This past school year I tried to incorporate more technology into my curriculum. Overall, it was successful and the students really enjoyed it. I’d like to share my reviews of three mobile apps I used: Quizlet, Socrative, and Kahoot!
Mobile App #1: Quizlet
The Quizlet app can be used on both iOS and Android platforms. Quizlet is a FREE study tools app that allows teachers and students to create flashcards, matching games, and multiple choice tests. These study tools can then be shared publicly so they can be searched and used by others, shared with specific individuals such as a class of students, or kept private for your own viewing. The Quizlet website has even more options and syncs to your mobile app.
The app can be used by anyone but it was designed with teachers in mind. Teachers can set up their own classes and their students can join the class. This allows a teacher to create a study tool and share it with all members of the class with the click of a button. Most teachers that I know, including myself, use the app to help the students learn vocab terms. Students could even insert a picture for the term instead of a written definition, which would be great for foreign language classes.
For my students, every day when they come into class they have to add a new vocab term and its definition into their vocab lists. Every friday the students have a quiz over the 4 new words from the current week and any 8 words from the past. Before the quiz I see my students practicing on their phones. Quizlet allows the students to practice their terms in three ways. The students can just review the flashcards in which the term or definition appears and you tap the screen to flip the card to see the answer. A second option provides them with the definition and they have to type in the term. A third option is a timed matching game created by Quizlet. Most of my students enjoy playing the matching game. They can even compete against other students in the class for time.
I have also created practice tests as a review just before a test. My students have also searched for other tests created by other teachers and students to use as review. Quizlet allows you to add pictures as well as text, so there are many options for quiz questions.
The app also has a paid version that allows teachers to see how many times their students have studied and keep track of scores on quizzes. This is a nice feature because you can assign the students to take the quiz for homework and then you can see if they took it and what score they earned.
The app has many pros as suggested above, however, there are a few cons. The app functions differently on different phone carrier services so when we first started using it in the classroom there was a lot of troubleshooting and exploration to get all of my students on the same page. For one phone carrier, the dropdown menu was different, and for another the students were able to add vocab terms much easier than others. One phone carrier allows the students to add new terms to the top of their vocab lists while others have to scroll to the bottom of their list to add a new term, and we currently have 128 terms so it is a lot of scrolling. Another issue is that some of the carriers offered possible definitions for the students to select instead of them typing in the definitions. But all of these cons are overcome with a little practice on the student's part.
I would definitely recommend this app to others. It is easy to use, it’s free, and my students enjoy using it. They even use it for their other classes now that they know how to use it.
Mobile App #2: Socrative
The Socrative app can be used on iOS, Android, and Chrome platforms. There are two apps, one for teachers and one for students. Socrative is powerful app that allows teachers to create quizzes, polls, and exit ticket questions for students and obtain instant results. Of course, anyone can use the app but it was designed for teachers.
Using the teacher app, teachers are able to create quizzes with multiple choice, true/false, and short answer questions. Once the quiz is created, the teacher can make the quiz active. Teachers have the option of allowing the students to take the quiz at their own pace or the teacher can control the quiz in class. There are options for providing feedback when questions are answered wrong, randomizing the questions, and allowing students to change their answers by going back to past questions. As the students take the quiz, the teacher receives immediate feedback and results. The results can be projected on the screen for all students to view.
Another option is to create a “Quick Question,” or poll, which can be a single multiple choice, true/false, or short answer question. For both multiple choice and true/false, the students can see what percentage of the class selected which answer - if the teacher is projecting it on the screen for the class to view. For short answer questions, the student’s answers pop up on the screen as they are submitted. The teacher app even has the option to let the students vote for a particular short answer response, delete responses, and even hide names.
A third option is to create a “Space Race” game where students can compete against each other individually or in groups set up by the teacher while taking a quiz. When projected on the screen, the students can see who is in the lead or who needs to catch up.
A final option is an exit ticket. The exit ticket is composed of 3 pre-set questions that are automatically sent to the student. The first question is multiple choice and asks the student how well he/she understood the lesson. A second question asks them to type in what they learned during the lesson. For the final question, the teacher must either write the question on the board or ask it in class so the students can answer it. Again, immediate feedback of the results allows the teacher to determine if reteaching is necessary.
In addition to the benefits of the Socrative app above, it is also really easy to use both in class and at home. The only con is that on occasion the app freezes on the students while they are taking a quiz and they need to start over. This complicates things if the quiz is required as a homework assignment. However, if this happens, the teacher can see that the student at least started the quiz and can see how far they got. This feature helps eliminate the fact that a student can say they tried to take the quiz when actually they never attempted.
I would highly recommend this app for teachers. As long as students have a phone, iPod, or tablet with internet connection, they can participate in quiz taking during class. It is an easy to use interface and provides instant results. They students will even enjoy using it.
Mobile App #3: Kahoot!
The Kahoot! app is a game-based classroom response system that works across all platforms such as Windows, iOS, Chrome, and Android. The app allows teachers to create quizzes using words, pictures, and/or videos. The quizzes can be shared with the public, chosen individuals, or kept private. One of the best features is that teachers can search for quizzes that may have already be created and modify them to meet their needs. When a quiz is selected for play, a game pin will be provided for the students to participate.
Quiz creation is simple and quick. All questions are multiple choice and it is recommended to assign a time limit to the questions. Before making a quiz active, the teacher has the option to randomize question order and/or answer choice order.
Students will need to download the Kahoot! app or go to kahoot.it to enter the game pin provided by the teacher. Students will get to type in their own user name for game play and it is wise to tell the students what their user name should be so you don’t get inappropriate user names. After each question closes, the students will be told how many points they have accumulated and which place they hold compared to their peers. When the teacher clicks to the next question, the top 5 students will be displayed with their points. The students earn points based on how quickly they answer the question and if they answered correctly. The students can also see how many chose each answer. This is more beneficial for the teacher so that reteaching can occur for that particular question.
Although there a many pros such as the app is easy to use, the interface is appealing, and the students enjoy the competition, there are also several cons. One con is that when you have a whole class of 36 students participating, some of them often get kicked out of the game and need to re-enter. Upon re-entry, they lose all of their previous points earned. The fewer the students playing and the stronger the internet connection, the better.
A second con is that only the top 5 students are displayed after each question. It would be nice to see who answered the fastest or who won that round as well, because a student who is in 20th place could have won that round and a student in the top 5 could have lost the round. Students would be more motivated if they could see that they won a round versus knowing they will never be able to move from 20th place to the top five.
A final con is that the teacher is limited in the number of letters that can be used for each answer. This is so that the question can fit on the screen, however, it can sometimes be annoying.
Overall, I definitely recommend the Kahoot! app for teachers. The students really love playing it and they love the competition.
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