Plickers - The EASY alternative to Clickers

Last week I came across a blog post over at Who's Who and Who's News, about Plickers, an iPad app that gives you the immediate results we love with clickers, (or student response system), without all the front-end planning. I was so excited after doing some research, that I could not wait to try it out, which I did  before the week was over, and it worked great. One of the things I like best about Plickers is that only the teacher needs a device, the app is available for andriod phones or the iphone (the iOS app also works on the iPad.) The plickers are actually a type of barcode that you print out for each student at the Plickers website. At the site you create a class and assign a numbered Plicker to each student, each side of the figure is labeled with A, B,C, or D.  There are 40 unique plickers, and you can reuse the same sheets with multiple classes, because you will assign them to students in each class separately.

This is a plicker

When you open the app you chose your class and add questions and the correct answer. This is what I found easiest, since students are not answering questions within the app, you do not have to add the whole question, you could just put the number or maybe the objective that it addresses. You can provide students with the multiple choice questions in the same way you normally would, on paper, as a PowerPoint, or even projecting them using a document camera. Students will answer by holding up their Plicker with the correct answer choice on top of the figure. Then you simply scan the room as if you were taking a video with your Smartphone or iPad, Plickers will record each student's answer and show you a graph of how many gave the right (and wrong) answers.

This is what you see on your device

 It also provides you with exactly how many answers are recorded and which students, so you can quickly catch any you might have missed on the first scan. When I demonstrated it in a 4th grade class, it took only 2-3 questions before we were able to record most of the students' answers on the first pass. The teacher loved being able to quickly assess who understood the concepts so she could move on and which ones she would need to go back and review again. You can see the results in the app or at the website on your computer. The video below shows you how you would scan and the device will record the answers.

As the school year is quickly coming to an end and many of you are preparing students for end of year tests, this is a quick and fun way to see what students know without having to pull out the red pen and check all those practice tests. You and your students will get immediate feedback with little hassle. I know at this point in the year it is hard to get excited about adding one more thing to your bag of tricks, but I really think Plickers is worth checking out.

Augmented Reality Made Elementary

Last year at the NCTIES Conference I learned about Aurasma, an Augmented Reality App. It is an application that allows you to make any image or object your target and then use your mobile device to bring that target to life. Similar to QR Codes, you can link any video or webpage to the target, but with Aurasma the target is more meaningful to the message. The application was created for business , and lends itself to advertising quite well, but at the conference they presented some great ways to use it in education also. This app has been floating around in the back of my mind for a year, and while I have thought of some cool ideas, I haven't yet found an opportunity to use it in the classroom. I think the whole idea of Augmented Reality is great, and I really want to use with students. Well this week, while reading the A Meaningful Mess, a really great blog that you should check out, I found out about an augmented reality app that I can use with elementary students. ColAR App lets you print out coloring pages, for students to color how ever they want and then using a mobile device you can bring the picture to life. Check out the demo video below to see how it works.

How fun for students to see the picture of the Hot Air Balloon, Bird, Dragon, or Butterfly come to life. I couldn't wait to download the app and try it out, (I still love to color, especially with a brand new box of crayons.) Andi McNair at A Meaningful Mess, had a great plan for using as an introduction to a creative writing lesson with her students. I showed it to our Art teacher and she immediately got excited about the possibilities of using it in a lesson to compare and contrast 2 dimensional and 3 dimensional objects. I can't wait to get started planning and co-teaching a lesson with her. Technology and Art what a fun combination - I am in heaven!

The app is free to download in the Apple Store or Google Store, and at the website you can print out the coloring pages. There are nine coloring pages that are free, and two other picture packs that cost $2.99 each (purchase through the app.) I think there are so many ways that this could be used to help students express their creativity, and each picture they create can be the beginning of a wonderful new adventure. I hope you will try it out and leave me a message how you could use it in your classroom.

It has been awhile since I have posted and I regret that. Over the last few weeks I have found a number of great apps that I want to share but I never seem to get around to actually posting the information. I am not doing so well on my New Years Resolution!!! Well, it is starting to feel like Spring is on the way here in North Carolina, so I am going to start over and with the dawn of a new season, find the time each week to share a new technology tool or resource with you. The days are getting longer, so I should be able to find the time now, right?

Since it is Mondays and my goal was to have Math Mondays, I want to share  a great program I found called Thinking Blocks.

This program allows students to solve math word problems by first modeling the problem and then actually solving it. The program is set up in way that they must complete each step correctly before moving on. There are four categories of problems a; Addition/Subtraction, Multiplication/Division, Fractions, and Ratios/Proportions. Each category has six different levels, and then a random problem generator. Students can keep track of their progress to see how many problem sets they have completed in each level. Since this is free game that is part of Math Playground, students do not log in, so progress is not tracked for individual students. Instead it is logged on the computer, so if different students use the same computer it will keep track as if it one student, this is the only drawback. As each student begins a session they can reset the progress, and you could have them keep track of their individual progress in their notebook.

With the new Common Core Standards, students are expected to have a deeper understanding of the material and be able to explain how they solve problems. Thinking Blocks provides manipulatives that allow students to visualize the problem and how to solve it. Each set of problems also includes a tutorial of how to solve the problems. This program is recommended for elementary and middle school students, but I could see it being used with Algebra I/Common Core I students, who are struggling. There are two step equations and equations with multiple operations. There is also a grid with all the elements so that students could solve problems from a workbook.  I think the program would also lend itself nicely to be used in whole group instruction with an interactive white board.

In addition, there are free Thinking Blocks apps for the IPad that work really well. Each category of problems is a separate app, so you only need to download what you are focusing on. I hope you enjoy exploring Thinking Blocks and please let me know if you use it with your class how it works out.

Happy New Year

January always brings the promise of new opportunities and adventures, although I always feel a bit of a let down after the fun and excitement of the Holidays, I try to focus on things I  want to accomplish in the new year. I am not good at resolutions, well I take that back, I am great at making them but not so good at following through. This blog is part of what I am looking forward to accomplishing this year. I want to add new content on a regular basis, but it is so easy to get caught up in other activities and forget. So for now I am going to focus on one new post per week and see how that goes. I have also decided to try to stick to a theme because I need to have a focus for my posts. So I am going with Math Mondays and Fun Fridays! I may not post every Monday and Friday but I will do my best to alternate and provide a wide range of resources.

Since today is Friday I will start the new year off with a fun site I found called Game Goo, (even the name sounds kinda fun.) Game Goo has a variety of educational games that build literacy skills for elementary students. The games are broken down into beginner, intermediate and  advanced levels, instead of by grade levels. Scrolling over the name or icon for the game will show what skill it targets. The games are colorful and fast paced with crazy characters and lots of sound effects. Each game begins with an introduction that demonstrates how to play, but is not too long, so students get into the action quickly. On the home page teachers and parents will find a description of each game along with  a the Standards it addresses and the grade levels it targets.

While students are enjoying the silly characters and the challenge of successfully completing each level, they also build early reading and listening skills which are essential building block of literacy. The games can be used to help students learn or reinforce skills, and since the instructions are easy to follow, once students have reached the site they can work independently. Each level is short so the games are engaging and maintain the students interest. Try it out yourself and see if it something that you can use in your classroom.

My challenge to you as we begin the new year, is to try one new activity each month with your students. I know how hard that can be, especially with all the mandates we are trying to meet every day in our classrooms, but this is your opportunity to have some fun and spice up your lessons. Just remember the kids love to try new things so let them be your guide, they will surprise you with how much they know.