Newsletters 2014-15 Focus newsletter, [3] spring | Page 3

PREPARING STUDENTS FOR LIFE

PAGE 3

‘Turnitin’ software helps students write better papers
With more than 600 pages of students’
papers set to roll onto her desk over the next
few weeks, Colleen Dhennin looks back to
the days she’d need boxes to carry all the
papers from her car to her home in order to
begin grading essays.
Now, those essays are as light as a “cloud,”
said Dhennin, an English 11 teacher at Anoka
High School (AHS).
Thanks to Turnitin.com, English teachers
throughout the Anoka-Hennepin School
District are finding new ways to provide
feedback, review submissions, work with
students and compile proper citations using
the new software.
“It’s definitely been a big change,” said
district technology facilitator Tom Skoglund,
who helped bring the software on board for
high school teachers a little more than three
years ago.
“If you look at just the most basic instruction, students can respond immediately to
something a teacher does to their essay out
on the cloud,” he said. “All they have to do
is log in, check their paper and see what
changes need to be made.”
In that sense, Turnitin is more of an instructional software, even though it has a much
different reputation. One of the main features of Turnitin is an “originality check”
feature, which compares a student’s essay
to thousands of other essays submitted
across the country, and particularly within
a geographic region. While that tool is helpful, teachers and administrators say, it’s just

one piece of the puzzle.
“Really, it’s about teaching students how to
cite those sources better within an essay or
report once it’s submitted. It’s not always
about catching plagiarism,” said Holli
Moseman, department lead at AHS and
10th grade English teacher. “Really, it’s an
instructional opportunity. The kids know the
software is there. And yes, you still get a
couple who try to pull off something even
though that work is clearly not their own.
But as they get to see how the software
works, they can see that this is there to help
them, more than hurt.”
And, like everything else, the technology
has made life a bit easier for everyone
involved.
“There are three main pieces to it. The
teacher assessment and review is one.
The originality check is another. And the
third is that students can conduct peer
reviews of submitted work. That’s pretty
important to kids and a step in the process
that sometimes makes them think again
about what they’re submitting,” Skoglund
said. “And for the kids, everything is immediate. As soon as a teacher makes a revision,
it’s there, and the student is notified. That’s
what they’re used to. That’s their world.”
Since its first year, the software has caught
on with more and more teachers in the district,
Moseman said. But seeing the advantages of
having all that paper up in the cloud, rather
than on a dolly truck, is appealing all on its
own.

Holli Moseman, 10th grade English teacher and English department lead at Anoka High
School, uses her iPad to go through an essay with a student via the Turnitin software.

Steve Slavik, teaching and learning specialist for the district’s
language arts department, oversees the 200 to 250 teachers who
use the software the most.
“They [teachers] can use it in the classroom, as well,” he said.
“There’s always an opportunity to take a work and show students,
one-to-one, how to do something better. And the software helps
illustrate that really well.”
The Turnitin program will continue to grow, Slavik said. Middle
school teachers started utilizing the software in 2013, and now
peers are taking over the training process.
“I think next fall you’ll see training geared at both the teacher
who has used it for the last couple of years — unlocking some
the features her or she might not have discovered, and training
for the teachers who are just new to Turnitin. But the users who
are working with it love it, so it’s not going anywhere,” he said. ■

‘Bridge to College’ program puts Anoka High School
freshmen on fast-track to earning college credit
Programs in which students earn college
credit in high school are gaining popularity, and now Anoka High School (AHS) is
getting freshmen ready for that opportunity with a new program that sets them on
the right course.
“Bridge to College” started at AHS this
year. Freshmen are offered a college
foundations math class, which is a threetrimester course of intermediate algebra
that also contains elements of college
foundational skills to help students develop better study skills and habits.
The program targets students in the
so-called academic middle — or the middle 60 percent — who haven’t completely
acquired the skills needed to succeed in
college courses, in most cases.
For a student like ninth-grader Josie
Vessey, it’s made college credit classes —
such as Advanced Placement (AP) and
honors courses, something students normally wouldn’t think about until their junior
or senior year — an option much earlier.
“I think one of the things that I noticed
was that I wasn’t the best studier coming
into high school. My notes weren’t as
strong as they could be,” she said. “And I
think this really gives me the skills I’ll need
not only in math classes along the way,
but when I get to college too.”
Teacher Pat Pangborn, who leads the
intermediate algebra class, said the
three-trimester format has allowed math
teachers to develop a different kind of

relationship with the 350 freshmen
students who are, in terms of the Bridge
program, “in the middle.”
“We won’t really know the full effects of
the program until these first students get
to college, but you can see the impact the
relationship-building has on these 350
kids who are in the program. It’s 350 students we get to know better, and you can
see it in the classroom every day,”
Pangborn said. “And it will increase proficiency in ninth-grade math, and beyond.
These skills they’re learning are applicable
in other classes. Basically, the more kids
you have taking these college courses
while they’re here means more kids going
on to get a college degree once they
leave Anoka, and that’s a great thing.”
Another great thing — with 350 freshmen students getting set for college
credit classes via Bridge to College, and
another 200 already at or above college
level — it means the vast majority of
AHS’s nearly 600 freshmen will be prepared for college and college-level high
school classes by the time they’re sophomores next year.
An exciting highlight for the Bridge to
College students came in early April,
when a contingent visited St. Cloud State
University (SCSU). It was a first-hand look
at the campus, classrooms, math programs and other important information
that these students will need should they
pursue college credit later on in their high
school career.

Anoka High School college foundations math teacher Pat Pangborn, left, works with
freshmen Natalya Yukhimchuck, middle, and Josie Vessey, on some math homework.

“I think for me it was something I always thought about, and the trip
there just kind of showed it’s a really good option, if you can keep yourself motivated to do it. To see how college works and how a day goes
for a college student was really interesting,” said freshman Natalya
Yukhimchuck.
The Bridge to College program will continue to grow next year, as
AHS adds a similarly structured English college foundations course for
these students in their sophomore year. In years three and four, students who complete the Bridge to College courses will be allowed to
register in concurrent enrollment courses (courses that provide high
school and college credit) through either Anoka-Ramsey Community
College or SCSU.
“Beyond the notes, I think the program just pushes you to think
about college and getting that head start,” Vessey said. “That’s helped
so much.”
And with all of the success with the AHS Bridge to College
program, the district is looking to expand it to Andover, Blaine,
Champlin Park and Coon Rapids High Schools in coming years. ■