Activators and Summarizers

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The US Digital Literacy site provides my favorite definitions of activators and summarizers. They define activators as "techniques to activate students’ prior knowledge through the use of engaging strategies designed to focus learning" and summarizers as "activities to promote the retention of knowledge through the use of engaging strategies designed to rehearse and practice skills for the purpose of moving knowledge into long-term memory".  Whether you call these strategies dip-sticking, activation of prior knowledge, or checking for understanding, these formative assessment structures serve an important role in teaching and learning.

BOOKS ON THE TOPIC

• Research for Better Teaching: Activators
• Research for Better Teaching: Summarizers
• Frazier/Mehle: Activators for MS and HS
• Evanski: 100 Classroom Activators

schrock_activators.pdf
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IDEAS AND SAMPLES

• Twenty simple assessment strategies
• Activator strategies for the classroom
• Summarizer strategies for the classroom
• Learning activators
• Icebreakers that rock
• ​Improv Encyclopedia
• Activators and summarizers​
• ​Activators and summarizers 2
• Activating strategies
• Summarizing strategies
• Discovery Education's SOS
• Pump students up with digital icebreakers
• Dipsticks: Check for understanding
• Classroom icebreakers for students
• 15 quick & creative ways to group students
• 53 ways to check for understanding
• Checking for understanding
• Checking for understanding
• Ten creative pre-assessment ideas​​
• 22 closure (summarizer) activities
• ​18 ideas for warm-ups and exit tickets​
• ​Critical thinking workbook from GDC

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critical-thinking-workbook.pdf
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APPS AND APPLICATIONS FOR THE STRUCTURES

• Spinner apps: (iOS | Android | Online)
• Draw: Explain Everything  (iOS | Android | Chrome | Windows)
• Explain: Adobe Spark Video (iOS | Web 2.0)
• Point Out: SyncPad (iOS | Android & Web 2.0)
• Polling: Kahoot (Web 2.0)
• Question: iRig Recorder (iOS | Android)
• Question: Vocaroo (Web 2.0)
• Teach Someone: Explain Everything (iOS | Android | Chrome | Windows) 
• Mind map: Mapping tools
• Mind map: Sketchnoting tools (Video)

PRESENTATION LINKS AND INFORMATION

• Definition​
• Martin: Overview presentation
• Scholastic classroom set-up tool
• 4Teachers classroom architect
• Roomle classroom set-up app
• Collaboration rubric
• Personality quiz icebreaker
• Video recording in the classroom
• Ferriter and technology
• Paper animation
• Animation with Explain Everything sample
• App smashing blog post
• ReadWriteThink advertising lesson plan
• ​Ad*Access advertisement collection
• Mia MacMeekin: Prior Knowledge​
• Mia MacMeekin: scaffolding sample

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Great sketchnote of my presentation!

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• Interview: Twister Wave (Web 2.0)
• Interview: Wave Pad (iOS | Android)
• Interview: Audioboom (iOS | Android)
• Interview: Andchor.fm (Web 2.0)
• Categorize: Padlet (Web 2.0 | iOS | Android)
• Keywords: Cacoo (Web 2.0)
• Keywords: Coggle (Web 2.0 | Chrome)
• Keywords: Maptini (iOS)
• Summarizer:  Creating tools (App smashing)
• 3-2-1 Summarizer: Wufoo (Web 2.0)
• Tabletop Texting Summarizer: iFakeText (Web 2.0)
• Make it Concrete Summarizer: Drawing Pad (iOS | Android)
• Silent Sharing Summarizer: AWW App (All devices)
• Advertisement Summarizer: Canva (iOS)

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Copyright: Kathy Schrock. All rights reserved.
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Created: 06/12/2014
Updated: 02/24/2021
Kathy Schrock
URL of this page:
http://schrockguide.net/activators-and-summarizers.html