21st-Century Teachers incorporate Student Input & Gather Feedback
Many applications allow students to provide live and online feedback.
- Google Forms (Survey) and PollEverywhere are two of many apps that make it quick and easy to create simple polls that enable teachers to gather input or feedback from students. They can vote in those surveys with the use of a digital device, we know how much they love using technology in class.
- Socrative is another free app that allows teachers to go far beyond basic polls to get more complex quizzes, or just use it to quickly and easily get feedback.
Some experience of my class and presentations:
GOOGLE FORMS - SURVEY
As I mentioned before in one of the comments, I used surveys from Google forms like the ones I offered at the end of one of my workshop-presentations for teachers: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSejT_NGyPZPDIf6loI-WZQ75-l0y8trNxiizJPdmzAkc9dcdQ/viewform?usp=sf_link
The title of the presentation is "Words can talk: An innovative use of technology in Shared-Book Reading". There, the participants learned about the use of Augmented Reality in a Spanish class for Prek students to develop biliteracy. At the end of the presentation, with a QR code linked to the survey, the audience could scan it and answer the questions related to the content of the presentation and their interest of using this kind of technology. Previously, I showed only the QR codes, but after having some problems with the QR scan apps and added the short url link just under the code. Another problem I faced was that not all the participants were familiar with QR scan apps, so before the presentation, I invited them to download this kind of apps. On the walls or flyers delivered to the participants, I included a brief explanation step by step about how to download it.
The google forms are intuitive and easy to fill, most of the participants found them easy to answer. Once everyone answered the survey I could see the results and some graphics.
KAHOOT!
Kahoot! is a fun and interactive way to help your students learn. With the concept of gamification in your classroom, learning is fun, just like playing.
When working with my Dual-Language Spanish Pre-K students we were learning vocabulary with this tool. First, the vocabulary was introduced in the "word wall" to the whole class. Then, we set some ABC stations to practice learning with oral and written skill development. In small groups, one way to check understanding and their language skills was with Kahoot! Three or four students were sitting with me in the small group table, I helped them use the app. I was granted with some tablets to help students develop learning experiences and 21st-Century skills, that is why every student had the chance to use digital devices during class. They typed the code: 2402990 and we started the activity.
The challenges I faced in the very beginning was that most of the students were not familiar with the app, and I needed to spend some time explaining and practicing for weeks. One of our gifts as Prek teachers: PATIENCE. After several weeks, they learned how to use it and they really enjoyed learning with Kahoot!. After some time using the app, I found some other ways to improve learning with this app. For example, when some students failed the answers I invited all of them to find the answer in the classroom, so in this way, they were physically active during the activity. Depending on their level, I invited them to explore the room and find the answer. Therefore, they were developing other skills like "learning by discovery", communication, physical development, social skills...
I do not want to generalize, but many educators in Early Childhood Education do not like using technology as part of the learning process. However, I found technology as a motivating component and tool of their learning process. In addition, parents are invited to use Kahoot! too and use the activities we are using in class to practice at home.