Student Response Systems

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    Keeping children engaged in school can be a very difficult task. Keep in mind that this child has woken up at 8am, or earlier, and is sitting at either a desk or computer screen for almost 7 hours straight! Waking up early for work and working 8 hours straight is a hard thing for you to do, now remember being in 4th grade and doing the same. The worst part is that kids nowadays are doing this, but they don't even get to be in class with their friends or teachers, they just sit at a computer, technically alone. So, how do we keep these sleepy kids involved with learning and "in-class" activities?

    I have recently come across MANY new websites/apps that can help solve this issue of overworked students. Yes, learning is essential and school should not be just all fun and games, but why not bring some games in sometimes? If you do this correctly, kids can be learning, but not even realizing it because they believe it's all a competition/fun game! 

Here are some of the great websites/apps I found:

    Quizizz is quite similar to Kahoot if you have ever played or hosted! What's great about it, is it can be used as homework or just a fun game in your class! There are many quizzes already created based on multiple subjects/concepts. If you do not find what you are looking for, you can also make your own personal quiz for your students! If you are online, you can connect Quizizz with your Google Classroom and use it live in your zoom class session! The best part about the website is that you are able to see your student's progress and if they need a bit more assistance with concepts; this website gives you a report on how each student is performing. This website is super simple to set up and all kids need is a code to join! I would highly suggest trying Quizizz next time you want to have a "Friday fun day!"

    Not to be confused with Quizizz, is Quizalize! These two names are similar, but the websites vary in many different ways. Quizalize seems to act as more of a classroom while also having the live quiz option. The best part of this website is definitely how much it focuses of the child's mastery of a subject and how they are doing in certain areas. There is a "mastery" tab and a "gradebook" tab to help the teacher with determining if a student needs more assistance in a certain area or should move on. Teacher's can give assignments and also create quizzes, live or just on the website for later. This website is great for keeping progress and staying up to date with your student's learning! I would highly suggest using this website as a primary way of student's homework if you are teaching virtually!

    Finally, I introduce to you, Poll Everywhere. Poll Everywhere is not as "fun" and "engaging" as the first two websites, but it's still such a useful tool! This website is basically to help make decision, help students give feedback, and maybe even make a little bit of a game out of it. Say your students take a quiz and many do not do well. You can use this website to help them give you feedback on what needs to be improved, what they didn't understand, and if there is more you can do to help. Another example is if all your students have been doing excellent and you want to reward them, but are not sure how to reward them. Maybe give suggested ideas and have them pick from the choices you provide to make sure the majority of students are happy with the decision made! Poll Everywhere is great for giving basic quizzes to just check up on if your students are understanding the concepts you have taught. I'd highly suggest this website to help with many different aspects of the classroom. 

    Spice up your classroom, whether it's online or in-person! Keep students engaged and make sure their brains get a break! Use these apps, or if you are not fulfilled with the functions of these websites, do research and find other options! I can guarantee, if you use a website/app similar to these, your students will want to learn and talk more!

Here's a link for Poll Everywhere! Host interactive online meetings | Poll Everywhere

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