How I use Rocketbook in my World Language Classroom
by JoyceAnna D’Alessandro
Much has changed in our lives due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing that hasn’t is how I’m using Rocketbook products as an instructional tool for my students. I first learned about the Rocketbook last summer from a trainer at World Language Proficiency Institutes and was immediately intrigued by this amazing product. Immediately upon returning home, I downloaded the free Rocketbook App and the free PDFs to try it out. I was quickly convinced and purchased the RocketbEverlast(now renamed Core) in Executive Size because I travel between two high schools.
An important first step is setting up the destinations for your scans. It is very simple to do and the app integrates with many platforms. For each class period, I have a unique folder shared with my students on Google Classroom. I also carbon copy it to my email so I can get an OCR text file as well. The double hashtag naming protocol is a life-changer, too.
Two important elements of our daily class routine are Shared Writing & Shared Reading(ProjectGLAD strategies). Once upon a time, I did this on the interactive whiteboard and I found it awkward as well as frustrating due to its connectivity issues. Now, with the Rocketbook, I do this part of the lesson on the notebook, under a document camera. I use an IPEVO camera along with the IPEVO Visualizer software to project, photograph or video record what is below the lens. I model the writing on a paper surface, just like my students, facing them instead of the board. During Shared Reading, I annotate items of note with a different color Frixion pen. Now that we are having ‘remote learning’ I’m still doing Shared Writing & Shared Reading under my document camera with my Rocketbook except my teacher desk is now my dining room.table.
The bright orange Rocketbook Beacons are also part of my arsenal. I use them to quickly upload student work, artwork, anchor charts, and other documents to the shared folders. Because I’m teaching at home, the anchor charts are now pages in my notebook.
If you would like to see one of my lessons in action, here is a Shared Writing about Quiche https://youtu.be/VhO_BOaW-SE
Using the Rocketbook has made the process of scanning & uploading work to my students more streamlined, c’est à dire instantaneous. My students feel more confident knowing the writing is always available whether they were in class that day or not. I’m looking forward to receiving my Rocketbook Orbit legal pad this fall.
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BIo:
JoyceAnna D’Alessandro, a heritage speaker of Sicilian and Italian, has been a public school teacher for over two decades. Her career includes teaching middle school exploratory through Advanced Placement. She currently teaches both Italian and French in Cherry Hill, NJ. Never having limited herself to “traditional” methods in her classroom, JoyceAnna has now left grammar syllabus teaching entirely behind to fully embrace Comprehensible Input. A blogger, TPT teacher-author, and GoogleCertifiedEducatorLevel1, she created a virtual PLN for Italian CI teachers on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/italiancitprs/
Visit JoyceAnna here: https://sites.google.com/view/joyceannadalessandro/home
