Online Instruction Blog #5- April Benton

 Formative

 Formative is an assessment/ assignment tool that can be used on Chromebooks, cellphones, tablets, etc. It allows you to use questions from a bank that are already created or create your own. It will enable the user to upload items that are already created from pdf, docs, or other documents. Also, you can attach standards to the questions. It allows the user to set an answer key that provides auto-grading, and questions can be asked in random order to prevent cheating.

The students' responses updates in real-time, allowing the teacher to see the student's responses live. The teacher can give the students feedback with emojis, video, etc. which enables it to be more personal. Students can send the teacher messages also, which allows for two-way communication between the student and the teacher. Formative can be integrated into programs that many schools already use, like Google Classroom, Clever, Google, and Classlink.


Formative is a tool that allows the teacher to access students in live time. This allows the teacher to provide interventions immediately. I think this program is a great way to access students in all subject areas. I would love to use this as a math teacher. I have been out of the regular classroom for many years, but this program tracks students based on the standards being taught, I spent countless hours doing this as an educator on paper and pencil. By having the data of your students, you can pull small groups based on the student's needs and reteach a skill or concept.


I feel like goformative would be a great tool to use with students at home. In the classroom, I think it would be hard to sit and look at a computer to provide real-time help because I would feel the need to circulate the room. Also, all the students would need a device in which to complete their assessment.

Nearpod

Nearpod has been around for many years, but I have never used it because we are a Google school, and I have always been drawn to Peardeck instead. Nearpod is an interactive slideshow that allows the students to interact and collaborate. Nearpod allows the teacher to display their lesson on all student devices simultaneously. It works on most devices, including Chromebooks, Apple, and Andriod devices. It integrates with Google Classroom and Learning Management Systems, including Canvas, which my district currently uses. Nearpod allows you to import existing lessons on PDFS and Powerpoints and make then interactive through virtual field trips, collaborate boards, quizzes, polls, and questions. The virtual reality part of nearpod will work with or without headsets. Nearpod also offers lessons already created that are aligned with standards across all subject areas that can be edited based on your student’s needs.

Nearpod not only allows the teacher to control the lesson but also enables the teacher to set the lesson to student-paced. For a student-paced lesson, the teacher can share the link in any other platform that they are already using with their students. If you are teaching different groups, you can create more than one link or code for the lesson. The student-paced feature is helpful for an absent student and for teaching remotely.

I love that you can add web content within the nearpod lesson. The students can watch youtube videos or go to a website that is embedded within the lesson. Students can also draw out their answers in nearpod. When teaching math just seeing the solution does not always help the teacher understand why a student is missing the problem. By examining the student work of the problem, the teacher can identify how to best support the student. The virtual reality is great for teaching science to your students. The teacher can take their students to places that would be impossible in real life.

At this time, Nearpod is offering access to its platform to schools that are affected by COVID19. I always caution teachers from jumping on things that are free right now. Budgets are tight for schools, and some of the features will not be available for free in the future.  Also, as with any tool, you do not want to overuse it. Students often get burned out and uninterested if the same tool is used every day.

Classwork Zoom

Classwork Zoom is an extension that can be used with Google Classroom. Classwork Zoom allows the teacher to see how much time a student works on assignments through google classroom in which the work is being completed in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings. This extension would be great for documentation and also makes the teacher aware of the time being spent on an assignment. It will also let you know if another student completed the work for the student.

With remote learning, more teachers are using hyperdocs or assignments that are to be completed in Gsuite. This will allow the teacher to ensure that students are working daily and be able to make parent contact if it seems the student is not working as expected.

The challenge with classwork zoom is not all assignments will be completed using a google tool; therefore, it will not work on an assignment that is completed in Google Classroom.

Challenges

Overall the most significant challenge with Online instruction is that not all students can receive Internet access. My county has put hotspots all over the community where students can complete their assignments in their car, but not all students will have transportation. Luckily our teachers have already built relationships with their students, but online instruction makes it more difficult to build those relationships.