MuseForJews

Behrman House Technology Tuesdays – Plickers

I’m so excited that I’ll be sharing links and information about great mobile apps with Behrman House Technology Tuesdays subscribers! Click here to subscribe to this free email.

Here’s the article about Plickers that came out this past Tuesday:

(cross posted from Behrman House Technology Tuesdays)

The Technology: Plickers iOS App and Website

is a terrific iOS app that provides instant formative assessment (meaning you can get feedback mid-lesson) without using student response devices. All you need is a set of Plickers cards for your students, and one iOS device (iPad, iPod or iPhone) for the teacher. The app and registration is free.

The name comes from paper + clickers… Get it? Plickers.

Setting up your class:

1. After you’ve signed up for an account and logged in, download the cards you want to use from the website. The standard size prints two cards per letter-sized sheet (that size worked well for the fifth graders with whom I tested this). For younger students, you might want to print the cards out full size. Do consider printing the cards on card stock, but only laminate if you have matte laminate. Otherwise the glare will impact the scanning function.
2. Set up your classes on the website. You’ll have to add students manually and assign them to cards (each card is numbered).
3. Create questions. You can create questions, save them, and then add them to classes at a later date. Questions can’t be open-ended – they need to be multiple choice or true/false. (And, yes, you can type in Hebrew on the website.)

With your students:

1. Introduce them to Plickers by handing out and examining the cards with them. See the letters A – D, one on each side? That’s how you answer a Plickers question: be sure that the letter you want to choose is at the top of the card when you hold it up.
2. Open the Plickers app on your device and tap on a question.
3. Ask your question and instruct the students to hold their cards up to answer.
4. Here’s where Plickers does its magic: stand in the front of your room and use the scanner (it’s the camera icon) in the app to scan the cards. The scanner will read the cards and provide data in real time. It tells you which student is giving you which answer – instantly!

To use Plickers, sign up for a free account. Then download the app.

In Your Classroom:

• While I love technology, I also love when there’s a low-tech solution! This is a terrific way to get instant feedback without having to deal with student devices and the inevitable glitches that accompany them. We’re talking about cards, here – there’s nothing lower-tech than that.
• This is a lovely way to find out who doesn’t “get” something without having to put your students through the potential embarrassment of admitting it. Nobody can see what card someone is holding up.
• Not only do you get real-time data, but you can also go back to the Plickers website later to get archived data to review later. There is some very powerful information there.

December 5, 2014 Posted by Tktchr | Technology Tuesdays | mlearning, plickers | Leave a comment