Over the coming weeks @Rossett iPads are being introduced on a 1-1 basis. As a teacher there I am obviously looking for ways to incorporate them into the learning (that said everything discussed here can be done on 'normal' computers using the Socrative website). This week I looked to develop my use of the Socrative app. It is an app I have been aware of for some time, but something that I had rarely used. This week I looked to change it up.
In the past I have created the quizzes, and whilst I have felt them to be a decent activity, I wasn't particularly blown away by them. This week I made a change. Looking at 5 areas we have recently studied on the Cold War I grouped my GCSE students and asked one of each group to create a teacher account on Socrative. I then asked the students to produce a 10 question multiple choice quiz on their topic.
Before they did this I emphasised how serious I wanted the 4 multiple choice answers to be. I explained that my own A/S economics had been delivered in a multiple choice method, at first I believed that it would make it a little 'Micky Mouse' but it was actually really difficult because all the options could be correct. I also explained that I wanted the test to be difficult.
The students then produced the quizzes. The students worked really hard and were clearly motivated and engaged.
Socrative allows you to share quizzes between teachers, it gives you a 'SOC number' which allows other 'teachers' to copy the quiz. When the students had completed their quiz they out their 'SOC Number' on the board. This allowed the other students in the class to copy each others quizzes to their account.
In the next lesson the students took it turns to run their own quizzes. We had 12 school iPads, a few phones and a few student iPads. Most worked individually with a few working in pairs. I also got involved, sat at the back I took part too.
Reflections
In the past I have created the quizzes, and whilst I have felt them to be a decent activity, I wasn't particularly blown away by them. This week I made a change. Looking at 5 areas we have recently studied on the Cold War I grouped my GCSE students and asked one of each group to create a teacher account on Socrative. I then asked the students to produce a 10 question multiple choice quiz on their topic.
Before they did this I emphasised how serious I wanted the 4 multiple choice answers to be. I explained that my own A/S economics had been delivered in a multiple choice method, at first I believed that it would make it a little 'Micky Mouse' but it was actually really difficult because all the options could be correct. I also explained that I wanted the test to be difficult.
The students then produced the quizzes. The students worked really hard and were clearly motivated and engaged.
Socrative allows you to share quizzes between teachers, it gives you a 'SOC number' which allows other 'teachers' to copy the quiz. When the students had completed their quiz they out their 'SOC Number' on the board. This allowed the other students in the class to copy each others quizzes to their account.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| One of my students leading the learning giving her groups quiz. |
Reflections
- Throughout the process the students were completely engaged.
- The students were reading through their notes and looking online to find the questions. Rather than just reading their notes they were active in their learning.
- The whole process was really competitive. Socrative displays your score and we had this projected on the board so there was nowhere to hide.
- When you get an answer wrong, Socrative immediately tells you the correct answer, this proved really formative. Some students 'cheated' by taking the quiz a second time to get full marks. Is this really cheating though? In the context of the competition in the class then yes. In the context of developing as a learner it is definitely not.
- As I was a student I really felt the pressure of the situation. I didn't want to get anything wrong. But I couldn't just wait for someone to out their hand up and copy down the answer, I had to really think.
- As a teacher I love it when my students lead the learning, in many other posts I have extolled the values of this approach and using Socrative in this way facilitated this nicely.
Going forward
- Revision can often be really dull. When you get into that exam season, the challenge of keeping it interesting is a big one. This is something I will definitely be using.
- One if the big advantages of this approach as iPads are rolled out on a 1-1 basis is that students will be able to set up a teacher account and revise with each other away from the classroom. Quite a few of my students say they do homework and revise over Skype and I can see this being a good extension of that. I have kept the 'SOC numbers' and will get students to copy each others quizzes so that they can revise like this nearer the time.
When I walked out of my second lesson my head was buzzing. I knew I had been in a lesson, the students must also have felt the same. I had really had to think. I couldn't opt out. I was also buzzing because it had been a brilliant example of student led learning.