Last week, Kim, Melissa, Rachel K, John, and Holly gave an awesome presentation on Socrative, which I learned is a tool that can create formative assessments. I assumed this tool would have something to do with questioning, as it is named after Socrates. Rather than a tool that just allows one to create questions in a quiz format, Socrative gives teachers the opportunity to create engaging quizzes, polls, and exit tickets to use with their students.
This group presented the information clearly and in a logical order. By immediately giving us a "do now" assignment to answer several questions about the University of Michigan, they engaged us. I was very proud of myself that I managed to get all four questions right (go me!). Next, they walked us through what Socrative was and how it could be used. I found that providing us with the opportunity to create our own questions was useful to me because it gave me firsthand experience so I will be able to do this quickly if I decide to use it in my own classroom. I think allowing high school students to get used to the tool by creating their own quiz questions would be helpful as well because it gives them the opportunity to make mistakes and ask questions before using the tool to actually answer a graded quiz.
One feature of this tool that I think students will especially enjoy is the Space Race function, which allows teams to compete to see who gets the most questions right and also provides information on which team finishes the quickest. If this tool wasn't already engaging, I think this function will motivate students to do well and work efficiently. However, one issue that I could see arising in a high school classroom is students just randomly guessing to finish first and "win." One way this could be combated is deeming the winning team the team that gets the most questions correct, rather than the team who finishes first. Alternatively, the teacher doesn't have to show the class the team standings in real time.
I really liked how visual this tool was, what with the colors and the animations (like the rockets). Socrative can also be accessed on smartphones, so if a teacher allowed students to use phones for school work during class, this could be one way to use the tool. Since many schools are allowing cell phones for work related purposes, I think this would be feasible.
Since Socrative allows one to create multiple choice, true/false, and open-ended questions, I think this tool could be immensely useful to a high school teacher trying to get a sense of where the class is at so he or she can modify future lessons, as well as to assess students on material that was just presented. I would absolutely TRY to use this tool for these reasons in my future classroom! However, I am still grappling with the idea of allowing students to use cell phones in the classroom, so if I were to use this tool I would probably want them to use school provided laptops.
For now, I might just stick with Google Forms because it seems a little simpler to use.
April, you provide a very comprehensive analysis of Socrative that I would absolutely agree with, especially your last comment about Google Forms. Socrative certainly has some neat features, but I also would rather operate from Google Forms. However, I do think the one unique feature of Socrative, as you mention, is the Space Race. It adds an element of fun to the otherwise anxiety-inducing task of quiz-taking. I think your idea to reward the team with the most correct answers with the title of winner is a great idea! Hopefully this would solve the problem of rushing through the quiz and put some of the emphasis back on the content embedded in the quiz. Again, a great idea that I will definitely use if I ever decide to use the Space Race feature of Socrative!
ReplyDeleteApril!
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you liked Socrative. And I'm happy you thought we did a good job in our presentation. But most of all it is great to hear that you got all four questions right on our U of M quiz. Go April! Reading your post and Kim's comment, I formed a thought about these Tech Tools we have been teaching each other about, which has been gestating in my brain for a really long time. It is this. We may not truly appreciate what these tools are good for because our thinking about using them has generally been done in the artificial environment of the Teaching with Technology Classroom. I suppose I shouldn't overstate this, but I feel that a real understanding of these tools will come when we go to solve a problem in the classroom. (And many of us already have I'm sure). Then we will see these tools differently.
Arpil, you captured Socrative very well! I agree with you, I am still thinking about implementing the use of cell phones in the classroom but I think this can also be done in a computer lab. For example, when the class goes tot he computer lab to type up their lab report. We can use this time (if your class goes tot he computer lab as well) to include some quick quiz questions that will check their understanding of the lab. For example, honors biology is currently working on their lab report that they did on plant growth and within that experiment they also learned about photosynthesis. Photosynthesis has to be included in their lab report so a quick check in with questions would help them review and help us (my mentor teacher and I) see where the students stand in terms of understanding the concept.
ReplyDeleteApril, I thought the Socrative was so cool! I also thought the Space Race functionality was an interesting concept, although I don't know how thoroughly we covered it in class and so I am still wanting to know more. To tell the truth, I couldn't remember the name of this site but I remembered all the cool functions integrated into it so I went down the list and googled all of the technologies we went through this semester just to find this one! The only worry about Space Race I have is that it stresses the importance of being fast, which while important in some instances, I hate to stress too much because of testing stress or other anxiety that it could produce. Obviously, mixing this in with other quizzes that you could produce would be a great way to find a healthy balance within the classroom between stressing speed (needed for ACT bleh) and content strictly content knowledge. I also think this would speed up the grading process, which is the absolute worst, even if I don't have that much multiple choice type of assessments.
ReplyDelete