Plickers
Grades K-12
Big Idea
Plickers lets you poll your class for free, without the need for student devices. Just give each student a card (a “paper clicker”), and use your Android smartphone or tablet to scan them to do instant checks-for-understanding, exit tickets, and impromptu polls.
Click here to download the Plickers app https://plickers.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/212065128-How-to-Download-the-App
Click here to download the Plickers cards https://plickers.com/PlickersCards_2up.pdf
Directions
Steps For Integrating Plickers:
- Go on the website and create a teacher account on plickers.com.
- Choose the tab labeled classes at the top of the page and type in your class roster. It will assign all your students to an individual plicker. You can add additional classes and students later as well.
- Choose the tab on the website labeled cards to print out the students plickers. I strongly suggest printing the cards on cardstock so that they are more durable. Also, I do not suggest laminating the plickers because it will be hard for the tablet or smart phone device to recognize the cards due to glare. Plickers are printed in sets of two to a page, so you will need to cut the page in half. If you teach at the elementary level, I suggest adding the child’s name and the multiple choice letters on the back of the plicker so that students can easily identify their answer.
- Choose the library tab to create questions. Responses can be either in multiple choice or true/false format. Select the correct response(s) for each question and click the tab labeled add to plan below each question to attach it to the appropriate class you have already created.
- If you have a computer connected to a smart board, projector, or apple tv in your classroom and are connected into your plickers account. Then, select the live view tab on the website to display the question and answer choices for the students. Beside the question will appear a full screen tab and another small button with an arrow that allows you to hide the response panel.
- When students are holding up their plickers to answer a question, you will need to take your smart device, choose the plickers app, select the question you wish to use and scan the room by selecting the camera button which will appear at the bottom of the screen. You will see the name of the child and their individual response for each question selected located at the top of your screen on the smart device when their response has been scanned. Also, a bar graph will appear so you can view the whole group data as well. The number of participates scanned is also provided to make certain that all students have responded.
Here is a excellent tutorial video by Blair Lambert to walk you through the Plickers website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zye3fyKl65c.
When to use
Strategy Variations
Students can also read a story at home then write questions with multiple choice answers. I have students write different types of questions then I add them to plickers for the entire class to answer. Students like to see their questions and it shows the teacher the type of questions the students are capable of writing.
Social Studies: Identify Causes and Outcomes
One of the major learnings about Social Studies is that different things affect outcomes. After learning about a war or particular time period, assess students’ thinking by asking which part of what they learned do they think was the biggest cause? a=event, b=person, c=setting, and d=other
Science: Predict or Hypothesis
Set the stage for a lab or experiment and then do a quick check to see what students think will happen. After the lab, you can check to see how many people were correct or incorrect which will allow for a more informed discussion.
Math: Discussion Facilitation
Instead of using Plickers in math for one multiple choice question after another, why not start a math conversation by asking a question like: