When I go over homework assignments or an assignment like a practice test I like to switch it up every once in a while. It can get a little boring just calling out numbers and having students give their answers. Recently I used Socrative to go over a practice test and my students (and I) liked the change of pace. Socrative has a few different modes, but I like quick questions because it doesn't require any set up from you ahead of time.
You as the teacher need to create an account, but your students don't. The first time you log in you'll be asked to choose a name for your room. The great thing is that your room name never changes. This makes it super easy for the students to remember.
Once you are signed in, you'll be able to choose one of four modes in the dashboard. Quick questions allows you to poll your students without any advanced prep. Click on quick questions and then you'll be prompted to choose multiple choice, true/false or short answer. In the meantime, your students should go b.socrative.com and enter your room number. They will see the answer choices as A, B, C, D, E, True/False or a box to type into.
The teacher view will show you the live results and you can stop the data collection at any point. You can also see how many students are in the room by looking at the top right (under the word FINISH). This way you can see how many students are joined your room.
When you are done with the question, simply scroll down to start a new question. When you are done with everything, click on FINISH in the upper right hand and you will be able to view the data from your session.
Students can access Socrative from any device with a web browser, but there is also an app for Android, iOS and Window devices.
Have you tried Socrative before? What do you think?
Are you more a visual person? Here is a video walking you through the steps.
