky fashion. Students can add their own learning, research, reflections, and projects as a powerful classroom collaborative tool. This tool is appropriate for students in fifth grade and above with proper lessons in safely researching online.

Wakelet will be part of the background knowledge building portion of the lesson. This will occur directly after the anticipatory lesson. A curated collection of articles and images will be shared with students. Students will use the background questions and find the answer to those questions within the curated collection. The answers to their questions will be shared with their group.

While assessing Wakelet against Triple E Measurement Tool, the results were as follows:
                              Engagement          100% (6 out of 6)

                               Enhancement       100%   (5 out of 6)

                               Extending             66%     (4 out of 6)

                               TOTAL                 83%    (15 out of 18)

     My lesson summary supports the engagement score because the curated articles and images in Wakelet will allow students to focus without distraction, the graphics and engaging quality will motivate them to continue to research to find answers, and the answers to their questions will then be shared with their group. For enhancement, Wakelet will allow students to find the answers to their questions and demonstrate that learning to their group. The way I have laid out the collection in Wakelet, it allows students to scaffold the content as they research. Wakelet will then allow students to personalize their learning by researching their own topic in an individualized manner. This learning will then be demonstrated to their group. For extending the learning, this Wakelet activity will not allow students to learn outside the typical school day because the lesson calls for individual work that transitions into group work. The technology does build a bridge in learning how to research safely as is required in real-life. Wakelet will also encourage students to become aware of soft skills such as navigating a new EdTech tool.

Screencast (N. Reed screencast)

            The ISTE Standard that is supported and edified while using Wakelet is 1.3.a: students will use effective research strategies to find resources that support their learning needs, personal interests, and creative pursuits. Students will be learning how to safely conduct research online since the collection is presented by URL in the Wakelet columns. This will reinforce learning concerning appropriate research sites and articles for scholarly endeavors. It will also allow students to work at their own pacing to read and find the answer to build their background knowledge of the topic.

Reflection

            The ISTE Standards that were utilized as I created my EdTech tool review were 2.1.a and 2.1.c.  By exploring, researching, and learning about Wakelet, I actively applied new teaching practices through the technology and reflected on Wakelet’s effectiveness. I was also incorporating 2.1.c which encourages teachers to stay current on new research and how this research improves student learning.

            While creating the screencast, the ISTE Standards that were in play are 2.5.  Wakelet allows students pace and learn independently. Wakelet also allowed me to develop authentic learning activities that incorporated technology to increase positive student growth. I also enjoyed Wakelet because it allowed me to use evidence-based practices while being innovative and creative in the digital learning environment.

            The ISTE Standard that is addressed by the students in engagement with Wakelet is 1.3.  While using the curated collection to build background knowledge in Wakelet, students will develop effective research strategies, evaluate information, curate information, and explore real-world issues. For content learning, using Wakelet will allow students to gain experience with Oklahoma Academic Standards 9.6.R.1, 9.6.R.2, and 9.6.R.3.  All three of these standards are concerning students conducting academic research. The Wakelet activity I designed will allow students to find and comprehend information about a topic (9.6.R.1), to synthesize relevant information from a variety of primary and secondary sources (9.6.R.2), and evaluate the relevance, reliability and validity of the information gathered (9.6.R.3).

            The only thing I would do differently in my next screencast is to extend the instructions and directions specifically for my students with disabilities. In the past, I would create two screencasts, one for regular ed, and one for students with disabilities. For instance, depending on student need, I would slow down my speaking cadence, include annotations for more visual cues, and continue to work through an example of researching an article and creating the Google Slide for this specific population.

References

ISTE. (2020). Home | ISTE. Iste.org. https://iste.org/

‌Oklahoma Frameworks. (2025). Oklahoma State Department of Education (265).

https://oklahoma.gov/education/services/standards-learning/oklahoma-frameworks.html

Wakelet. (2019). Wakelet - The best way to share and collect content. Wakelet.com; Wakelet. https://wakelet.com/

Week 5 Blog: Universal Design for Learning

 

Blog  Week 5

                                                            Review and Summary:

Universal Design for Learning

Guidelines for Accessible Online Instruction

by Carol Rogers-Shaw, MA, MS, Davin J. Carr-Chellman, PhD,  and Jinhee Choi, MS, BFA

 

            This article explains how Universal Design for Learning (UDL) can make online education more accessible and effective, especially for adult learners. UDL pushed educators to design instruction and content with flexibility, multimodal concepts, and inclusivity.

            The authors argue that traditional, one-size-fits-all teaching often leaves behind students with disabilities, language barriers, or diverse backgrounds. UDL shifts away from “fixing the student” and moves towards redesigning the curriculum itself. The UDL Framework is built on three core principles:  representation, engagement, and expression. Representation incorporates the ways learners access information. Engagement ties into motivation and involvement, and expression concerns the myriads of ways that students can showcase their learning.

            The article highlights how this approach benefits adult learners who often juggle many responsibilities. By giving these learners choices in how they engage and manage their own learning, it enhances their educational outcomes.

            In the end, UDL is not simply teaching tips. It is an epistemological shift in the way content creators and instructors think about knowledge and learning. For adult and distance learners, UDL opens the door to greater equity and success.

            UDL is incorporated into the lesson that I am creating. By utilizing student choice in the final step of the unit, I am allowing students to showcase their learning in individualized ways. I have also begun to weave in technology, varied print concepts, interactive instructional tools, self-directed/teacher-directed research, and video documentaries to enhance UDL in my lesson, Empathize, Educate, and Connect.

 

CAST UDL Integration

            One CAST UDL Guideline that I will thoughtfully continue to integrate into my lesson is to optimize choice and autonomy. I will utilize tools such as Wakelet to curate content for students and then allow them to use the tool of their choice to continue to explore the content that I have introduced. The final project will combine a collaborative approach between students and teachers but then transition to student-to-student collaboration. The students will co-design activities and tasks to complete the final project as a collaborative, whole-class project.

            Another important CAST UDL Guideline that will be a part of my lesson falls under the representation category for perception: “Represent a diversity of perspectives and identities in authentic ways.”  One of my lesson’s fundamental goals is to empathize. By allowing students to explore various authors, cultures, customs, history, and people surrounding the Holocaust, this will facilitate identifying biases and facilitate learning and listening to diverse perspectives.

            As I reflect on UDL as articulated in NETP 2024, I think of my high-poverty students and students with chronic absenteeism. As I continue to design and execute this lesson, I will need to be thoughtful about the needs of my high-poverty learners as they begin to explore ways in which they showcase their learning in the final class project. I would rectify this potential issue by having thoughtful conversations with students about where they believe their final project is headed and what barriers may stand in their way in accomplishing those goals. For my students who are chronically absent, I will make certain that the information and instruction in the lesson is also accessible to them. If these students do not have access to at-home internet, I will commence conversations with district administrators to solve this issue for these families.

 

A Call to Action for Closing the Digital Access, Design, and Use Divides 2024 National Educational Technology Plan. (2024).
https://portal.ct.gov/das/-/media/das/ctedtech/publications/2025/2025-used-oet-archive/netp24.pdf

‌
CAST. (2024). Universal Design for Learning. CAST.

           https://www.cast.org/what-we-do/universal-design-for-learning/

 

Rogers-Shaw, C., Carr-Chellman, D. J., & Choi, J. (2017). Universal Design for Learning: Guidelines for Accessible Online Instruction. Adult Learning, 29(1), 20–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1045159517735530

Evaluating Magic School Ai

 

Magic School Ai

Lesson Plan Generator Evaluation

     The lesson that I asked Magic School Ai to generate for was 6.3.R.5.  I did not add any other information besides 6.3.R.5.  It was not successful in pulling the correct standard language, so I entered the standard language with the number:  6.3.R.5-students will identify literary elements and devices that impact a text’s theme. After I gave the generator this information, it was better able to generate a cohesive lesson plan.

     As an experienced teacher, I would only use this lesson generator to give me some ideas to begin in crafting a lesson plan. I believe more inexperienced teachers will use this tool and use the lesson generated “as-is.”  As these teachers begin to teach the lesson plan generated by Magic School, I believe they will soon find it lacking. It is well-aligned, but there is not much rigor or depth of complexity built into the lesson. It did align with the Oklahoma Academic Standard well, yet in a superficial way. The error Magic School Ai made in this lesson suggested that standard 6.1.R.1 was a collaborative standard to 6.3.R.5.  Magic School ai stated, “6.1.R.1: Analyze how elements of literature work together to create meaning.”  This standard number and language do not exist in the Oklahoma Academic Standards. This may be a hallucination in the Ai or a mistake as it pulls from another set of state standards.

      Improvements that could be made are more depth of complexity for theme. The lesson developed was very superficial. I would want student movement to be incorporated, and more authentic learning products could be created. I believe students making a graphic organizer and paragraph does not align with Authentic Intellectual Work. I would want this lesson on theme to more deeply connect to students’ lived experiences, the texts students read, and the learning products should be applicable to the students’ community and meet them “where they are.”

     This lesson would need teacher curation in text selection to negate any stereotype-cues that could come into play.  More Authentic Intellectual Work would need to be included to connect to students’ real lives. It does not satisfy Kolb’s Triple E Framework since the lesson does not include an interactive technology tool or design for students.

Tool Evaluation

     I used the Magic School Ai tool, Text Leveler. This text leveler claims to “level any text to adapt it to fit a student’s reading level/skills.”  I did not find this tool useful. It only lowered the readability scale level from 9.0 to 8.5, far higher than the 6.0 level of which I had asked. The only things I could ascertain that it had done was find three- to four-syllable words and substitute a lower-syllabic word in its place. Since I level texts for the company I am employed, I know that sentence structure is the first step in text leveling. I did not observe any changes to sentence structure in the text leveler tool. This tool would not be useful for me, or another teacher, in the classroom since it does not do what it claims. In fact, teachers who do not have access to readability scale programs, or know how to level texts, may be tricked into believing that the tool has leveled the text appropriately.

Reflection

            I believe Magic School Ai could be a somewhat useful tool, but it must be used in conjunction with an experienced teacher. If a new teacher is using Magic School Ai, I would want them to be aware of its limitations and check its accuracy and sources. My concerns are that teachers without a significant amount of time in a classroom will begin to use this tool for most of their classroom needs. I believe in so doing, the lessons content generated will be superficial, shallow, inauthentic, and not create true human learning.

     The benefits are useful to generate innovative ideas that may be useful as teachers plan more robust content. I also think that it could give newer teachers some insight into how to plan for certain kinds of content creation if they are aware of its limitations.

            I appreciate the Guidance and Considerations for Using Artificial Intelligence in Oklahoma K-12 Schools that was published and disseminated by the Oklahoma State Department of Education. This guide shows the benefits and risks inherent in using Ai in the classroom. Guiding students in their understanding of how Ai sources and curates information will only deepen and develop their digital literacy. The first step in this new digital literacy is a robust teacher development plan around Ai. As teachers begin to explore this technology, they begin to see firsthand it's amazing capabilities and limitations. I believe that Ai will be able to differentiate learning in the ways that teachers have always dreamed were possible but have been partially unable to realize due to increasing number of students in an average classroom. The tools that Ai contain can be utilized to fight against teacher burn-out, and impact students that may not have been impacted by a one-size fits all curriculum.

     I do not have experience using Ai in the classroom, but I use it frequently in my current position. At my current employer, I use Ai in the following ways:  preliminary research on a topic, idea generation when I have hit a writer’s block, text leveling checks, responding to emails, scheduling, outlining projects that I am assigned, and asking questions. I also enjoy the study mode when I hit a learning roadblock. Ai is a powerful tool, but I have seen its bias and hallucination up close and personal. Digital literacy in the use of Ai tools should be a goal for education as we explore this uncharted territory.

Magic School Ai Generated Lesson Plan

https://app.magicschool.ai/tools/lesson-plan-generator?share=086f0918-cd2c-4891-ba7c-4d044cace171

LEARNING OBJECTIVE:
Students will be able to identify literary elements and devices that impact a text's theme.

ASSESSMENTS:
Students will complete a graphic organizer identifying at least three literary elements or devices in a selected text and explain how each contributes to the theme.

KEY POINTS:

• Literary Elements: Discuss elements such as character, setting, plot, conflict, and resolution.
• Literary Devices: Introduce devices like metaphor, simile, personification, and symbolism.
• Theme: Define theme as the underlying message or main idea of a text.
• Impact Analysis: Explain how literary elements and devices enhance the theme.

OPENING:

• Begin with a thought-provoking question: "What makes a story memorable?"
• Engage students in a brief discussion about their favorite books and the elements that made them impactful.
• Introduce the lesson's focus on literary elements and devices.

INTRODUCTION TO NEW MATERIAL:

• Explain each literary element with examples from familiar texts.
• Discuss each literary device, providing clear definitions and examples.
• Anticipate misconceptions: Some students may confuse literary elements with devices; clarify that elements are the building blocks of a story, while devices are techniques used to enhance the story.

GUIDED PRACTICE:

• Read a short story or excerpt together as a class.
• Identify and discuss literary elements and devices in small groups.
• Scaffold questions: Start with "What is the setting?" and progress to "How does the imagery support the theme?"
• Monitor student responses and provide feedback during group discussions.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE:

• Assign a literary analysis task where students select a short story or poem.
• Students will fill out a graphic organizer identifying elements and devices, detailing their impact on the theme.
• Set behavioral expectations: Students should work quietly and refer to their texts as needed.

CLOSING:

• Conduct a quick share session where students discuss one literary element or device they identified in their analysis.
• Reinforce the connection between these elements and the text's theme.

EXTENSION ACTIVITY:

• For students who finish early, provide them with additional texts to analyze or challenge them to create their own short story incorporating specific literary elements and devices.

HOMEWORK:

• Assign students to read a chapter from a book of their choice and write a short paragraph identifying at least one literary element and device, explaining its impact on the theme.

STANDARDS ALIGNED:

• Oklahoma Academic Standards for English Language Arts:
• 6.3.R.5: Identify literary elements and devices that impact a text's theme.
• 6.1.R.1: Analyze how elements of literature work together to create meaning.
• 6.3.R.3: Analyze the development of a theme over the course of a text.

References

Guidance and Considerations for Using Artificial Intelligence in Oklahoma K-12 Schools. Retrieved June 2, 2025, from https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/osde/documents/services/standards-learning/educational-technology/Guidance-and-Considerations-for-Artificial-Intelligence-in-Oklahoma-Schools.pdf

‌

MagicSchool.ai - AI for teachers - lesson planning and more!  www.magicschool.ai. https://magicschool.ai

‌

Week 3: Creativity and Motivation

 

Creativity and Motivation

            This blog will be a discussion of building engaging and authentic lessons that are designed with motivation in mind. Mastery-oriented classrooms are shown to create deeper learning processes and persistence versus a performative-based classroom which can cue learning avoidance. According to How People Learn II, produced by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (2018), one way teachers can support a classroom where students see mastery as the learning goal and, therefore, place greater emphasis on the endeavor of learning is by building safe routines of identity and belonging to reduce stereotype-threat cues. Another key piece in driving intrinsic student motivation, is  using the arts and creativity to personalize student learning. Not only is creativity good, in today’s changing landscape it is essential. In Gura’s (2020) article, he argues that creativity is not optional, but an integral skill in today’s world and workplace. According to Rivero (2020), “When students are in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of students, then we have learning occurring” (p. 12). By increasing personalized learning in the classroom, students will become pursuers of their learning which builds persistence and a positive mindset. A positive mindset is enhanced when students interrupt challenges to learning as normal. As students accept that the learning brain is flexible and can shift based on neuroplasticity, they begin to understand how to work through setbacks and develop learning persistence.

            The ISTE Standards reinforce concepts from both Gura and Rivero. ISTE Standard 1.6 calls on students to communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using platforms, tools, styles, formats, and digital media appropriate to their goals. By allowing students to choose their platforms and mediums, their autonomy and perceived personal value is boosted. It also creates a revision cycle where students begin to see mistakes as data points on the path to learning versus running into a brick wall that they cannot scale.

 

References

Gura, M. (2020). Fostering student creativity. The Arts, Creativity, &
     Technology 2020: A Guide for Educators & Parents.
     https://edtechdigest.com

National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018).
     How people learn II: Learners, contexts, and cultures.
     The National Academies Press.

Rivero, V. (2020) A whole new class of art. The Arts, Creativity, &
     Technology 2020: A Guide for Educators & Parents.
     https://edtechdigest.com