My Beauty Best Teacher

QuizSnack, a child of SnackTools, has been on my list to write about for awhile. I've already written about some of their other tools (FlipSnack, PhotoSnack, and PodSnack), so I figured it was time to try this application!

QuizSnack is an online survey/poll/quiz creator that you can embed into a variety of websites. As a teacher, it's pretty easy to see the value in this. Teachers are always being pressured to assess students, and we're oftentimes being pressured to assess students in "new and different" ways. While a quiz isn't particularly "new," the fact that it's online is different! So QuizSnack could be a plus for everyone. (It could be a regular assessment OR it could be used as online test prep!)

Besides quizzing students over virtually any topic you needed to, you could also create polls/surveys to ask for opinions and/or suggestions! (Besides using polls/surveys for the obvious, I also think they could be incorporated into bellwork!)

Here are some cool features of QuizSnack:

1. You can use it for free. 
2. You can publish it on several different websites (think: personal website and social media websites). There's an embed code so that viewers can actually view the quiz on your website instead of having to follow an external link to see anything.
3. It uses Flash when posted on regular websites...still looking for any information as to how it works on iPhones/iPads. 
4. There are several customization options so that you can personalize the quiz(zes) in a variety of way (color, size, etc.)
5. The results are recorded in real-time.
6. Many, many people can view your quiz for free. The way I understand it, people with a free membership can have a max of 25,000 views per day on sites external to QuizSnack (VIP members get 50,000 views). Pretty convenient. I don't ever expect to reach that 25,000 view maximum, anyway, so I don't see this as a problem. 
7. You can view individual responses to each quiz and/or question. There is also an option to view the IP address (if you've got a real stinky answer on your hands) or completely delete a response. 
8. You can export the data you receive! (Pretty handy!)
9. Besides all the customization options inside the quiz, you can decide which type of quiz you'd like to make: survey, poll, or personality quiz.

It's so versatile because you can ask any question you want! I'd probably use the "personality quiz" option the most so that I could get a "real quiz" on my website, but the survey and poll options both have their places in the classroom, as well (I could use them as an alternative to SurveyMonkey, which just means one less username/password for me to remember).

Now that you know about all the great features, let me give you some details about the $$ involved:

• There is a free version, but, as with most websites, there are a few limitations. The free version puts a watermark/ad on all quizzes. You can get an unlimited number of responses in the personality quiz and poll options, but you cannot view any survey results in the free version. (*Boo! Hiss!*)
• You can have the watermark removed from individual quizzes by purchasing the premium embed code. It costs 4 points in order to do this, and the price of the points varies, based on how many you purchase at a time. (A purchase of 10 points will run you $19, a purchase of 25 points will run you $39, a purchase of 50 points will run you $49...you get the picture. There's a slight discount when you buy points in bulk.)
• If you don't want to mess with the limitations at all, you can always purchase a VIP membership for $14/month. This membership actually gives you premium access to all of SnackTools's apps, so you're getting quite a bit for your money. (Although, I'd really appreciate the ability to just buy a premium membership to ONE app, but maybe they'll implement that later!)

I created a mega-simple poll just to display at the bottom of this post so you'd have a real example of how this can be used. There were several pre-made template options available, and you could also choose your own colors -- I just like purple, so that's what I chose. :) This simple little thing took me about 2.5 seconds from start to finish:

At the beginning of the year, I like to send home a "parent inventory." The kids think it's hilarious that their parent has homework, and I can glean some useful information from just this one sheet of questions!

Source

If you're teaching an elementary class, of course, you can just send this with your parent packet. If you're teaching secondary, it might be best to attach this to the back of your syllabus and insert a signature line indicating the parent/guardian has read and understands the expectations of [teacher's name] room. I find that keeping a paper like that on file all year long is really helpful in the event that a parent insists he/she didn't know that his/her child has to do [x] in my class. (I hate to think negatively, but it's best to "watch your back," so to speak, and document everything!)

This Google doc is an example of a parent inventory I would send on the first day/week of school.

Although I find all the answers helpful, there are two answers in particular that I look forward to reading.

The first is the parent's signature. It's great to get a copy of the parent's signature in a relaxed and non-threatening environment, and to keep it on file all year long. Sometimes the little ones try to devise notes so they can go home with their BFF. Sometimes the older ones try to forge signatures on report cards, etc. So I love that I immediately have a copy of the parent signature on file, right from the beginning of the year.

I particularly love the last question: "In a million words or less, tell me about your child." That is the spot where I get the best answers. I have learned about students who are supposed to be wearing glasses but purposely don't bring them to class. I have learned about students who are such perfectionists that I should expect them to cry when/if the student doesn't understand a new concept the first time it's taught. I have learned about reading struggles from the past. Most of all, there is a lot of love that shines through on this question. It reminds me that most parents only want the best for their kids and will do anything to help them.

Whether you choose to get answers orally, written on paper, or via online survey, I urge you to conduct a quick inventory of your students' parents. You will learn so much!

I was on Twitter earlier today, following along on one of the #edchats, trying to find a way to reply to someone or put in my two cents (heh heh), when someone called attention to a new website for educators: Socrative. I'd never heard of it before, so I immediately typed the address into my web browser. I am so glad I was in the right place at the right time; Socrative looks absolutely amazing, and I can't wait to use it in my classroom!

What is Socrative?

Socrative is a website that connects students and teachers. Kids can access the student portion via a computer or a smart phone's app. Teachers can go in and create quizzes (multiple choice, true/false, short answer) and exit tickets to administer to students. Students can log in and take the quizzes, answer the exit ticket questions, or play an educational game. After the activities are completed, Socrative sends an automated e-mail with a report of all the scores to the teacher's e-mail address. As long as your students have access to smart phones and/or computers, there's no reason you couldn't use this in your class! It works for every single subject.

This can be a quick and innovative way to assess your students' knowledge using a free technology tool. ...Man, I love every thing about that sentence. :)

I'm on board; how do I sign up?

Socrative is still in its beta stage, so to really get started on it, you have to sign up to get invited. You provide your e-mail address and a few things about what you do and why you'd like to use Socrative, and they send you an e-mail immediately that tells you how to register. One thing that worried me, though, is that, in the welcome e-mail, Socrative stated, "We're currently in beta mode, which means you get our software for free. We just ask for your feedback on how we can improve our product." I may be over-analyzing this, but the wording of this worries me. To me, it sounds like Socrative will start charging customers once it leaves the beta stage. :( If this is as cool as I think it's going to be, that makes me really sad. If you're a teacher, too, you understand how tight our budget is!

Once you register, it walks you through the process of using Socrative, step-by-step. I was so excited and wanted to share it with you, so I took screen shots of every step. :) [If you want to see the picture in a bigger size, just right click and open it in a new tab or window!]

Step 1:


When you first register, it takes you through a series of 5 steps that introduce you to the program and how to use it. FYI, if you're going to try to use this after registering, you'll need to access the site through two separate devices. One is supposed to be you, the teacher, and the other is supposed to simulate the student. The welcome e-mail states that there is an Android app, but that iPhone, Blackberry, etc. apps are coming soon. Looks like I won't get to access the mobile version for awhile, since my cell phone is of the iPhone variety.

Step 2:

Step 3:


Step 4:


Step 5:


From this screen, you can choose each leveled arrow to change the settings.

Although I couldn't truly test it (because I don't have two devices),  I did look into all the separate sections. When I clicked the "exit ticket" at the top of the page and then exited it out when I discovered no "students" were completing the activity, Socrative automatically sent me an e-mail that told me the statistics over the exit ticket participants. The results are sent in a convenient Excel document.

If you want to help me try this system by coming into my "Socrative Room," go to m.socrative.com, enter room number "1028" (you'll notice that number is different than the picture; you have the option of changing the number to something that is memorable for you!), and click "join room." You can take my "mock quiz." Also, see how much you can browse the room...can you see all the options, or only the "quiz" I made?

I'd like to not only use this for quizzes and exit tickets, but I'd like to think of some unconventional ways to use it. For instance, why couldn't I use the "exit tickets" as a way to take attendance? Even though they're called exit tickets, why not treat them as bellwork or entrance tickets? As soon as students enter the room, they could log into the room and answer a short question that gets them thinking about the day's activities and/or asks them to recall what we talked about the day before. Teachers could use this as a way to quickly take attendance, since Socrative immediately sends the results to your e-mail in the form of an Excel document.

In any case, I just wrote an e-mail to the Socrative support team and told them that I think this is the neatest thing I've seen in a long time, and that it will change the way I assess my students. I believe wholeheartedly in that, and I am SO excited to try it on my kids!

I like to start the year with a back-to-school survey. This particular survey is for secondary students, and can be customized to your needs. You can conduct this however you want: online or on paper, but I think this survey is a great way to get to know your students. I use this survey to figure out the needs and wants of each student, and try my best to tailor the lesson plans and classroom activities to my students.

This survey will appear as a Google document, so you can download or share it easily. If you think of any of question(s) that would be good to ask, please let me know! You can e-mail me or leave a comment on this blog.

Click to view the entire survey in a Google document!

Do you ever wonder EXACTLY what's in the minds of your students or parents? If so, you can use Survey Monkey's free polling service to get some anonymous answers.

The basic version of Survey Monkey is free, but of course, there are upgrade options.

Back in February, I decided I wanted to ask my students some questions. I wanted some feedback on what they liked about English, about me and my teaching style, and about the work we do in class. So I created this survey and posted it on the class blog. I made sure students knew that answering the survey was NOT for a grade, so no one was obligated to answer.

After a few weeks had gone by, I logged into Survey Monkey and checked the results. I asked multiple choice and short answer questions on the survey, and the website compiled the MC answers for me and let me know which percentage answered with letter A, and so on. It was pretty helpful. I felt like the answers were more honest than they would have been if I had done a survey in class. I mean, even if you ask students not to put their names on a survey, a teacher can still tell who wrote what by the handwriting! So this technological tool helped my students to feel a little bit more brave about answering things honestly.

How does this process work? First, you sign up for a free account.  Then you click the big green button in the top, right-hand corner that says "Create Survey." Title your survey, and then start writing questions. You can make the answers in any format you wish, which is really nice! The basic version is limited to 10 questions per survey, and you are limited to 100 responses, but those are easy things to get around (if you need more than 10 questions, create a Part I and a Part II. If you need more than 100 responses, create duplicate versions of your survey -- Survey Monkey even lets you copy your own surveys and edit them...so you wouldn't even have to re-type all the answers.) if the need arises.... The on-screen instructions are pretty self-explanatory...I was able to create my first survey in a matter of minutes!

A little note on polling your students on your classroom and your teaching styles: don't ask anything that you don't truly want to know! :) If you encourage students to be honest, they WILL be honest, and some of them can be pretty blunt! I had really great answers on my Survey Monkey poll, but there were a couple of answers that forced me to think more critically about what goes on in my classroom. I mean, that was the point, but it's always a little bit hurtful when you receive negative feedback, however minute of a detail it might be!

Anyway, I think teachers could use this in their classrooms in the way that I did: figure out what's working and what's not! You could also use this at the beginning of the year to get a feel for your population of students: how many of them have over 5 siblings? How many students have parents who work full-time? How many of them have parents who are college graduates? How many students will willingly pick up a book in their spare time? How many students like this particular genre in class? What's one thing this class could do that would keep you interested in its subject? ...I mean, the possibilities for questions are endless! We could glean a lot of information from our students by using surveys...why not try it?/