Formative Assessment & Technology

J2 Training

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What is Formative Assessment?

  • Gives teachers information to drive instruction
  • Provides ongoing feedback
  • Helps students identify their strengths and weaknesses
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Formative Assessment Tools

Drawing Option in Quizizz

Quizizz now has a Draw option for quizzes and lessons. You can provide an image or a blank background for the students to draw on. Note: The best way to view student results is through the Results option in your Teacher Dashboard.

Gimkit

Gimkit was created by high school students and is similar to Kahoot! and Quizizz, except the students play for “money” instead of points. The free version allows you to have 5 Kits (games) in your account. The paid version allows for unlimited Kits and edits and includes other features. You can create your own Kit by typing in the questions and answers or you can upload questions from Quizlet or a CSV file.

The Pro version is $59.88 a year or $7.99 per month. School and bulk discounts are available.

Gimkit includes a library of Kits from users.

The free plan offers unlimited access to the currently featured modes. Gimkit Pro (the paid plan) offers unlimited access to every mode, no matter what. Gimkit Pro Exclusive modes are limited to 5 players if you are on the Gimkit free plan.


Let's give it a try! Open gimkit.com/play and enter the code on the screen.

Quizlet Live

Quizlet includes a program that turns your flashcards into a live, multi-player, review game.
Let's give it a try!
  • Open quizlet.live.
  • Type in the code the teacher has given you.
  • Type in your name.
  • Quizlet Live will assign you a team. Find your teammates and get together.
  • Wait for the teacher to begin the game.


Individual Mode

Quizlet recently released Individual Mode. Your students can now play this game even if they are not physically in the same room.


Silent Quizlet Live

Don't let your students move into their groups or talk during this game style. They have to rely on the others in their group to know the answers!


Quizlet Live Relay Style

We love Quizlet Live, but playing Relay Style really makes it exciting. The devices for each team are all placed in one location. Students on a team line up and only one person at a time can go to the devices and answer a question. Once a question has been answered, the next student goes to the devices and answers the next question. Watch this video to see how it in action!

Quizlet Match Game

Quizlet is great for students to use for learning and studying words/definitions, facts, etc. A favorite activity is the Match option. Students race against the clock to match terms and definitions by dragging them on top of each other to clear the screen.

After you select a flashcard stack, click Match from the column on the left.

Flipgrid

Flipgrid is a video response tool that is used to create discussions among all students within your classroom. Teachers post a topic or question via text or video and the students respond to the prompt. Flipgrid also gives students the ability to comment on their classmates' responses.

Key Features:

  • All of your videos are located in one location.
  • You can Freeze a Topic to continue sharing the videos but prevent new recordings.
  • Student comments can be turned on or off.


Examples:


Ideas/Tutorials/Blog Posts:


Flipgrid also has a Shorts Video Camera that allows you to create short, stand-alone videos. Check out this blog post for info!

Flipgrid Fliphunts

A Flipgrid Fliphunt is an engaging way to get your students moving and having fun while exploring the curriculum. It is basically a video-based scavenger hunt using Flipgrid. Follow the creator of Fliphunts, Kathi Kersznowski - @kerszi.

  • You can find Fliphunts by subject area at this community crowdsourced grid.
  • Also, search the Disco Library (at the top of your Flipgrid page) for Fliphunts!


Examples and Ideas:


Blog Posts:

Padlet

Padlet is a virtual wall/bulletin board that allows students to create a sticky note to express their thoughts on a common topic. It can also be used as a collaborative tool like the activity in the Google Slides section. Padlet allows us to post text, links, images, and a wide variety of files including video.


Padlet Formats:

  • Shelf - Posts can be sorted into a series of labeled columns

  • Canvas - Move posts around free-form style
  • Collaborate and assess with Reactions. Grade, star, upvote, or like posts - a simple way to give quantitative feedback. Read more about Reactions here.

  • You can now highlight text in your posts.

  • Categorize posts with Colors. Customize your posts one of five colors. Learn more about Colors here.

  • Seamlessly link your pages to an LMS. Learn more here.

  • Matt Miller from Ditch That Textbook has published this article,

    20 useful ways to use Padlet in class now.


Padlet recently released Timeline and Maps formats.

Here is a quick tutorial for Timeline and here is a quick tutorial for Maps.

Examples:


Other Padlet Examples:


The Biggest Flipgrid Ever

Kristina A. Holzweiss (@lieberrian) created this amazing Flipgrid activity. Students open the Padlet and select a country or U.S. state. They open Flipgrid and record a message spotlighting a landmark, historical site, or museum. What a great way to learn geography, history, culture, and more!

Open the link and choose your location. You will be directed to a Flipgrid Topic.

bit.ly/padletworld

Nearpod

Are you ready to learn something new?

Nearpod is an engaging presentation tool that allows students to be actively involved in the lesson. Nearpod also gives teachers the ability to assess learners’ understanding throughout the lesson using multiple types of activities.


Are you ready to learn something new?

  • Open nearpod.com.
  • Click on the Enter CODE button.
  • Type in the Code the teacher gives you.
  • Wait for the teacher to begin.

Nearpod also has an App for most devices!

Socrative

Socrative is an online student assessment tool that works on any Internet-connected device. The site includes the ability to administer a quiz, play a game, or give an Exit Ticket.

  • Go to socrative.com.
  • The room number is football.
  • Wait for the teacher to start the quiz!

EdPuzzle

EdPuzzle allows teachers to choose or upload a video and customize it by and add questions to create an engaging interactive lesson.

  1. Open EdPuzzle.com.
  2. Click Login and select I’m a New Student.
  3. If you do not have an account, select Sign Up at the bottom of the screen. (no email required). You can fill in the info or sign up with your Google or Edmodo account.
  4. Click Join.
  5. Type in the Code the teacher gives you.
  6. Click Join the Class.
  7. Choose the Blue Start Button under the video.
  8. Click the Play button to begin the assignment.

That Quiz

Use That Quiz to create online customizable quizzes to allow students to practice skills and determine strengths and weaknesses. That Quiz is especially good for math classes, but it does have activities for science, geography, foreign language, and vocabulary.

For directions on how to effectively use That Quiz, check out Mathy Cathy's Blog post.

Screencastify

The Screencastify Chrome Extension is a great way to allow students the ability to demonstrate and create visually with their voice. Stella Pollard wrote this blog post about using Screencastify in different subject areas.


Screencastify Example:


Other Video/Screencasting Tools:

Google Forms

Google Forms are easy for teachers to create and they allow timely feedback from the students. What a great way to show student growth!

Poll Everywhere

You've probably used Poll Everywhere in a workshop or with your students, but have you seen the results posted in a word cloud? Get your phone out and discover this neat feature!

Read more about using word clouds in Poll Everywhere here.

AutoDraw

AutoDraw lets you turn your doodling into art! Use this Google whiteboard tool to draw your best picture of something and the machine learning algorithms try to figure out what you are attempting to draw. It then matches your doodles, squiggles and lines with drawings in its database. The possible matches will be displayed in a list at the top of your drawing canvas. If you like one of those options, you simply click on it and AutoDraw replaces your drawing with the selected image. You have the option to download or share your picture by clicking on the 2 horizontal lines in the top left corner of your canvas.

This example shows how a student could use text and create an image to show the meaning of 'fiction'.

Google Drawings

Google Drawings has so many classroom applications and this is one idea that can be used in any subject area and grade level.

The following directions are for creating a picture of yourself with 3 different callouts containing a fact about yourself.

  1. Open Drive.
  2. Select New, More and choose Google Drawings.
  3. Change the title from untitled drawing to your first and last name.
  4. Go to Insert → Image and find the picture you want to use.
  5. Select Insert → Shape → Callouts.
  6. Choose one of the callouts.
  7. Drag the callout to desired location and type in your first fact.
  8. Drag the yellow dot (located at the tip of the point) to move the point of the callout.
  9. While the callout is selected, click on the Fill tool and change the color.
  10. Create 2 more callouts for the other facts.
  11. You can change the alignment, font, font size and color, etc. of the text, if desired.
  12. Click Insert →Text Box to add your name to your picture. Drag your text box to the desired location. Change the font and the font size and color so that it is clearly visible.
  13. Go to File and select Download As → JPEG.


Example:

3 Branches of Government


Ideas:

Describe yourself at the beginning of the year.

What was Washington thinking when he crossed the Delaware?

How would you describe a parallelogram?

What are five important facts about an animal cell?

Mentimeter

Mentimeter is great for quickly gauging how well your students are understanding the content. The free version allows you to have 2 questions per presentation.

Blooket

Blooket is an online review game that works in all learning environments. Blooket has different Game Modes to choose from. There is a free version or you can view the pricing structure and/or upgrade your account at blooket.com/upgrade.

Bingo Baker

An oldie, but a goodie. Bingo Baker can be used on any device, any subject area and any grade level. There is a free version and a paid version, which is $24.95 for a lifetime. Let's play Bingo!

bingobaker.com/play/1478532

Thnglink

Thinglink - Putting It All Together

Thinglink makes pictures interactive with text, images, videos, and links and will work on any device. (WEB and APP)

Wordwall

Wordwall allows you to create both interactive and printable activities. The free version allows you to create 5 resources, however, you have access to the activities that other educators have created.

When you are on the Wordwall home page, go to the Community tab and search for a topic. Once you find a game you want to try or send to your students, look under Switch Template to see what other interactives are available for that topic.


Click the Share button to send to students.


Examples:

Find the Match:

Quiz:

Match-Up:

Plickers

Don't have enough devices for all students? Then Plickers might be the tool for you!
You only need the Plickers app downloaded on one IOS or Android device to scan the student responses. Let's try it out!
Check out lots of info on Plickers here.

Flippity

Flippity allows users to create an online Jeopardy-style game show quiz.

Click here to take a Flippity Quiz.

Flippity also has a flashcard module that uses Google Spreadsheets to build the cards.

Stick Pick

The Stick Pick App ($3.99) is a powerful tool that displays “question stems” that are uniquely tied to each learner’s cognitive or English language ability level.

And More Info on Formative Assessment!

Other Tech Tools for Formative Assessment

Connect With Janet and Joan

Email: j2training@yahoo.com

Twitter: @corderj @joangore

Website: j2training.org