Spiral UPDATES!

I know I have done a review on Spiral already; however, they have made some changes that I must talk about. I want to make sure my readers know all of the things I have learned so here are some of the new things going on with Spiral.

Let’s start with the Quickfires:
First, they have added the ability to create planned Quickfires where you can pre-write the questions in (which they had before) but now you can also opt for quick. Quick Quickfires are where your students are still able to answer your questions, but you DO NOT have to pre-plan them. You can verbally state them and the students can type their answers just as with a traditional Quickfire. The program does require you still title your Quickfire (which is not bad) but gives you the ability to get students to answer questions ACTIVELY in class without having to stop the class to create this. Yeay!

Second, the Quickfire now offers a canvas answer feature! I really didn’t know how to use these Quickfires for math and now I can! The drawing features are the same as Paint or Google Drawing just in smaller and not as many bells and whistles. All you need to as the teacher is change the answer format next to your question! Great update for Spiral!

If these changes weren’t good enough then let me introduce you to Clip.

Clip is a different type of discussion or quickfire (whichever you wish to use). With clip you just start the clip and you are taken to a screen where you can automatically search Youtube videos to show your students to spark debates or discussions. Now I do know as teachers we will still need to pre-watch these videos to make sure they are school appropriate, but it does produce a still of the video so you can go directly to the one you want. You can add multiple videos to your clip as well. Once you have set this up you will be given the option of an open-ended question or a multiple choice question. While in the actual Clip you can choose to hide or show answers. My students preferred to have the answers hidden because it made the clip take up the whole screen and easier for them to see it. Clip does have an extension you can add to chrome. I have not tried it because I prefer to access this from their website it does sound promising.

Finally, they have added a teacher only buying option! You no longer have to try to convince your admin to purchase this product! You can buy it for your classroom for $29 a year! While this is still in the beginning stages it is exciting!

As a teacher, I am really happy with these changes and additions. I can now use Spiral in numerous new ways in my classroom. While I do know some of you teachers do not have a 1-to-1 classroom, but please remember the students can use their phones or tablets as well. I have used this product whole class as well as in small groups with the same benefits.

If you have any comments or ideas please feel free to leave them in the comments below! Enjoy!

Kahoot

Product Description:
This is an online quiz or testing system for teachers. Teachers have the ability to create or use quizzes or tests on the program. Students engage by using a laptop, tablet, or smartphone to submit their answers.

Glitchy Review:
I have used Kahoot in my classroom for YEARS! I love it because I am able to test or quiz my students on anything I have taught them in the classroom in the most engaging way possible. They have made tests and quizzes into a game. When my students know they are going to do a Kahoot they get so excited and engaged that their behavior is perfect, they are excited, and are following the classroom rules and procedures better than any other time. This program takes the stress away of testing and replaces it with excitement and fun.

The program allows the teacher to decide if the students should work individually or with a partner (team). The teacher then displays the Kahoot to the class and it will automatically generate an access code for the students to use to log in. Once in the students can choose a nickname for themselves; sometimes I have the students use their name when I know this will be part of their grade the rest of the time they can choose nicknames. "But what if a student chooses a name that is not appropriate for school?" Teachers have the ability to kick a participant out before the game starts and the student can re-log in with a proper name. Once the game has started the students are given 5 seconds to read the question before the timer starts. When the timer starts the students are given multiple answers to choose from and on their device (laptop, tablet, phone, etc) must choose the corresponding color or shape with their chosen answer. When time is up for the question students are shown the answer and where they are in the standings. Please note students get points for clicking the correct answer and how quickly they click that answer in. After the Kahoot is done with all questions you and the class will see "the final results" (the top 5 students in the class.) As the teacher you will have the option to download ALL student answers with a breakdown of correct and wrong answers (I will attach a result to the bottom of this blog) for you to download. The students will also get the chance to rate the Kahoot! I always have my students do this because someone (or you) did spend time on it and would like to see how other students are enjoying it.

I would absolutely recommend this program to every teacher. The best part....it is 100% FREE! That's right you heard me FREE!

Glitchy Rating:
I give this a 5 because you can use it with any grade 1-12th. Student engagement is astronomically high and really shows students how using technology can be a great learning tool!

User Rating:
I give this a level 1 user rating. This program is super easy to sign up and start your first Kahoot. Creating, downloading, and all the perks of this program are user friendly and easy to figure out.

Nearpod

Product Description:
This product is to allow teachers to create interactive lessons for their classroom. Teachers can create or use previously made lessons in their classroom. The product has a free account (which I always suggest); however, there are multiple different accounts available. (Refer to picture below) For this review, I will be using the free account or Silver account.

Glitchy Review:
When I found this website I thought it was just a different version of Spiral. After playing around with it I noticed it was not. I am happy I was wrong! This website allows teachers to create interactive slide shows or "lessons" for their class. You can either create your own or user created one. This allows teachers to check for understanding throughout their lesson. (As a teacher a different way of CFU is great!) There are multiple things I like about this website and a few I am not too keen on. Like always I will start with the good things.

The best part of Nearpod is the ease of use. This is SUPER easy for everyone to use (teachers and students alike). The dashboard, creating lessons, adding slides, adding activities, or adding web content is simple. Using the website is great for every level of technology user. Second, this website allows teachers to check for understanding in different and more engaging ways. Being able to check student knowledge in a way they are familiar with and more engaging overall increases student learning. The learning process has now become a game for students. Third goes along with checking for understanding; aside from being able to engage with technology are the different types offered by the website. Nearpod has 6 different ways (open-ended questions, poll, quiz, fill in the blank, draw it, and memory test) which students can answer in real time. These different types of activities allow the teacher to gain access to multiple learning styles within one lesson! Fourth, students are able to use their own devices! Any of those schools with BYOD policies, rejoice! Your students are able to learn how

• students can use their own device to respond (BYOD)
• SUPER easy for students and teachers to use
• add multiple slides with ease

One great benefit to signing up for Nearpod is you are able to access many interactive lessons created by other teachers. You have the option to create your own or use other ones. Either one you choose is going to be easy for you to use. The only catch is if you have the free account you have a limited presentation size but is still workable. In the end, the benefits to teachers and students are immeasurable (granted you can measure results, but you get what I mean.). The ability to create even more interactive lessons, beyond what we already do, is amazing! I can't wait to have classes start to get going on this program! I will have to see how this works in my classroom before I will decide to buy the Gold level. However, I am optimistic and should this do what I hope, I will buy it ASAP.

Glitchy Rating: I give this website a 5 because of the ease of use, student access abilities, and the multitude of lessons available to the teachers.

User Rating: I give this a level 1 rating; the ease of use on both teacher and student ends is outstanding. You don't need any videos to know how to use this, however, you can watch videos to get ideas of different ways to use Nearpod in your classroom.

If you would like more information on Nearpod please click the following link from the Nearpod blog. Enjoy!
https://blog.nearpod.com/improvement-to-the-live-session-experience/