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.

Formative: Collecting info in a different way

For many of us in education, we are often in search of new and fun ways to assess kids to see if the material we covered that day stuck.  There are several web 2.0 tools out there to do this, poll everywhere, todaysmeet, kahoot, but, I found another site that also can be used to collect data and information but, it is done a little bit differently than the other sites, as it allows interaction and doodling.  It's called Formative.

Formative is set up a little like Kahoot, where the teacher creates a panel of questions (or even just one question) and sends the kids a link to a question, survey, short answer response, etc.  It saves all of the questions within the site so you can reuse them year after year.  The site also establishes a data summary so you can check and see understanding.

One of the components I appreciated was the capability of making classes within the site.  I feel that is an awesome aspect of the site.  It can help aggregate data even better by comparing classes to each other, gauging needs of different levels.  I can help a teacher do differentiation.

I decided to try the site out with my yearbook staff.   I added a photo of a student at the fair and ask the students to caption the photo.  They received 5 points for doing so.  I think I am going to start doing this for a daily starter.  There are hundreds of yearbook photos out there.  If they caption them together, we can get several done with good captions!

Mentimeter to poll students

I attended a webinar that had participants answer a few survey questions using a program called Mentimeter. I checked it out to see if it was comparable to something like Poll everywhere. I liked it, but I don't see it being something I would use frequently.  Mentimeter does allow you to create a poll and select options for the answers. It is an instant response, you can see everything people select on a screen as soon as it is submitted.  It can be used with a cell phone or with a computer.  With a cellphone, students can use their browser, input a code and select the answer.  The same can be done with a computer browser as well.  It is a free service.

The positive if Mentimeter, the number of respondents can be unlimited.  The negative, you can't save surveys.  On sites such as poll everywhere, you can create an account and save your polls, you just have a limited number of responses available.  Mentimeter responses are only choices.  Participants cannot fill in the blanks, so if you are looking for ways to get more than a yes, no, or a multiple choice answer, don't use the program.

Mentimeter has a page with ideas for use developed for teachers. Responses are anonymous but there are several things you could use this tool for.

Quick exit slips:  Have students do a poll to see what they understood from class that day.
Topic polls:  Perhaps you teach a class where the kids have a say in the content.  You could survey students to see the next step.
Yearbook surveys: If you sponsor the yearbook, like I do, you could do a survey to gather responses for a page.
Warmups:  Have a survey ready upon arrival and require students to answer them to see if they retained prior knowledge.
Predictions:  If you teach an English class and are reading a specific title, you can have students guess the outcome of the book or predict what is happening next. 

The Mentimeter site offers a few more ideas for use.