My first Blog post! Here we go...
This fall I am teaching 3 classes of 10th grade World Cultures. This curriculum was rewritten by myself and my curriculum partner last summer, so we have had a full year of 'Beta' testing up to this point. Since we are still about 2 years away from 1:1 devices for our students, I am forced to sign out the computer lab to put devices into my students' hands.
As such, I have pared down my tech tools for this year. This is partly because of the limited tech, but mostly because my class surveys from last spring hinted (shouted) that there were too many different tech tools used throughout the semester, and that there was not enough time to consistently learn about the tools. So, that means I needed to focus on the tools that my students will use the most AND be the most beneficial. Below you will find the 4 tools that I will be using the most:
First up is EDpuzzle. EDpuzzle is a video quizzing tool, or at least that is how I am using it. I am uploading my Google Classroom roster into EDpuzzle, then I set up classes. As we view videos throughout the course, I can trim them, add voice-over (which I, admittedly, have not tried yet) and add interactive questions. My favorite of the ? tools is a multiple choice question and a comment. I use the multiple choice questions as checks for understanding, and they can receive a 'grade' for them. I can even choose whether or not to allow them to rewatch that section before answering. I also use the comment option just to give them some background or extension information, or to add in a meme. This background information is important because many times the students will be rotating through independent stations, and they might not have a full grasp of the information that they will be studying.
Oh, Quizlet, how I wish I had you when I was in high school! Quizlet is a basic flashcard tool that is SO MUCH MORE than just a flashcard! Yes, you can see terms on one side and a definition on the other, but the ways that you can use this tool in class push the boundaries for 'just vocab'. I use Quizlet to provide my students with the vocab list for a unit at the start, so that we can preview the terms together. As we go through the semester, I can assign a specific task (Flashcards, Learn, Test, Match, Gravity) for students to practice the terms. There is also an option (from the Teacher dashboard) for Quizlet Live. This is my favorite part of the Quizlet lineup, and it is relatively new. Students are split into random or planned teams and have to compete with the other groups to correctly match their definitions to terms first. Basically each group is given a set of terms (let's say 12). The groups members each get the same number of terms, but they are all different. So Group A has 3 students in it, and on their screen they each have 4 different terms. Across the top of their screen scrolls a definition, and the students must decide if that definition matches one of their terms. But it might not! It could be a match for another member of the group. If the correct term is matched with the definition, then the team moves on. If it is incorrect, they have to start over. This can get highly competitive, to the point that I have to laugh and remind students that they are getting worked up over VOCAB! Click on the Quizlet logo above to see a video of some of my students playing a 'Silent' Quizlet Live game. I change up the rules every once in a while and require a Silent round if things are getting rowdy, and that helps to focus some thoughts.
Third on my list is Nearpod. Nearpod is an interactive presentation tool that allows for whole class interaction or student-paced. This allows me to either conduct a presentation with the entire class at the same time, or to create it and push it out to my students (through Google Classroom) for individual and on-demand viewing. This is especially useful as I will have it as a station for this Fall. Students will login to their Google Classroom, click on the student-paced Nearpod link, and be taken directly into the presentation. Nearpod saves all of the data from student logins, so I can quickly and easily review the 'grades' for quizzes and activities that I build into the presentations. What I really like about Nearpod is the VR component. You can use the Nearpod app and take your kids on Virtual Field trips by adding in those components. I am using it more this year, especially for our geography days, by simply 'taking' the kids to various locations as we learn about them so they can get a better sense of the place and surroundings. The student-paced aspect of Nearpod also allows for students who are absent or who might be in a separate setting (pull out classes, discipline issues, college visits, etc.) to keep up with the material they might miss.
Finally, my students have fallen in Love with Quizizz! This is a fun review-style game that combines memes with multiple choice questions (think similar to Kahoot!) We play Quizizz throughout the units as mini reviews, and then also during our in-class review days. What I really like about Quizizz is that you can assign the quizzes as 'homework', so that students have a certain amount of time (days) to take the quiz. All of the scores are ranked, and the students see how they did in comparison with the rest of the class. They can also take it multiple times to review. The questions can be set to shuffle so they don't always remember the answer to #4 is B, for example. The memes after each question make this game really entertaining, and something that the students enjoy using.
So that's my lineup for this semester. Do you have any experiences with these tools? Or do you have other tools that you prefer to use? Let me know in the comments below!
Emily