I Can't Stop Recommending Quizizz

Especially this time of the school year, I find myself recommending Quizizz more than ever before.  For those of you who are familiar with Kahoot!, it's just like that BUT even better...in my opinion!  Quizizz is a web-based clicker tool that allows students of all ages to answer questions in a game-like atmosphere.  There are sound effects, funny memes, leaderboards, and timers.

The teacher logs onto Quizizz and can search for a pre-made quizzes (using the "Public" tab) or can create their own.

Once the teacher finds or creates a quiz, he/she clicks "Play Live" in order to launch the game immediately.  Clicking "Homework" instead allows the teacher to schedule a window of time for the game to be open.  This is great for those who want to assign it for homework or for teachers who want students to complete the activity in workstations throughout the week.

Teachers can adjust any of the settings on their game including whether or not you want the questions and/or answer choices jumbled, if you want the correct answer to show after the student responds, and game settings such as a leaderboard, question timer, and music.

Once the settings are adjusted to your preference, a website for students to join the game (join.quizizz.com) and a unique pin code is displayed on your screen.  Students enter the code from any device that has Internet.  If you don't have a lot of devices, have students play in pairs or teams!

Here's a sample of what students see on their device:

As students play the game, the teacher can monitor the students using real-time data.  Once the students are finished, the teacher can review any of the questions and even download an Excel spreadsheet with the data.  If you log into your account any time later, you can access this same data under "My Reports".

So why do I like Quizizz better than Kahoot!?  

1. Students play asynchronously--once they answer a question, they move on and do not have to wait for the rest of the class to answer
2. Teachers can shuffle the questions and answer choices
3. Students see the questions AND answer choices from their own device and don't have to look up onto a projector screen or SMARTBoard
4. Teachers can monitor real-time results

And yet, it still has many of the same GREAT features as Kahoot such as the game-like feel, public quizzes available, and it can be used on any device with Internet.  Oh, and they're both FREE!

For a quick walkthrough of Quizizz, here's a short video posted on their website:

Want to Simplify the Reading of Online Articles? Use Evernote Web Clipper!

In March I had the privilege of attending NCTIES, a well-known technology conference in Raleigh, NC.  One of the sessions I attended was led by Richard Byrne and he highlighted some of his favorite web tools.  Evernote Web Clipper was one of the tools he shared and it's now one I've been eagerly sharing with teachers and administrators in our district.

Evernote Web Clipper is an extension in the Chrome web browser that clears away the formatting, layouts, and advertisements so the reader can focus on the content.  Check out the before and after of this Time for Kids article I found online:

BEFORE

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/earth-day-eruption/235076

AFTER

So how do you use Evernote Web Clipper?  Once you're on a website that you want to simplify, click on the Evernote Web Clipper icon near your bookmarks bar and select "Simplified article".  Ta da!  It really is that EASY!

If necessary, you can then share it as a link (e.g. https://www.evernote.com/shard/s186/sh/e00cd4d3-ab88-495d-9062-77f354b7a3b1/0406a12858c696cd6966f2b150d3d38d) or save it as a PDF (via Print > Save as PDF) if you want to print it out and/or upload it to a website.

So, go to the Chrome Web Store and search for Evernote Web Clipper.  You'll be glad you did!