Thing 29: Student Response Tools

Over the last week, I have gradually been examining the student response tools to explore.  I read the article on 5 Fantastic, Fast, Formative Assessment Tools.  I couldn't believe that a high school teacher would fall for two students claiming that it was easy to direct her actions with the entire class.  Wow!  Has she ever heard of peer pressure?!  Of course, the students would claim that they understood.  Who wants to be the "dummy" who doesn't get it?

Lacking the 1:1 technology to use these methods, I use more traditional formative assessments.  I explain, I demonstrate, I have EVERY student answer at least one question successfully, then they do it themselves to demonstrate what they have learned before we move on to the next concept.

I need to work more over the summer to investigate these tools, but here are some comments on what I learned and saw:

• Flipgrid -neat idea, but death by subscription costs.  I'm not sure that the reward is worth the cost.  Also, what will we record the students on?  We only have one video camera in the school.  The students, by and large, do not have phones, nor are they supposed to bring them to the elementary school if they have them.  The teachers and staff are not supposed to use their phones in the presence of the students.  Finally, what time are we going to have to record videos?  With students coming to the library less than 30 class periods a year, I'm not using days of teaching time to record videos.  Still, I'll keep the name in case a teacher is interested.
• Padlet, Primary Wall, and TodaysMeet - I suppose I could use one of these to track why the students came to the library on a pass, but that would require dedicating a computer to it.  That seems to be a waste of resources when a pad of paper could work just as well.  I'm not teaching in a 1:1 environment, so the kids can't use it during the average class.  I'm also not sure what is to be gained from this that a Google Doc or a Google Form  or a Wiki couldn't do.  Is is just the neat backgrounds on Padlet and Primary Wall?  Primary Wall in particular was SLOW!  The lack of security is huge! 
• Plickers and SeeSaw are iOS apps, so I can't use them at home or at school.  I have an Android phone and school has neither Android nor iOS devices (except for a VERY small number in one or two SpEd rooms).  Are there comparable Google Apps???  I'd LOVE to have option of a Plickers-type app, but I would need permission to use my phone in view of the class.
• AnswerGarden -looks cool, but I don't think that there is any really valid information gained by using it.  It seems like a conference tool so that you can show cool-looking results.
• GoogleForms -great tool.  I wish I could use it more than I do.  I will be trying out Flubaroo.  Now I wish that there was a more-useful add-on for aggregating non-assessment data.  I use Google Forms to learn about student reading interests so that I can do a better job of purchasing what students want and presenting books that they might be interested in during book talks.  They like having a voice in the process.  I also use it to target books to reluctant readers.
• RemindChat - I can't see myself using this.  

I plan to read articles from More to Explore during the coming months.

I think that Formative Assessment is VERY important.  In my ungraded, library classes, I do more formative than summative assessment.