As a lifelong learner, it’s natural for me to want to try new strategies and techniques in my classroom. One of the things I am trying to do more effectively is take formative assessments throughout my lessons. In this blog post, I round up some of the must-try free online assessment tools to use in your classroom (both virtual and physical)!
1: Google Forms
Google Forms is any absolute must-try for any teacher! It a part of the G Suite Apps, so it is free with your schools domain, or if you have your own Gmail account. Students don’t need a log in for Google Forms, unless you change the settings so they must enter an email I have a whole blog post that goes in depth about how you can use Google Forms in your classroom. Check that out here!
2: Plickers
What if you’re not 1:1 with technology at your school? No fear – Plickers is here! Students each get their very own QR code and the orientation that they hold it depends on what letter they’re showing you. The only thing you need to do is create an account (it’s free!) and download the app (also free!) to your phone! I also wrote about it in this post.
3: Kahoot!
Kahoot is a fun game that is a great way to collect formative assessment data. What is so great about it (besides how fun it is for kids) is that they email you the results after! Students don’t need their own login for it, so it’s a win-win! They love hearing the music and they get to see the podium at the end of the winners!
4: Mentimeter
Okay – total transparency – I didn’t start using Mentimeter until I was teaching virtually. Let me tell you – it was a discovery I was glad to have found! I used Mentimeter for the problem of the day and then the next day would screenshot the results and share them to my class. You can create a great visual of the results if they are multiple choice or even have students submit a word for a word cloud!
5: Wooclap
Wooclap is very similar to Mentimeter in that it is a live survey. Students go to wooclap.com and enter the code for your survey. Again, they do not need a login to participate, which is great! In Wooclap surveys are called events and you can have up to 2 surveys per event, but you can create multiple events if needed.
6: Nearpod
Nearpod has such engaging activities for you to assign your students and it is compatible with Google Apps! There is a Slides extension that makes planning so much easier. It is another website that doesn’t require students to have a login, you just share the link with them and you get all the information! Students can collaborate, answer multiple choice questions and even draw on the slides if you want! Definitely worth trying, but there is a bit of a learning curve. Luckily they have awesome webinars to help teachers starting out!
7: Quizizz
This website is just like Kahoot in that it is a game. One difference is that it can be played individually or with a team. Students do need an account for this website, however they can sign in with their Google account if your school uses G Suite. Something to be mindful of with this is that they have memes after the questions, so you will want to go through the pre-made ones and make sure they are appropriate 😅. My students do love seeing the memes, though!
This is a comprehensive list of all the free online assessment tools I’ve tried before, so please don’t use them all at once and get overwhelmed! My suggestion is to choose one or two and try them for a couple of weeks. If they work great! If they don’t, on to the next one! Drop a comment if you have any questions or to share how you use these websites in your classroom!
Enjoy!
alexandra
