This post is sponsored by Brisk Teaching
As teachers, we have all sorts of learning resources for our students -- documents, web pages, slide decks, YouTube videos, and more.
Getting students to consume our content -- and understand it -- and know how to apply it?
That's the tricky part.
With Brisk Boost, it's easy to add an interactive chatbot to a learning resource that will ...
- act as a tutor to help teach students new concepts
- hook students into learning, helping them to see why it's interesting
- help them to explore new topics through inquiry
- debate back and forth with students about new ideas
- ... and more
What is Brisk Boost?
Brisk Boost is an innovative feature of the Brisk Teaching Chrome extension that allows educators to turn any online resource - article, webpage, YouTube Video or Google Doc - into an interactive learning activity for students. This powerful tool bridges the gap between static online content and engaging, personalized learning experiences.
With Brisk Boost, teachers can:
Create interactive activities from any online content
Customize learning objectives
Generate thought-provoking questions
Provide instant feedback to students
Monitor student engagement and progress
Brisk Boost is designed to make learning more interactive, personalized, and effective, all while saving teachers valuable time.
How can Brisk Boost interact with students?
Brisk Boost lets you create interactive chatbots for your students to learn and interact with topics in your class.
Here are some of the roles that Brisk Boost can play related to your resource (document, slides, website, video, etc.):
- Tutor: asks questions and teaches about a particular learning resource
- Hook: grabs student attention and engages them in a topic
- Character chat: have a simulated conversation with a historic/literary character about your learning topic
- Debate: engage students in a debate about information in a learning resource
- Inquiry: encourage students to imagine, explore, and experiment with new topics
- Brainstorm: generate lots of new ideas with students about a learning resource
- Real-world math: solve engaging math word problems with learning content
- Pulse check: check for understanding quickly about a learning resource
- Exit ticket: understand what students learned at the end of the lesson
The chatbot will interact with your students in any of these modes, referring to whatever learning resource you choose.
Example: Brisk Boost to teach mitosis
For example, if your learning resource was an article students about mitosis:
- Use a tutor to ask them questions and teach them about mitosis
- Use a hook to pique their curiosity about mitosis
- Use a character chat to talk to students about mitosis in the style of Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Use a debate to explore which is more important to life -- mitosis or meiosis
- Use inquiry to let students explore their mitosis curiosity with fun analogies and simple explanations
- Use brainstorm to generate ways that mitosis connects to real life
- Use real-world math to connect math to the concept of mitosis for cross-curricular learning
- Use a pulse check to quickly check student understanding about mitosis
- Use an exit ticket to assess student learning at the end of a lesson about mitosis
Here's how the activity would look to students ...
In the image above ...
Section 1 (in red) is where Brisk Boost displays a learning resource for students. In this case, it's an article from Britannica. (You can turn it off if you want students not to have access to it.
Section 2 (in yellow) is the chatbot where Brisk Boost interacts with students. It chats with the students based on the instructions you give it. (And yes, it'll generate a set of instructions for you that you can adjust -- so you don't have to start from scratch.)
Section 3 (in green) shows the learning objectives. As students demonstrate understanding, the green bar fills up more and more ... and Brisk Boost keeps interacting with students to help learn to fill the bar up. (You, as the teacher, can set and adjust the learning objectives for the activity.)
How do I create a Brisk Boost activity step-by-step?
Creating a Brisk Boost activity is easy. Watch the video below or follow this step-by-step guide:
- Open any article, webpage, or Google Doc you want to use as the basis for your activity.
- Click on the Brisk icon in your Chrome toolbar.
- Select the "🎒Boost Student Activity" option in the Brisk menu.
- Choose the type of interactive activity you want to create. Options might include multiple-choice questions, open-ended responses, or guided reading activities.
- Specify your learning objectives and the role you want Brisk Boost to play in the activity.
- Click to generate your activity. Brisk will create an interactive version of your content, complete with questions and prompts.
- Review and edit the activity as needed. You can customize questions, add your own prompts, or adjust the difficulty level.
- Once you're satisfied, click to get a shareable link for your students.
- Share the link with your class through your preferred platform (Google Classroom, email, etc.).
- Monitor student engagement and progress through your Brisk activities dashboard!
10 ways to use Brisk Boost in the classroom
1. Reading Comprehension: Boost an article or chapter with questions that check understanding at various points throughout the text.
Example activities: Pulse Check, Tutor
Example prompt: Create a reading comprehension activity about this chapter from the Great Gatsby
2. Vocabulary Building: Create activities that highlight and explain new vocabulary words in context, with follow-up questions to reinforce learning.
Example activities: Tutor, Pulse Check, Exit Ticket
Example prompt: Create a vocabulary activity about this article/video/chapter. Assess student understanding of these new words in context.
3. Pre-Assessment: Before starting a new unit, boost a relevant article to gauge students' prior knowledge and identify areas that need focus.
Example activities: Hook, Pulse Check, Inquiry
Example prompt: Create a pre-assessment activity about this article/video/topic. Gauge students’ prior knowledge and familiarity with the topic.
4. Guided Note-Taking: Transform lecture notes or presentation slides into an interactive activity that guides students through key points.
Example activities: Tutor
Example prompt: Help students work through these guided notes. Focus on walking students through each blank.
5. Discussion Starters: Boost an article or opinion piece with thought-provoking questions to kick off a class discussion.
Example activities: Hook, Brainstorm, Debate
Example prompt: Create an engaging discussion starter activity about this article. Ask students thought-provoking questions and challenge them to think critically about the topic.
6. Math Problem Solving: Create step-by-step guided activities for complex math problems, providing hints and explanations along the way.
Example activities: Real-world Math
Example prompt: Create a real-world math activity for students. Help students break down problems step-by-step.
7. Science Experiment Analysis: Boost a lab report or experimental procedure with questions that prompt students to predict outcomes, explain observations, and draw conclusions.
8. Historical Document Analysis: Turn primary source documents into interactive activities that guide students through historical analysis and interpretation.
9. Language Practice: For foreign language classes, boost target-language texts with comprehension questions and translation exercises.
10. Differentiation: Use Brisk Boost to create multiple versions of the same content at different difficulty levels, allowing you to meet the needs of diverse learners.
Brisk Boost is a game-changer for educators looking to create more engaging, interactive learning experiences. By transforming static online content into dynamic activities, it opens up countless possibilities for creative and effective teaching.
Whether you're flipping your classroom, differentiating instruction, or simply looking for ways to boost student engagement, Brisk Boost is a tool that can help you achieve your educational goals more efficiently and effectively.
Remember, the key to getting the most out of Brisk Boost is to start with high-quality content and then use the tool to enhance and personalize the learning experience. As with any technology, it's important to review and customize the AI-generated content to ensure it aligns with your specific learning objectives and your students' needs.
By incorporating Brisk Boost into your teaching toolkit, you're not just saving time - you're opening up new avenues for student engagement and learning. So why not give it a try? Your students (and your teacher planner) will thank you!
