How do I get started with this data in my classroom?
The best lesson that I learned from my graduate classes is to just dive in. You will never know what works or doesn't work with your specific group of students until you try it. Today I am going to explain two ways that I use analytical technology in my classroom.
What the heck is analytical technology again?
The eLearning Industry defines analytical technology as "methods and tools for analyzing large sets of data from diverse sources aiming to support and improve decision making." Simply put, it is any tech resource that you use to help you collect data to drive your classroom instruction.
But Mrs. Fogiel, there are so many resources out there, which do you choose?
I wish I had the magic answer for you, but it really comes down to trial and error. Ask your teaching partners, ask your colleagues, ask your administrators. Which ones have worked for them and which ones have flopped? I find that different subjects and different grades all use different things. I know that the english teachers in my building really love to use Quizlet and Quizlet Live. Don't ask me how to use that because I could not figure it out for my math classroom. (but p.s. they love it for english!)
One website that really clicked for me and my students is quizizz. For those of you that know me, know that I talk about it all the time. But that is because my kids love it so much. Even today, I had two different students ask me why we haven't used a quizziz in "forever" (and its only been 4 days). With Quizizz, I can make different versions for different students, and I can either assign it for homework or play it live in class. The way that I use it for collecting data is for my students to see immediate feedback. We will play through a quiz and they will see their score, their percent correct, and their rank in the class. After the quiz is over (when it is a live quiz) they will then have all the questions pop up on their screen so that they can check through and compare answers with their partners. In my class the students use this as motivation. They will ask themselves what did I do well? What types of problems do I need to work on? and this drives their own personal goals for the upcoming lesson. At the end of that lesson they are able to take the same quiz again and see how they have improved. The students really appreciate the immediate feedback, and it helps me with collecting that behind the scenes data as well.
Another resource that I use in my classroom is one that goes along with SMART notebook for my SMARTboard. So if you do not have one, I am so sorry. This is call SMARTlab and it is a built in feature on notebook. SMARTlab is an awesome add on that takes seconds to create and implement in the classroom. You set it up on your notebook for the class, and the students all sign in to classlab.com on their on device. They enter a code and boom ready to go. This is a quick way to collect data and get a feel for how the students are working in your room.
What the heck is analytical technology again?
The eLearning Industry defines analytical technology as "methods and tools for analyzing large sets of data from diverse sources aiming to support and improve decision making." Simply put, it is any tech resource that you use to help you collect data to drive your classroom instruction.
But Mrs. Fogiel, there are so many resources out there, which do you choose?
I wish I had the magic answer for you, but it really comes down to trial and error. Ask your teaching partners, ask your colleagues, ask your administrators. Which ones have worked for them and which ones have flopped? I find that different subjects and different grades all use different things. I know that the english teachers in my building really love to use Quizlet and Quizlet Live. Don't ask me how to use that because I could not figure it out for my math classroom. (but p.s. they love it for english!)
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| student's quizizz score |
Another resource that I use in my classroom is one that goes along with SMART notebook for my SMARTboard. So if you do not have one, I am so sorry. This is call SMARTlab and it is a built in feature on notebook. SMARTlab is an awesome add on that takes seconds to create and implement in the classroom. You set it up on your notebook for the class, and the students all sign in to classlab.com on their on device. They enter a code and boom ready to go. This is a quick way to collect data and get a feel for how the students are working in your room.
In SMARTlab, you are able to the export the data out to a spreadsheet for easy collection and analysis. This is a great tool to use if your students have a one-to-one device because it cuts back on paper exit tickets or checks for understandings. You are also able to "hear" for each person anonymously so if you have students that are not a big fan of sharing out in class, they are still able to participate without talking out loud in front of everyone.
Hopefully you are able to try one of these awesome resources, and let me know which ones work best for you in your classroom setting!
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Quizzizz sounds like something my fifth graders may enjoy! Do you use this as an instructional tool or a tool for reviewing content? Also, is it similar to Kahoot?
ReplyDeleteHi Erica,
DeleteI tried it today for the first time and it is like Kahoot! but I think I like the data better. The students can move at thier own pace and the questions are on their screen so it is easier for them to respond without squinting to see the board.
Quizizz and Kahoot are very similar. In fact, many times I find the same quiz in kahoot form and quizizz form. The benefit to quizizz is that you can shuffle the questions on students' devices so that they are not all answering the same question at the same time. I use Quizizz as a pre/post check for understanding. I personally don't find it to be helpful as an instructional tool in the math setting. Others might find it works for other subjects though, so I would give it a shot! There are a plethora of subjects on Quizizz to try (I just only teach math).
DeleteFirst I want to say thank you for explaining Quizizz. I feel like people have mentioned it but I have never really knew much about it. During lunch I read your post. I had a few students with me and they told me they had never played it. So I was able to quickly put one together as a review for our test today. I love how the students get to work at their own pace. I think that the data is easy to manage. The one problem I had, though, was that I selected to randomize the answers and it seemed to mix the answers to the questions up. When would you want to do that? It really confused my students and I had to have them take it again. And is there a way to just mix up the responses per a question?
ReplyDeleteyes there is! after you select "play live" or "homework" The large green "proceed" button pops up. Before you click that, there are some toggle options below. One option is to shuffle the questions (which I LOVE) and the other option is to shuffle the answer choices (which is what you don't want). So you can un-check that selection to keep your answers in the same order. One other setting that I sometimes turn off is the question timer. I have students who try to answer as fast as possible to get the most points, but you can turn that setting off so that they are focusing only on answering the question correctly.
DeleteHello Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI will have to check out using a smartlab resource in my classroom. I finally received a smart board in my room this year, but have not had a lot of time to play with it to figure out how I want to use it in my instruction. My first introduction to the smartboard software was in the previous tech ed class. The ability to collect student data while they are answering questions with the smart board from their own device seems like a great feature. Quizzes seems like a great app. Do they offer it for any subjects other than math? Giving the students immediate feedback is critical to success. Having the students able to see how they did in comparison to the rest of the class is a great way to help with motivation. Students are constantly checking what other students received on quizzes and tests to see how they stack up.
I am so excited for you and your journey with your SMARTboard. I am not sure how I could ever teach without one. Quizizz is great and they have pretty much ALL subjects on there. There are also pre-made fun quizizz that we like to use a brain breaks occasionally. There are thousands of already made quizizz to choose from, or you can create your own custom quiz.
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