Our school just went one-to-one this year, and though I’ve been using technology in the classroom for years, I’m finding this year it’s different.
Before, I’d sign out the laptops and have them for a week. This was just enough time to complete a project for students. Technology for project creation… that I was rocking.
But technology for everyday use in the classroom? That’s another story.
Thankfully, these four tools have played a crucial role in my classroom. Instead of letting technology take over my classroom, I’ve been using it as a way to assess student learned daily!
Socrative: Using a unique class code, students can join your virtual class. They can take quizzes, play games like Space Race, and even use an Exit Ticket. My go-to is the Quick Question. As I’m lecturing, giving notes, or reviewing a model, I can pose a question verbally to the class, and click “Quick Question”. The students’ screen will change, allowing them to type in a response using any device. All student responses come up on the board, and I can select whether or not I want to display student names. This is great for creating those teachable moments! Assess right away and address right away!
Padlet: Formerly known as Wallwisher, Padlet is a virtual corkboard. As a teacher, you can create a “board” and send the link to your students. Students simply double click and can create virtual post-it notes with text, hyperlinks, images, and even videos! I’ve used this to help build background knowledge on a topic – it has been great!
Blendspace: I’ve been using this for independent station work or reviews of certain topics. Teachers can create their own “spaces” – a webpage with multiple tiles. Tiles can be text, websites, videos, powerpoints, PDF files, questions for assessments… and more! Teachers can easily find resources for the tiles within Blendspace and students can easily navigate through the teacher’s resources to complete the given task!
Formative: Formative is a tool I just found recently and it’s completely revolutionized classwork. Again, I have a classcode I give to the students. When they log into my class, they can find my assignments and get to work. I can upload PDFs or Word Documents and then annotate them with text, videos, and most importantly, questions. As the students go through the document and answer questions, the teacher screen changes. I can watch every student type their answer to each question in real time – and message them to have a conversation about their work without changing screens! Think of it like watching mini Google Docs on one screen. IT IS AMAZING!
Are there any Must-Try websites you use in your classroom?
Be sure to like and share!
