A Great Tool for Quizzing and Keeping Your Students Engaged
I've been using Socrative for about half a year now and my college students love it.
What is it?
Socrative.com is a free website that teachers can use to conduct online quizzes in class. For example, after teaching a lesson on semi-colon use, I (like most teachers), ask my students, "Do you understand?" and they nod even if they don't. Instead of being unsure, now I have them pick up their phones (this is obviously a hit because they love using their phones) and do a quick 10 minute quiz. Then I can see (and so can they) if they truly understand, and if they do not, where their misunderstanding lies.
There is no software needed and it's free. You and your students only need access to the web. Here's a demo of Socrative in case you'd rather watch than read my description:
Basic Steps
Before Class:
- Create a free account.
- Login in and create a quiz. I usually make gap-fill questions (see below).
In Class:
- On your computer (or phone), start the quiz.
- Tell students to go to http://b.socrative.com on their smartphone, tablet, or laptop, and enter the room number for your account.
- Watch them as they progress through the quiz.
- When everyone is finished, 'Finish' the quiz.
- Analyze the results, discuss the questions they had difficulty with, and use this information to inform your lesson planning in the future.
Socrative can also be used out of class. In fact, I have a quiz running right now (I'm leaving it open for a week). It's a paper-free way to quiz your students and it saves paper and time in grading.
Here's a screenshot of one of my questions:
Note that you can also access quizzes that other teachers have chosen to share. The spreadsheet can be accessed from here. I generally create my own quizzes though as it's quite easy.
This is an unpaid endorsement by the way. I just think it's a great tool and my students love it.
Give it a try -- your students will think you are tech-savvy! =)
- Matthew Barton / Creator of www.englishcurrent.com
….