Equity in the classroom is imperative. Teachers today realize that integrating technology must be equitable. And rightfully so. However, the idea that you can’t use technology in your class unless everyone has their own device is a crutch. There, I said it. We really need to move past “laptop carts are never available during testing windows” or “not all of my students have their own device to use” (and other excuses) as a reason for not bringing more technology into our classrooms.
The field of educational technology is full of tools that teachers can use with just one device, making it possible and equitable to integrate tech tools in your class. No, it’s not just using tech for the sake of using tech- all of these tools have the power to significantly impact your instruction.
So, what are these miraculous tools that only require one piece of technology, even in a class with 30 students? How in can they be effective? Why should you try them? Well, read on to find out more about Class Dojo, Plickers, Seesaw, and Zipgrade.
Connect your classroom to home by providing students and parents with feedback on behaviors that are important for classroom harmony and student growth.
How does Class Dojo will it benefit students?
- Encourage students’ teamwork, participation, and more! You can customize the skills you are looking for in class and view a timeline of students’ progress.
How does Class Dojo benefit parents?
- Parents can receive private and direct messages, announcements, and photos. Teachers can tell if the parents have read the messages you send with a read receipt.
If your wondering how appropriate Class Dojo is for high school students, you’d be surprised! Anytime you can provide feedback for students on concepts that matter (team work, effort, etc.) but aren’t graded- it’s a win! If you want to learn more, I highly suggest that you reach out to them. Their team is awesome and will provide you one-on-one help to answer any questions you may have about integrating Class Dojo in your class this school year.
Plickers or “paper clickers” students get paper cards to hold up while the teacher uses their device to scan their cards for quick results. It’s best to create a pluckers card for each student and have them keep them in a secure location OR you can opt to pass them out each time you plan to use them in your class.
The best part? Real-time data to check for student understanding. The picture below is from the Plickers website and shows the time of info that you can easily receive when you use this powerful tool!
Seesaw “the digital learning journal” allows students to record their work by taking pictures and uploading it to their teacher’s class. Students as young as 5 can use Seesaw to upload pictures, video clips, drawings, and notes of their work. Teachers can provide feedback to the students’ work. I wrote an entire post of Seesaw Learning Journals here. You could say, I’m a fan!
Grading has never been easier or more eco-friendly than with Zipgrade. You know those scantron sheets? Get rid of them! Zipgrade is a free app that allows you to scan student assessments. You should create a laminated sheet for each student and invest in some dry erase markers.
All of these tools are FREE, can be used in grades K-12, and truly only require one device. So, I challenge you to give one (or all) of these awesome tech tools a try this school year!