Quick assessments using Plickers

Are you looking for a way to quickly assess students and get an idea if they comprehend a topic or not?   Do you have a smartphone or tablet?  There is a free app called plickers that is used on the computer and a portable device.  Students have an assigned card with a graphic that is read by the device.  It records responses immediately to do a check for understanding.

I really feel this is a simple and easy way to do a check for understanding in a class.  The response is quick and immediate and the prep work isn't too intense.   You start off making a question and determining the correct answer.  Then you load the question into your plicker and share it with the students on the screen.  Kids hold up a card that is assigned to them and the responses appear on your device and are stored on the web.   I tested it with my class and it was so easy to use.

I can see this being used for not only a check for understanding or an exit ticket but also as a way to have kids to surveys.  You can create 4 potential topics and ask the kids to vote.  It's simple.  I like how fast the responses come back to you and how easy it is to use. I would recommend giving it a shot.  It's a great tool for the classroom.

Using Kahoot in the classroom

One of my staff members has been very busy using an app to keep her students engaged.   I had the chance to use it myself, at a conference over the summer, and I can see why kids enjoy using it as a review tool.

It's called Kahoot and it is a free website taking place of that old school powerpoint we had back in the day, but it is very interactive.   Have you ever gone into a restaurant and played the question and answer game with the people around you?  You get a question and it times down adding more info as you wait until you ultimately see the final answer?  That, my friends is Kahoot!


Kahoot allows for question/ answer creation in the form of multiple choice.  Teachers can input questions that relate to the specific topic and it generates an online quiz.   The audience chimes in via their phones, computers, tablets, whatever.  They simply get a code for the kahoot you are using and join in.   The game launches and it runs through.  Teachers get instant feedback from student responses.   The timer ticks down once the question starts and the first to answer wins the most points and it goes down to the last respondent.  The final results determine the winner.

A few of our teachers have been using this with a great deal of positive results.  The kids love it and the teacher is getting very quick feedback about what needs re-covered and what is mastered.  It is a quick and easy tool to use.

Using Kahoot in the classroom

One of my staff members has been very busy using an app to keep her students engaged.   I had the chance to use it myself, at a conference over the summer, and I can see why kids enjoy using it as a review tool.

It's called Kahoot and it is a free website taking place of that old school powerpoint we had back in the day, but it is very interactive.   Have you ever gone into a restaurant and played the question and answer game with the people around you?  You get a question and it times down adding more info as you wait until you ultimately see the final answer?  That, my friends is Kahoot!

Kahoot allows for question/ answer creation in the form of multiple choice.  Teachers can input questions that relate to the specific topic and it generates an online quiz.   The audience chimes in via their phones, computers, tablets, whatever.  They simply get a code for the kahoot you are using and join in.   The game launches and it runs through.  Teachers get instant feedback from student responses.   The timer ticks down once the question starts and the first to answer wins the most points and it goes down to the last respondent.  The final results determine the winner.

A few of our teachers have been using this with a great deal of positive results.  The kids love it and the teacher is getting very quick feedback about what needs re-covered and what is mastered.  It is a quick and easy tool to use.

From the Archives: Kwik Survey for the classroom

In my attempt to use and evaluate tools on the web, I went into my polling symbaloo and tried a few.  Kwik surveys was my favorite.   The main reason, it's free and unlimited.  You can create as many surveys as desired and it doesn't set limits like survey monkey.  You can build several different formats of surveys for use both in the classroom setting as well as in the corporation setting.  You can build a quick sample survey without an account as well.  It just gets deleted as soon as th





e browser closes.

First




off, create the free account.  Immediately, once you login, you receive a page that is formatted to fill in with titles, descriptions and questions.  I made one for myself to just see what it was like.  I asked a few short text box questions, a few multiple choice, and there were many other options to use.

I have been a huge fan of google docs forms to create my surveys, but I really think I am going to change my toon with this site.  I love the fact that I can embed images, videos, audio directly into the survey.  I haven't figured that out with forms on docs. As a foreign language teacher, using embedded devices benefits my students and my classroom.

A few wonderful things, aside from embedding, you can delete surveys but are required to input your password and you can duplicate a survey for a different class.  So, let's say you need a test for your students in first hour and third hour. You duplicate and voila, the results are collected per class and separate.  I also like how it builds graphs with data for all questions asked.  With so many data driven administrations these days, that is a huge benefit.

How can I see it used?  Let me count the ways:

1. Pre/Post testing- I can see a teacher who is required to do a pre test and a post test use it to compare the results and show growth.  It would really benefit teachers who don't teach a core class that is being evaluated. (I am talking about new rules in Indiana here, but I know some other states also base pay on student growth as well).

2.  Exit/Entrance slips Have the students take a really quick survey at the start or the end of class to see their understanding of the concept.

3. Pop quizzes Students can enter class and take a quick pop quiz to test content.

4. Class officer voting If your school has the capabilities of allowing students to access email, send the link to all of the kids in the respective grades and vote for class officers.  Saves time tabulating.  Generate a form for each grade and make a mailing list. You could use it to vote for homecoming queen, prom queen, etc as well.  Just have the link on the back of the ticket to the dance, they log in, vote, voila.

5. Climate surveys On a corporate level, I can see a school district having teachers, students, and community members use it for a climate survey.  Maybe a technology awareness survey.  A lot of information can be learned asking the community as a whole.

6. Book Reviews Have students answer questions about books, add the statistics to a blog or to a website so students can see the data.

7. State book awards.  I know Indiana has book awards where students read books and vote for them.  You can establish a survey for the books, have students take the survey for each book and let the program tabulate the results.  That way, when the final tabulations are due to the state, you just go on the site and count.  You could create a QR code for each survey and attach it to the book. The survey could be as simple as the title of the book, the author and a 1-5 rank.

8. Survey on blog You could do a poll question on your blog about something you are doing.  Maybe about an upcoming movie based on a book.  Maybe about a book... Lots of possibilities there as well.

My mind is still racing with ideas to use this, but the ideas above are a good start.

Kwik survey has lots of possibilities

In my attempt to use and evaluate tools on the web, I went into my polling symbaloo and tried a few.  Kwik surveys was my favorite.   The main reason, it's free and unlimited.  You can create as many surveys as desired and it doesn't set limits like survey monkey.  You can build several different formats of surveys for use both in the classroom setting as well as in the corporation setting.  You can build a quick sample survey without an account as well.  It just gets deleted as soon as th































e browser closes.

First






























off, create the free account.  Immediately, once you login, you receive a page that is formatted to fill in with titles, descriptions and questions.  I made one for myself to just see what it was like.  I asked a few short text box questions, a few multiple choice, and there were many other options to use.

I have been a huge fan of google docs forms to create my surveys, but I really think I am going to change my toon with this site.  I love the fact that I can embed images, videos, audio directly into the survey.  I haven't figured that out with forms on docs. As a foreign language teacher, using embedded devices benefits my students and my classroom.

A few wonderful things, aside from embedding, you can delete surveys but are required to input your password and you can duplicate a survey for a different class.  So, let's say you need a test for your students in first hour and third hour. You duplicate and voila, the results are collected per class and separate.  I also like how it builds graphs with data for all questions asked.  With so many data driven administrations these days, that is a huge benefit.

How can I see it used?  Let me count the ways:

1. Pre/Post testing- I can see a teacher who is required to do a pre test and a post test use it to compare the results and show growth.  It would really benefit teachers who don't teach a core class that is being evaluated. (I am talking about new rules in Indiana here, but I know some other states also base pay on student growth as well).

2.  Exit/Entrance slips Have the students take a really quick survey at the start or the end of class to see their understanding of the concept.

3. Pop quizzes Students can enter class and take a quick pop quiz to test content.

4. Class officer voting If your school has the capabilities of allowing students to access email, send the link to all of the kids in the respective grades and vote for class officers.  Saves time tabulating.  Generate a form for each grade and make a mailing list. You could use it to vote for homecoming queen, prom queen, etc as well.  Just have the link on the back of the ticket to the dance, they log in, vote, voila.

5. Climate surveys On a corporate level, I can see a school district having teachers, students, and community members use it for a climate survey.  Maybe a technology awareness survey.  A lot of information can be learned asking the community as a whole.

6. Book Reviews Have students answer questions about books, add the statistics to a blog or to a website so students can see the data.

7. State book awards.  I know Indiana has book awards where students read books and vote for them.  You can establish a survey for the books, have students take the survey for each book and let the program tabulate the results.  That way, when the final tabulations are due to the state, you just go on the site and count.  You could create a QR code for each survey and attach it to the book. The survey could be as simple as the title of the book, the author and a 1-5 rank.

8. Survey on blog You could do a poll question on your blog about something you are doing.  Maybe about an upcoming movie based on a book.  Maybe about a book... Lots of possibilities there as well. 

My mind is still racing with ideas to use this, but the ideas above are a good start.