Engaging Tech Tools: QuizizzI can't even say enough great things about Quizizz. Another tool that immediately turned me off because of its name. Anything with "quiz" makes me weary. But this tool does NOT disappoint. Quizizz is a tool that allows for teachers to give multiple choice assessments that are fun!
Students love it! Students enjoy it because they can race to the top of the leaderboard by answers questions correctly (and bonus points for answers that come fast - if you turn on the timer!), they have funny memes, and students can do it over again if they aren't happy with their score! Teachers love it! Teachers like it because they can make their own quiz, they can find pre-made quizzes, or they can adopt pre-made quizzes to fit their needs! You can sort these quizzes into collections, assign them to classes with a simple connect code in a live game, or assign as a "homework" option. The homework option is generally my go-to. I keep a quizizz open for a few days to let students work on taking it as many times as they need. Data, data, everywhere! With each quizizz, teachers can access a report that tells you which question each child got wrong to better help with differentiation, creating small groups, and finding common misconceptions! My favorite part of the report? It tells you how long each student spend on each question. Did they fly through it and get 100%? Maybe it was too easy! Did they fly through it and struggle? Maybe students aren't trying their best and giving you their best effort! Did they take their time and still struggle? They are begging for help. Keep students engages, switch it up, and try a quizizz!
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They always say "you'll never be ready". And boy - am I NOT ready. I love being a teacher. It is pretty much defined who I am for the last 8 or so years. But now? I am also a mommy. To a perfect baby boy. So how does one balance both? I guess this year is the year that I figure it out!
So - I am back to school in 11 days. (Writing that out makes it seem so much more real!) The one thing I am most worried about is walking into a classroom that is already established. I work endlessly to build a classroom community at the beginning of the year. But what do I do now that their classroom is (hopefully) already a community? I wanted a way to reach my students. To start to get to know them BEFORE I am back in the classroom. So, today I sent out postcards. I want to learn who these kiddos are. What they like about school. What they DON'T like about school. And mostly, I really want to know how I can make this year even better for them. Fortunately, they already have 45 days of school under their belt. 45 days of good things. and 45 days of bad things. So I'm giving them the space to share it with me. And of course, that space? Is flipgrid. Engaging Tech Tools: QuizletWhen I first heard of quizlet... I was instantly turned off. I don't like the name. QUIZlet? ehh... sounds more like opportunities for testing to me. But then I looked into it. Woah. The things you can do with quizlet! Read below for a few ways to use quizlet in the classroom! Teacher Made Study Sets Do you need students to study flashcards? Practice matching? Quizlet is a tool for you. Search for already created sets made by other teachers, or create your own! You can import via word, excel, google docs, etc, OR make them right on quizlet. Student Made Study Sets Do students have a quiz coming up? A big test? Encourage your students to take ownership over their own learning by allowing them to make their own study sets! Students can match terms with definitions or images. Students have 6 options on how they want to study to learn. Once they feel like they've mastered their study set, students have two options to play! Play Quizlet Live Want to embrace game based learning? Well here is a great start! Quizlet Live engages even the most hesitant students. Not only are students beyond excited to play Quizlet, it encourages healthy competition and productive collaboration! First, I have students study the chosen study set. You can make your own, study set or search quizlet for a premade set. Studying before playing helps students be prepared for the game, and allows for individual learning. It also helps students that are more likely to get anxious about the game, feel more comfortable and prepared. Next, students will log into quizlet live using a 6 digit code. They give their name, and wait for the teacher to begin the game. Once it has begun, students are put into teams. Everyone in each team is given the same question, but only ONE student has the correct answer! It is a race to the finish! Students have SO MUCH fun! It is collaborative! Competitive! and such a blast! Disguised learning at its finest, Engaging Tech Tools: Prodigy
You want to get students engaged in math? Prodigy was my answer.
Prodigy is a game based math program that students beg me to play! Set-up Prodigy is free and doesn't require any work from your IT department to set up! Adding Students If your students already have accounts, they can simply log in and connect with your class. If students do not have accounts, you have two options: students can make their own accounts (better for older students - my 5th graders did this just fine!), OR you can make accounts for your students. Students that make their own accounts Placement All students will be automatically assigned a placement test at the beginning of the year that is aligned to your curriculum. As students log in and begin playing through their placement test, you can monitor their progress. Playing Prodigy Once it is time to play, you have several options. The first option is that students can free play. This allows students to play at their placement levels. Next, you can align students on one of three paths: 1. an assignment of specific questions you want them to answer 2. assign them to a standard, where students work through an assigned skill at their own pace, and will drop down to pre-requisite skills if they need practice 3. assign students to a test prep that helps prepare students for a standardized test. See the video below to take a peek at what prodigy looks like for students. Monitoring Progress Prodigy also allows teachers to monitor the progress of their students based off standard, or question. As students play Prodigy, data will collect and inform you of things, such as which skills your students are struggling with, how much of the curriculum they have covered, or how much time they have spent on prodigy at school, or at home! I urge you to try prodigy. If you are hesitant, give it a week. Your kids will be begging you to do math! Learning should be fun, because #kidsdeserveit. The backstory on my Twitter history:
I remember coming into Crane three years ago, as a first-year teacher, energized. I was ready to bring my new ideas here and change the teaching world, one transformative lesson at a time. Then the real world hit, and I realized, I had maybe 2 good, unique ideas. And the rest? Everyone else was already doing that. Not that it necessarily means those ideas that everyone else was doing were bad. But I had first-year teacher syndrome, and I wanted to be different. So I was always eager to attend district PD with the dreams of learning something new and walking away with some life-changing ideas that I could transform into life changing lessons. Then, the real world hit again. And come to find out, Fred Jones Training and Mastery Teaching, while beneficial, didn’t quite offer me what I was looking for. So off I went to the most trusted place I knew of at the time, google search, and I hunted down conference after conference. I was getting tired but still energized for new ideas. So I traveled to different places, learned from new people, and I still felt like I was grasping at straws. I could never find that one thing that I was looking for. It had to be out there somewhere, and I wasn’t going to fund teachers pay teachers for it either. I believe that ideas should be shared and not sold. So in comes the second year of teaching and My principal, Jamie, asks me a question that I could never repay her for: “Holly, are you on twitter?” So I, of course, laughed. Because what could twitter possibly teach me about education? Well, it turns out, that some of the brightest minds in education love twitter, use twitter, and share on twitter. Teachers use twitter to share, collaborate, and inspire others and it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. Since joining Twitter, I've become an educator that I never imagined I could be and it isn’t because I’ve come up with brilliant ideas. It is because I have a network of educators in my corner, every step of the way. When I have a crazy idea (and I do have crazy ideas), my PLN is there to help justify my fears, push my ideas to better places, and validate my efforts and failures. I’ve met some of the most amazing educators, people, and friends through twitter. They are my educational advisors, and I wouldn’t be the educator I am today without them. So why aren’t we all doing the same? Personalized PD is there for teachers every day, every hour, and every minute. Why waste more time? 2017 Crane PD Each year I am a bit hesitant to provide PD for my district. I am a young teacher, and I feel that young teachers have to earn their place at the table. But with the constant mental reminder that "Yes, I do belong here", I continue to push for my district to be more connected with the world outside of Yuma, AZ. See my resources below. Feel free to use, modify, share. After all, #teachershelpteachers. Resources Twitter Away Keynote Twitter Resources Staff Twitter Bingo A few days back I began my preliminary research on my summer PD that I will be presenting. Now, everyone who has planned and taught their own PD knows it can take a lot longer to plan than the originally thought. (Not that I am the PD master; last summer I presented my first PD, to a group of 10 teachers. Max.) However, it does take significant work to prepare for these things.
Last summer, my focus was on Coding in the Classroom. However, this summer, the focus is on Twitter as personalized PD: "Twitter Away!" Now, don't get me wrong, I think twitter is the single best resource out there for teachers. But to fill 2 hours with information trying to convince (please read as: beg, plead, urge, implore) people to use twitter on a weekly (if not daily) basis to grow their PLC and learn more about education and best practice, isn't an easy task. I'm trying to be prepared for the pushback: I've heard about twitter on CNN from the President. It just isn't going to work for me. I can only write 140 characters? I can't. Do I have to share everything I had for dinner? That's what twitter is for. But I'm prepared (well, more like hopefully, by July 24th, I will be prepared) to rebuttal concerns with full force enthusiasm. Do you have anything that you think I should share that is crucial?! Please share with me as I prepare. :) I appreciate you! Holly |
AuthorHolly Mecher. ADE. Runner. Life-long lover of books. Google Certified Educator. Archives
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