Click, Clack, Quiz
Click, clack, click, click. Tap, tap, tap, tap. Key boards in action. The keyboards in my classroom make quite a noise. I’m a pounder myself, so I don’t mind it the productive clatter of keys on the keyboard. Today in class, students are demonstrating their understanding of recent readings and of vocabulary we’ve studied. In plain language, they’re taking a quiz.
My vocabulary quizzes are short answer, usually written out. This year half of the words I’ve chosen for word study are words from Latin/Greek roots. I created a playlist of vocabulary words, Root Mix found here (each group of words is organized by song) . We build a context around the words as we study them. That means that I make explicit connections between the words, what we’re reading and what we’re writing.
Students have choices in terms of the practice they do to learn the words: traditional or tech-based. They print their practice or do it in their journals (unless it’s a video) and use it during the assessment until I see that don’t need that support. All but one of my first period students is quizzing “off book” or without the support of their journal. 
As I was writing today’s agenda on the classroom’s common board, one of my students asked if we were taking the quiz on the computer. She was referring to Socrative, an online student response tool we’ve recently begun using. “I like it on the computer better,” she said.
Hmmm. “I suppose I could put it up on Socrative while you review for bell work. Would you like that option—to quiz on paper or online?”
“Yes, please.”
So, I did. On the spot, I differentiated. Students access the quiz on student computers (there are 6 in the room) or from their cell phones. Students can clear the quiz from the computers or devices and share tools or choose to write out the quiz on paper.
I gave students the option of taking the quiz on paper or online. For kids with dysgraphia, using the computer or cell phone to type/text responses to the quiz questions is a can-do support. I can do that.
Why didn’t I think of that earlier?
I really appreciate how you infused pictures and resources within your writing. It put me right in your classroom. And I love how you differentiated for your students -- most of the time the best teaching ideas are just like that: spur-of-the-moment. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteStephanie
http://boxofchocolates29.wordpress.com
Thank you, Stephanie!
DeleteGreat thought -- and I'm am intrigued by allowing them to use cell phones. So many schools (yep, mine included) don't allow them. That has to change, right? I loved how flexible you were.
ReplyDeleteKevin
PS -- I am pounding my way through these words on the keyboard, too. My students often comment on it, and I say, "that was the newspaper reporter in me." Which is true.
Hi, Kevin. Yes, I believed that the no cell phones policy had to change, so I started working to change it. It took quite a few years to convince the principal to allow us to use cell phones for academic purposes. This year in fact is the first year our principal has said "yes"to the entire faculty. Yes we can allow students to use cell phones for academic purposes in class. It's made a huge difference and is transforming my classroom to more of a bring your own device sort of space (BYOD).
DeleteLove that you are doing the cell phones! Going to take socrative on the road in school next week. Going to visit classrooms where teachers have been selected randomly for teacher, student, and parent surveys. Going to have the students use socrative to take the survey.
ReplyDeleteGood idea. You are only doing the student side of the survey with Socrative, right? One thing that I've noticed about using it, is that it's not something you can set and post a link to and have folks do outside of the classroom (or if it is, I haven't figure that out yet). You have to make it live while you are in the physical presence of kids and then you monitor and end it once students are finished.
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