Today I want to share some awesome technology tools with you...
One
of my favorite tools to share with teachers is class quiz games. These are great for formative assessments and
a good way to help students review before a test… like those SOLs that are
coming soon! There are several great
ones out there in cyber land, each with different options and capabilities so I
don’t really have a favorite. It truly
depends on your content and purpose in deciding which one is best. I also like to change them up just to give
students a variety. Below is a quick
overview of four quiz games and then a chart comparing them.
Socrative: This one has been around for a few years, so
it’s an oldie but a goodie. I like that it
allows for several question types (multiple choice, true/false or short answer)
and that quizzes can be projected and teacher paced or assigned for student
paced. When student paced, they can even
skip a question and come back to it before submitting. The team game mode with Space Race is a fun
way for kids to review. All students
play on their own device and it randomly assigns them to teams. One pro of Socrative is that it’s a great
system when needing longer questions.
Kahoot!: Students love Kahoot! This is more fast-paced as students only have
a maximum of 30 seconds to answer and more points are awarded for correct quick
responses. Questions and answers do not
show on the student device. The
questions are projected and students answer on their device by choosing the
correct color block that corresponds to the answer. It’s a competitive game since students see
their rank among their peers as they play and the top 5 point leaders are shown
after each question. This game is only
for multiple choice questions and works well with facts or quick computation,
such as addition or multiplication facts. Team play is new and has just been
added. I also love that you can search the public Kahoots and edit ones you
find for your own needs.
Quizizz: Quizizz is a little newer on the scene and is
very similar to Kahoot! One main difference
to Kahoot! is it can be teacher or student paced and you can set longer than 30
seconds for each question. Another key
difference is students see the questions and answers on their device so this
game doesn’t have to be projected.
Questions can also be randomized.
Quizzes have the “homework” option which will keep games open for up to
2 weeks. There are several options with
this system including turning off the timer and leaderboard which encourages
students to take time and not to race through a question.
Plickers: Plickers is a great alternative if you don’t
have student devices available. Each
student gets a printed card with a QR type code displayed. A question is projected and students hold up
the card and rotate it in the correct direction for their multiple choice
answer. The teacher then uses a mobile
device (phone or tablet) to scan the cards around the room and collect
responses. After scanning responses, the
teacher shares a graph of the results for discussion.
All
of these quiz games are a fun and engaging way to review. Below is a chart that compares them. Click HERE to download the pdf version of the chart.
Have
fun playing!
