Thing 4: Online Quizzing & Student Response Systems

Welcome to Thing 4!

One of the best ways to integrate technology into your work with students is to leverage their mobile technology. You may have seen student response system clickers (they're like little remote controls that a school has to purchase), or maybe you've seen online quizzing demonstrated at a conference, etc. Tools like these allow you to instantly gather feedback for formative assessment, opinion polling, classroom competitions, review sessions, and more. In Thing 4, we will be exploring two of the best free online examples: Socrative (we will be looking at the new 'beta' version of Socrative) and Kahoot!.

Socrative

Socrative has been around for a while and is a favorite tool for many teachers. It is straightforward, simple to use, and does not require students to have their own accounts. Students navigate to a URL (beta.socrative.com), enter their teacher's "room number", and are immediately ready to take the quiz using the web browser of their personal mobile device (iPad, smartphone, laptop, etc.). Results are immediate and are displayed on the teacher's screen. Quiz types include Single Answer (multiple choice, T/F, short answer) or Quiz-Based (self-paced or teacher-paced quizzes, exit tickets, and space race group game). You can even download responses for later review!

Here is a great tutorial video:



Also, for all you pinners out there I found an entire Socrative Media Pinterest board with all sorts of additional Socrative tutorials and resources!

Kahoot!

Like Socrative, Kahoot! is a tool to administer real-time quizzes, surveys, and to start discussions. Its interface is bit more game-like than Socrative's, and you can share "Kahoot!s" you've created with other people, but otherwise it is fairly similar.








Here is a quick tutorial to get you started:

TO COMPLETE THING 4:

• Sign up for a teacher account at Socrative. ***Note: this link (beta.socrative.com) is to the "beta" (new) version of Socrative, so if you have people take your quiz, make sure they use this beta link (instead of just going to socrative.com)
• Do a test run, as recommended by Socrative when you first sign up. You will need 2 devices (eg. computer + laptop, laptop + iPad, etc.)-- one of which will be the "teacher device" and one will be the "student device." Alternatively, grab a friend and have them be your "student", using their own device. You could also use 2 different browsers on the same computer (eg. Chrome & Firefox) Practice using different types of questions (multiple choice, T/F, short answer), creating quizzes, and having your "student" complete exit tickets.
• Optional: try using Socrative with students. Maybe with a whole class, or even just with a few students who can help you test it out.
  -------------------------------------------
• Sign up for an account at Kahoot!.
• Play the Kahoot! quiz I created: http://goo.gl/JwFamx
• 1. When you first go to my Kahoot quiz, you have to sign in with your account. 
  2. Then click "Start Now". It should then give you a PIN number. 
  3. Open a separate tab and go to "kahoot.it". Type in the PIN and a nickname for yourself, then click "Join Game"
  4. Go back to the first tab and click "Start Now" (you should see your nickname). You will see the question and 4 color-coded multiple choice answers.
  5. Go to the second tab and click on the color of your choice to answer each question.
• Respond to this Kahoot! discussion: http://goo.gl/1DcJUw
• Take this Kahoot! survey: http://goo.gl/M0cDsX
• Create a quiz, discussion or survey (or all 3) and paste the link into your blog post.
• Optional: try using Kahoot! with students. Maybe with a whole class, or even just with a few students who can help you test it out.
• In your "Thing 4: Online Quizzing & Student Response Systems" post, reflect on your experiences with Socrative and Kahoot! Which did you prefer? If you tried them with students, describe your experiences. Will you use one or both of these tools in the future?
• Comment on 2 other participants' posts (any post is fine). Choose participants on whose blogs you have not yet commented.