Friday, November 27, 2015

Back Again: LessonPaths

If I could only get into a more consistent blogging schedule like a REAL blogger, I might not have to post these "I'm back again" posts every couple of years! (sigh...)

But let's face it, teachers are humans too, and there are only so many hours in the day!

So, it's been so long that I actually had to go back through the archived posts and see what I've already written about.  Let's face it, I started this blog in 2011, and in the edtech realm, that's an eternity!  So long, in fact, that this tool has changed names since I started using it years ago.

LessonPaths (formerly Mentormob) is a cloud-based tool used to create playlists of websites, documents, images, and quizzes.  With an available Chrome extension, Lessonpaths makes it easy to gather materials on a specific topic, or for a specific student with the click of a button.

Here's a sample playlist:


Create your own Playlist on LessonPaths!

This particular example is where I keep my "Brain Breaks" for easy access.  Most of them are YouTube videos, which are particularly easy to organize and access with LessonPaths, but the advantage that YouTube playlists don't have, is that I can also add blogposts from other language teachers whose Brain Breaks might need more explanation, so I save the whole page for reference.  I can add links to Google Docs -- my own or others', images, or even create quizzes and articles, although I don't use those features very frequently (read:  at all).

I think of LessonPaths as a simplified internet filing cabinet that is student accessible.  I have playlists for subtopics, cultural points, individual students -- basically whatever comes along that needs quick organization and quick visual access.  Students like that they can move through the steps at their own pace, see what's ahead, and even skip steps that they may not need -- great for differentiation!

Give it a try, and let me know what you think!

Mme