5 Super Cool Tech Tools

So I started the year with good intentions of blogging about transforming my classroom into a student-centered one, but things didn't go as planned. I always question if I should write about a certain topic or not. I procrastinate until it seems too far past the event to write about it. Life and teaching keep me occupied. And low and behold, the job (blogging) never gets done. However, every new day is another chance to conquer some goals! Right?! So here I am diving back in.

I have attended some great conferences this year and have learned about some fabulous new techy tools that I have implemented in my classroom. I figured if I can make good use of them and love using them in my classroom, then there's bound to be others who could benefit from these as well. Here's a few favorites (new and old). If you have student devices in your classroom, you MUST look into these engaging sites! Hit me up with any questions you may have about any of them.

Quizlet LIVE! 

Almost every classroom has some sort of vocabulary words that students need to work on learning and repeating. Quizlet allows students to practice at school or on their own time. You can add words, definitions, pictures, etc. Side note: I do recommend you think twice about having pictures with the definitions. Maybe even make a set with pictures and one without. I have found that my students will learn to memorize what the picture stands for and not always learn the actual vocabulary term and definition. So even though I love to add pictures for a good visual, I try to keep them to a minimum so that I know students are truly learning the meaning of the words.

If you have explored Quizlet, do not overlook Quizlet LIVE! My students LOVE playing Quizlet Live! In a nutshell, the computer randomly groups students (easiest way), students sit with their teams/small groups, and then play a challenge game against the other teams in the class to see which group can match up the words and definitions the fastest. This is always a great review of terms at the end of a unit, after a long break, and at the beginning or end of a week to recap what was learned.

Kahoot

Many people know about Kahoot. It is a student response website where the question is posted on the board/projector, and then answer choices are found on student devices. Students must make the best (correct) choice, click on their answer, and then watch to see who advances on the class leaderboard. They do love challenging each other on this site! While Kahoot has made some great improvements, one of the downfalls is when you play Kahoot together in class, students who are slow readers seem to always fall behind, which can be very discouraging. All students must work on the same question at the same time. So students with a slower processing speed lose out on raising their ranking and get fewer points. I recommend teachers keep this in mind while using Kahoot and perhaps read the questions aloud to help even the playing field. Or perhaps, check out these other two awesome sites that fix this issue in particular! 

Quizizz

Perhaps also another "oldie" student response system, but "goodie" is Quizizz. This site has also made some great improvements over the past year or so. It integrates very well with Google Classroom and quizzes can be assigned to students and excellent feedback is provided to the teacher about how students perform on various Quizizz's. I like that this website allows students to answer questions at their own pace. They do not have to all watch the screen to see the question. Questions and answer choices are all visible on the student devices. There are also some fun memes between answering questions that keep students smiling, laughing and fully engaged. 

Quizalize

This website is one of the newest ones I have learned of and my students (2nd-6th grade) absolutely LOVE this site. Its a whole new take on student response systems. And it gives some variety. Students can compete on teams (computer generated) against each other, or there is a basketball game view in which students who get the answer correct, "hit" a basket and those who get it wrong, "miss" a basket. They love seeing their name go across the screen and shoot a basket after they answer a question. This site also gives some good individual student data so the teacher can see which students are struggling and which questions they are all collectively struggling with the most. I also love that students can start and advance at their own pace on this site. They do not have to wait for their classmates to move on or for the teacher to start them all at once. You can assign multiple quizzes for students to take and you can vary the types of questions you ask as well. They do not have to all be just multiple choice. Quizalize quizzes can be played together live in class, or they can be assigned as homework. This is definitely a current fan favorite of mine and my students. Be sure to check it out! 

Flipgrid

Last, but certainly not least for this evening is FlipGrid. Take student responses to a much higher and very engaging level with Flipgrid. Instead of typing out their answers, students can record a short (up to 1 minute and 30 seconds) video of themselves responding to a prompt assigned by the teacher. Some kids are a little hesitant to try this at first, but they often all seem to come alive with the sharing. They also love that they can take a picture of themselves after they record the video and decorate it up with fun emojis and pictures. Students who struggle with typing or writing out their thoughts are brought to more of an even playing field here where they can simply explain their thoughts verbally. Definitely check into integrating FlipGrid into your classroom! I've even found that some adults have enjoyed using FlipGrid to respond to others as well. :) 

With any luck, this update will not be my last for a long time, but instead the beginning of more greatness to come. I LOVE sharing things that help me in hopes that they will help others as well. So I hope to use this little blogging space to help me share what I find with others. 

But for now.... sleep is calling my name. Goodnight all! Hit me up with any techy questions you may have! 

Emily

elibbert@blairoaks.org