Thursday, February 6, 2020

Plickers

 plickers
"Today we are going to use Plickers!"  My students looked back at me with confusion as I passed out barcodes with A, B, C, and D labeled around the outside of the code.  Basically, Plickers uses a QR/Barcode system for students to submit answers to multiple choice questions.  The awesome thing is that by using an app on my phone or other device, I can quickly sweep the room and conduct a fast formative assessment.  The immediate feedback allows me to alter my instruction to meet the needs of my students. 

Plickers is FREE and you can print the cards.  If you want more durable ones, plastic cards can be ordered on Amazon.  With a free account you can ask up to 5 questions at a time (in a PowerPoint type slideshow).  If you want the ability to do more, you can pay a small monthly fee.

This amazing post by Laura Candler gives many different innovative ways that Plickers can be used in the classroom. https://www.lauracandler.com/innovative-strategies-for-plickers/

It's Been a While

One of the last blog posts I made was about a BIG MOVE to middle school after years of teaching elementary school.  Well, another big move has recently occurred and I now find myself teaching middle school in a small charming charter school.  With this small school comes very little access to technology.  This can be a wonderful thing as it really makes me analyze what resources were just taking up time and which ones were absolutely valuable to the way my classroom functions.  With that being said, I am going to begin to focus on how to BEST use technology in a school with little technology.  Stay tuned!