Tech Tidbits
Tools, Tips & Tricks
November 2015
Loopty Loo - Looping YouTube Videos
youtubeloop.net OR infinitelooper.com
On these sites you can enter the URL address of the the YouTube video and it will loop right within the window. Both sites will meet your need, but the Infinite Looper site has an added feature that allows you to select a portion of the video to loop.
Dotstorming - Realtime Brainstorming & Decision Making
To start a Dotstorming board, you will need to first create an account at dotstorming.com. You can then Add a Topic - you will need to name the board, create a description, choose the number of votes that participants can cast, and choose how to share the board. Topics can be shared with a weblink or you can send email invitations to participants.
Ideas can be shared in the form of text or as an image. Images can be added to a board by adding a weblink or uploading an image from your computer.
Once images are added, the voting can begin. As the board creator, you can choose to lock the board at any time which will prevent students from adding more ideas. You can also "Rank by Votes" which will organize the ideas on the board putting the most voted for ideas first. Lastly, there is a chat feature that can further collaboration in the decision making process.
See the video below to see Dotstorming in action.
Quizalize - Another Online Quiz Game Option
Quizalize is an online quiz game similar to Kahoot. Teachers can easily create quizzes with multiple choice or word scramble questions. When creating questions, teacher can also add an image, change the question time limit, provide an answer explanation, and connect to a subtopic. Teachers can also turn on Math Mode which makes it simple to add math equations using LaTax math formatting.
Students will access the quiz by going to quiz.al and entering their name and the code you provide. Unlike Kahoot, students can work their way through the quiz at their own pace, earning points by answering questions correctly and quickly. The teacher's dashboard (which can be projected) will display the 1st and 2nd place contestants.
Quizalize provides both students and teachers great results data. Not only do students receive immediate feedback as they answer each question, but when they are done with the quiz they can also see their whole score and how they did on each question. Teachers can see results at the class level and by individual student or individual question.
The video below provides an introduction to Quizalize.