Snorkl

The Snorkl community is full of educators creating amazing lessons. Every month, we highlight and highlight one of our most special teachers. This month's featured teacher is Jeff Holton, a teacher at Turtle Rock Elementary School in the Irvine Unified School District in California . A 10-year veteran teacher, a master of combined classes Mr. Jeff has ten years of teaching experience, eight of which he served as an EdTech Mentor at his school, where he explored new educational technologies firsthand and shared effective practices with fellow teachers. He has taught students from second through fifth grade and particularly enjoys teaching blended classes. Through group rotations and feedback routines using Snorkl, Mr. Jeff has created a classroom culture where students, from struggling freshmen to gifted students, are encouraged to slow down, think critically, and explain their reasoning. "Our students are truly diverse." "Because the school is right next to UC Irvine, we have professors' children and graduate students' children. It's also a Title 1 school, so we have a really diverse socioeconomic background. I have 35 students in my class. Of those, 13 are barely fluent in English, eight are gifted, and the rest fall somewhere in between." Mr. Jeff says establishing a solid routine early in the school year is key. Once that foundation is established, faster, more in-depth lessons can be taught later in the year. Snorkl, writes like this Mr. Jeff doesn't use Snorkl in just one way. He uses it flexibly depending on the situation. Using the Snorkl library : With a one-and-a-half-year-old at home, there are days when I suddenly miss school. By utilizing the library's pre- and post-class review activities, I can immediately assess my students' learning progress without any additional preparation. Analyzing the data allows me to quickly determine whether retraining is necessary or if I can move on to the next level. Utilize supplementary learning time : Incorporate Snorkl into your school's supplementary learning time to allow students to create their own assignments or bring in textbook content and interact in a different way. Descriptive Answer Feedback : This is one of Jeff's favorite ways to use it. When studying for a social studies test, instead of grading students with a 1-4 score, he sets Snorkl's expected standards for their answers. When students enter descriptive answers, they receive feedback that guides them toward the correct answer, rather than directly telling them the correct answer. "There are so many cases where there's more than one right answer. I think Snorkl's greatest strength is its ability to provide immediate feedback on each student's interpretation." The turning point In fact, Mr. Jeff wasn't initially enthusiastic about Snorkl. He tried it a few times last year, but he said it didn't really impress him. A turning point came this year while serving as an edtech mentor. While coaching a new teacher who was teaching a mixed first-grade class for the first time, the teacher showed me a Snorkl example. The first-grade curriculum included a "counting from 1 to 100" lesson, and she had students record themselves counting using Snorkl. The platform automatically highlighted errors (where numbers were skipped or where things got confusing), allowing the teacher to pinpoint areas for instruction without having to listen to each of the 35 students' recordings. "It was a simple activity, but at that moment, it felt like the final piece of the puzzle had fallen into place. From that moment on, the possibilities for Snorkl were completely unlocked." Since then, Mr. Jeff has been intentionally incorporating Snorkl into his classes at least twice a week. The Secret to Class Management: Rotating Groups by Level

Have you ever watched a student's hands as they solve a math problem? The muttering sounds of their pencils, the marks of erasing and rewriting. The student's true thoughts are captured in those moments. Snorkl is a platform that records this process, analyzes it with AI, and provides feedback. Snorkl Core Features Draw the problem-solving process on the whiteboard and record the explanation. When you submit, the AI ​​will immediately grade it from 0 to 4 points. Evaluate the thought process, not the answer Teachers identify common error patterns across the class. Applicable to all subjects including math, reading, and science An idea that began in a remote classroom in 2020. A problem that I couldn't see how students thought about In 2020, John, a high school math teacher in Minnesota, felt frustrated while teaching remotely. He could see if his students' answers were right or wrong, but he couldn't figure out why they were wrong or where they went wrong . Around the same time, I saw some teachers asking students to record themselves solving problems at home and submit them. I thought, "This is it!" My colleague Jeff, a fifth-grade teacher, and I started building a platform where students could record and explain their thought processes. At first, I thought of it as a tool for remote learning. But I soon realized it could be an even more powerful tool in a regular classroom . The first user is his class students About three years ago, John's high school math class became the first in the world to use Snorkl. "Imagine a classroom where 30 students can simultaneously express their thoughts and delve deeply into a problem." The students' response was positive. Some, upon seeing the AI's scores, said, "I'll try again until I get a 4." Others, upon reading the AI's feedback, realized where they had made a mistake and realized, "Oh, I missed that." We continued to improve the platform based on feedback from early students. Now, John has left the classroom to run Snorkl full-time, and the user base has grown rapidly over the past 12 months. How to Use Snorkl: 5 Steps Step 1: The teacher posts the problem. Teachers have two options to choose from:

Key Achievements : Snorkl selected as one of 80+ education ventures funded by NewSchools in 2025 Strategic Investment : Part of a $23 million investment focused on the responsible use of AI to personalize learning and empower educators. Fierce competition : Selected from 1,600 applications nationwide (45% increase from the previous year) Key feature : AI provides immediate feedback as students verbally describe their problem-solving process. It's Monday morning. You've given 30 students a math problem, and now you're grading their answers. You can quickly determine whether your answer is right or wrong. But you can't answer the most important questions: "Why did this student solve it this way?" "Where did they get stuck?" "Did they understand the concept but just make mistakes, or did they fundamentally misunderstand it?" You don't have time to have one-on-one interviews with all 30 students. So you write "Good job" to those who got it right and "Try again" to those who got it wrong, and move on to preparing for the next class. And then you think to yourself, "This isn't what I really want to do..." Where the American education community poured $23 million NewSchools Venture Fund, a leading education investment firm in the United States, announced its 2025 investment targets. It received 1,600 applications from across the country, a 45% increase over the previous year. In this fierce competition, more than 80 companies and schools were selected, with a total investment of $23 million. NewSchools has outlined three clear directions: first, early college and career-based learning directly linked to career paths; second, responsible use of AI to personalize learning and support educators; and third, a school culture where students truly feel a sense of belonging and shared responsibility. Snorkl, one of 80 Snorkl was selected for the second of these three areas, "Responsible Use of AI." Snorkl is a tool that allows students to record and share their reasoning, and AI provides immediate feedback, fostering deeper learning. Here's how it works: Students record their voices and visually express their thoughts on a digital whiteboard. As they solve problems, they speak into a microphone, explaining what they're doing and why. The AI then evaluates two things: not only does it grade the actual answer, but more importantly, it responds to the explanation of how the answer was solved. Students receive immediate feedback from the AI on their explanations—recognizing their unique approach and encouraging deeper reflection. The era of just finding answers is over. This actually makes it more difficult for students to use Google or AI to find answers. They have to explain out loud how they arrived at the answer, which challenges their understanding on a deeper level. Knowing the answer and understanding the process are two different things. Students who get the answer right but don't clearly demonstrate the process will still receive a lower score. This is because it's not simply about arriving at the answer, but about understanding and mastery. Conversely, even if a student gets an answer wrong, they still understand the basics of what was asked of them - so they still get a positive response even if they get it wrong, which helps them move forward with confidence. Teachers' Real Reactions "Snorkl has changed the atmosphere of my math classes. Kids are more willing to take on challenges and don't get overwhelmed when things don't work out." "I love it! The immediate feedback is so powerful, kids come back to resubmit without me even asking."

"It wasn't enough to just show students whether they got the answer right or wrong." High school math teacher Jon Leven wrestled with the same problem in his classroom for a decade. His students possessed a wealth of reasoning power, yet most teaching tools simply required them to enter a final answer in a box. Correct answers were marked green, incorrect ones red. That was it. "How students think, where they approach things creatively, where they get stuck... all that process has disappeared." Jon recalled his school days. He excelled in math, but his classes always felt boring and disconnected. Thanks to the wonderful professors he met in college, he discovered a true love for math and decided to become a teacher. But when he stepped into the classroom, he encountered the same problems. "It was really challenging to create a class that would capture students' voices, encourage creativity, and at the same time lead to practical learning of the curriculum." A turning point created by 250 conversations After teaching for ten years in Las Vegas and Minneapolis, Jon reconnected with Jeff, a former Teach for America colleague. Jeff, now a software engineer, proposed an intriguing idea, and the two spent a year conducting hour-long interviews with 250 teachers. The teachers' response was clear. While they were enthusiastic about students explaining their ideas and demonstrating their work processes, they were skeptical about peer-to-peer feedback. Could a friend watch a video of a struggling student and effectively provide support? It was just then that AI tools began to emerge. It was a coincidence, but the timing was perfect. A tool that captures real thought processes, not a chatbot. Many of the AI tools for students that have emerged since 2021 have been chatbots or text-based. However, Snorkel took a different approach. Students visually express their thoughts by typing, drawing, and annotating on a digital whiteboard. And most importantly—by pressing the record button, they verbally explain their thoughts. "When students begin to speak, metacognition is activated. Their academic vocabulary also improves. Just having to justify their thinking in math or science problems is a powerful learning experience in itself." Interestingly, there's no video. Instead of ceiling fans or blank camera screens, students can focus on their work. Without faces visible, they feel a sense of psychological safety, and they're more willing to take risks and try new things. AI analyzes both the student's visual responses and verbal explanations, providing immediate feedback and scoring. It congratulates students on their success and asks questions to address areas for improvement. And most importantly, students can try again. "The students did it on their own even though the teacher didn't ask them to do it again..." Last year, the average number of attempts for all assignments given in Snorkl was 2.1, meaning that students attempted each activity more than twice on average. "Many teachers say, 'I didn't even ask them to do it again, they just did it.'" One sixth-grade teacher said Snorkel had transformed the classroom culture. Because students practiced speaking out loud, they felt more confident presenting in front of their classmates.

3-line summary The Prosper School District in Texas transformed its classrooms with the AI feedback tool Snorkel, collecting 85,000 student responses in just seven weeks. When students speak or write about their thought processes, AI provides immediate feedback to correct misconceptions and enhance metacognition. It is particularly effective for students with dyslexia, English language learners, and neurodiverse students, and teachers can adjust teaching strategies based on real-time data. The days of carrying a worksheet bag home from work are over. Remember when you used to take home dozens of map-labeling worksheets along with colored pencils? Education expert Holly Clark recalls those days: "We don't have to do that anymore." An even more dramatic shift is taking place in Prosper ISD, Texas. In the first seven weeks of the school year, students described their learning journeys over 85,000 times, and AI provided personalized feedback each time. This wasn't a top-down policy, but the result of teachers' spontaneous enthusiasm. What motivated them? What is a Snorkel?: A Visualization Tool for Student Thinking Snorkl is a platform where AI provides immediate feedback when students explain their learning material aloud or write it on a whiteboard. It works simply. Basic process: When the teacher assigns a question or prompt, students record or write down their thought processes. AI generates feedback immediately upon submission, helping students identify and correct misconceptions. The teacher monitors the overall student response patterns on a dashboard and plans the next lesson. This is why Holly Clark is such a big fan of Flipgrid. "Snorkel is my dream scenario. Instead of having to watch every video of students thinking, the AI gives me instant feedback, and I just have to see the insights." Four types of activities: Whiteboard + Recording: Students write and explain on the whiteboard. Whiteboard Only: Visual Task Focus Audio only: oral response Writing Response: Enter Text "Creating activities isn't complicated," explains Michelle Maple, a secondary education technology coach at Prosper. "There are only four options, so teachers can get started easily." Transformation in the Real Classroom: From Math to Interior Design Mathematics: Beyond the Perimeter Problem to Reasoning

🔥 3-line summary World's #1 Snorkeling Case Study Revealed with 26,029 Responses AI feedback provides personalized guidance and process-centered evaluation simultaneously. Maximize learning completion in a short period of time with a triple feedback system (AI + teacher + peers). 😰 Am I the only one who has these worries? "Class time has been reduced, but progress remains the same... When will individual feedback be provided?" "We need to conduct a process-centered evaluation, but it's not realistically possible to individually care for 30 people." "The gap between the children's levels is so large that personalized instruction is desperately needed..." As a high school math teacher, I faced this desperate situation every day. I was particularly frustrated by the fact that math class time was reduced from four hours to three, leaving me with nothing to do but "cut the progress." 💡 But this one tool changed everything At a recent snorkel webinar in Korea, I encountered a remarkable story. It was about Mr. Lee Hyeon-jun, a teacher at Hyomyeong High School, who was recognized as the world's most prolific snorkeler , receiving 26,029 student responses . "It's not because I tried hard, but because the students loved it so much that they followed along." In this one sentence, I felt the true power of snorkeling. 🤖 What is Snorkel? How does an AI-powered feedback tool work? 1. The core mechanism of the snorkel Submit assignment → AI analysis → Personalized feedback → Resubmit after revision Repeat this process indefinitely to improve the completion rate of the task. 2. The power of the triple feedback system 3. Real-time monitoring dashboard Teachers can see students' real-time progress at a glance. Instantly see who completed it and where it got stuck Tracking individual student attempts and progress

Key points • Create custom activities : Add manipulable objects to the whiteboard, set criteria for AI feedback • Detailed settings options : turn off score/answer display, change feedback language, use anonymous mode • Manage student work : View multiple attempt records, edit real-time feedback, and analyze class insights • Writing tools : Create text-based activities, formatting assignments, and practice language proofreading. • Snorkl Coach : AI interactive learning support, step-by-step hints, and productive difficulty Detailed Guide to Advanced Snorkl Utilization ▢ Step 1: Activity Design - Expanding Thinking Skills Limitations of existing physics problems Simply ending a kinetic energy calculation problem with "substitute your answer into the KE = 1/2mv² formula" only tests your computational ability. Extended Question Design Using Snorkl Add the following questions to the same issue: "Which of the given measurements is not required to calculate kinetic energy, and why?" "Predict and justify how the kinetic energy will change if the mass of the block is doubled." "Explain how the law of conservation of energy applies in this situation." This way, each of the 30 students in the class can receive individual, detailed explanations of concepts and receive immediate feedback tailored to their level of understanding. ▢ Step 2: Creating a Whiteboard Interaction Object Setting up movable learning tools Upload your image to the whiteboard After selecting the image, click the "Manipulate" checkbox You can measure by moving the ruler directly on the screen while students record their answers. Practical use cases Math : Demonstrate the process of measuring angles by making a protractor movable. Science : Explaining the experimental procedure while moving the experimental equipment. Language : Drag word cards to form sentences

📋 Summary of Key Points • What is Snorkl? - An educational platform that records students' thought processes through voice and screen, providing immediate AI feedback. • Target Grades - All grades from kindergarten to high school (K-12) • Subjects supported - All subjects including math, science, social studies, English, and Spanish • Core features - Student voice recording + screen recording → AI analysis → Provides instant personalized feedback • How to access - Access snorkel.app from a web browser, tablet, or Chromebook • Account - Free account for teachers 🎯 Account creation and first meeting 📚 Activity preparation and production flow 🏫 Class Management and Assignment Process 🎓 Student activities and recording process 🤖 AI analysis and instant feedback 🔄 Learning Improvement and Re-challenge 📊 Teacher Monitoring and Analysis 💡 Voice recording and classroom use Even if 30 students record simultaneously, individual analysis is possible using AI voice separation technology, and headphones are optional. Most students immediately retake the test after receiving feedback, demonstrating a strong sense of ownership over their work, which includes audio. 🌐 Various activity types and applications Reading Fluency analyzes pronunciation and intonation in a voice-only mode, writing activities support everything from grammar corrections to longer essays, and world language lessons provide feedback specifically tailored to oral practice. All activities go beyond simple correct answer checking, focusing on developing students' thought processes and explanatory skills.

📋 Key Summary • What is Snorkl ?: An educational tool where students describe and record their thinking, and AI provides instant, personalized feedback. • Key features : Integrated voice recording, screen capture, and visual tools (drawing, highlighting, and text input). • Areas of application : All subjects including math, science, English, world languages, social studies, and reading fluency. • Teacher benefits : Real-time learning progress monitoring, automatic grading, and class-wide insights • Student benefits : Immediate feedback, repeated learning opportunities, and practice using academic vocabulary. 🔄 Workflow using Snorkl Step 1: Teacher Preparation Step 2: Upload and configure your content Step 3: Student Activity Progress Step 4: Teacher Monitoring and Evaluation Step 5: Collaborate and Share 📚 Detailed guide for specific use cases 🔬 Science Lesson Example: The Water Cycle Setup process: Copy existing worksheet to clipboard Create a Whiteboard Recording activity Paste the image to the whiteboard AI automatically recognizes the following elements: Evaporation: Up arrow Condensation: Cloud formation in the sky Precipitation: Arrows falling from clouds Runoff, Infiltration, Groundwater

📋 Summary of Key Content • Presenter : Megan Mitchell (6th grade teacher, ABC Unified School District, 15 years of experience) • Key Topic : Real-world examples and effects of utilizing the Snorkl AI platform in math classes • Learning Objectives : Removing learning barriers with voice, drawing, and multilingual support Supporting learning by connecting student voice and mathematical reasoning Improving student confidence and self-efficacy through mathematical thinking • Key Outcome : All 32 students achieved a score of 3 (Excellent) or 4 (Outstanding). • Special case : A student improved from 1 to 4 points in 12 attempts. • Educational value : Aligned with UDL (Universal Design for Learning) principles and mathematical practice standards 🔄 The process of change in the educational field ❌ Problems with existing classrooms ✅ Changes after introducing Snorkl 📈 Learning Progression Stages: 12 Challenge Stories 👤 Student background Initial State : "I don't like math, and math doesn't like me." Problem : Strong negative perception of mathematics 🎯 Development process Step 1: First Attempt (1 point) Step 2: Attempt 8 (Improved Understanding) Step 3: 12th attempt (4 points) 🤖 How the AI Coaching System Works 📝 Feedback method