1.1. Nearpod: Nearpod is a presentation tool that has formative assessment tools built in. Teachers create PowerPoint-style lessons that are viewed on each student's device. The teacher controls the pace of the lesson. Formative assessment tools include polls, short-answer questions, quizzes, annotations, and free draw. Nearpod is available for free but requires a subscription to unlock all of the features.
1.2. EdPuzzle: EdPuzzle is a companion program that allows teachers to turn any video into an interactive lesson. Students will watch the video through a provided link. The teacher can choose to add quiz questions before, during, or after the video. Students must answer the questions in order to progress through the video. Teachers can also add supporting resources EdPuzzle is available for free but requires a subscription to unlock all of the features.
1.3. Spiral: Spiral is a complete content delivery system that includes many different formative assessment tools. This includes quick response questions, quizzes, note-taking, discussions, student generated presentations, and assignments. There are both free and paid versions of this program.
1.4. Formative: Formative is a web-based program designed with the 1 to 1 classroom environment in mind. Students can participate in formative assessment with or without logging in. Students are able to respond to prompts by selecting answers, recording audio, annotating, and other methods. Teachers can build interactive lessons that make this program ideal for the flipped classroom model. Both free and paid versions exist.
1.5. Mentimeter: Mentimeter is a presentation tool that incorporates simple response questions to engage the viewers. The variety of question types gives educators the capability to access information from the whole class instead of just the few students that are willing to share opinions out loud. This program would work great in a Bring Your Own Device environment. There are both free and paid versions of this program.
2. Student Creation
2.1. Flipgrid: Flipgrid is a video response tool that encourages students to share their thoughts and understanding as part of a discussion board. Teachers create posts that are secure for students in the class only. Students can then reply to the posting in a "selfie-style" video format. Teachers can select how long they want the video responses to be. Flipgrid is free to use.
2.2. Google Docs: Google Docs is a word processing program that allows students to build documents that can be shared with teachers and other students. Students can use text, images, and links to create thorough responses. The availability of spellcheck and some grammar support help make the final product more polished. Teachers can create worksheet templates that are shared with students to help guide learning. Google Docs is free but does require a Google account.
2.3. Animoto: Animoto is a video production program that gives students the ability to make quality videos with little to know editing skills needed. The program features a drag and drop style of building that is quick and easy to learn. This program requires a paid subscription in order to access the features.
2.4. Lino: Lino is a digital corkboard that invites students to collaborate in a shared space. Students can upload images and or add text in the form of a sticky note. Would work very well as a lesson starter or exit ticket. Both free and paid versions of Lino exist.
2.5. Padlet: Padlet is another collaborative work space program that allows users to add content to a web-hosted wall. Users can add text, images, video, web links, and music to make the shared space vibrant and engaging. Offers the ability to monitor student progress through recorded data. Free trial is available but is a paid program only.
2.6. Coggle: Coggle is a mind-mapping tool that can be used in a collaborative manner. Students can work together to show how their shared understanding provides deeper knowledge of concepts. The Coggle platform is user-friendly and can be learned quickly. There are both free and paid versions of this program available.
3. Quiz Style
3.1. Quizizz: Quizizz is a self-paced quiz program that can be used for all content areas. Teachers can create their own multiple choice quizzes or select a quiz from the shared library. The quiz can be completed in class or assigned as homework. All results are available through a reporting section that helps teachers understand how their class performed. Quizizz is free to use.
3.2. Kahoot: Kahoot is a multiple choice style quiz platform that is most often completed as a whole group. The question appears on the teacher's screen and students select an answer on their own device. Kahoot is free to use.
3.3. GimKit: GimKit is a computer game that involves both independent and group based objectives. Students answer questions to earn points or money that can be used for the group game-play. Objectives vary depending on the style of game you select. Gimkit is free to use, but limits the amount of quizzes you can create. Must purchase a subscription to gain full access.
3.4. Socrative: Socrative is diverse platform quiz program that gives teachers the ability to adjust the questioning style based on the activity or lesson. As students work through the questions, teachers can view live results of the class performance. Teachers can also build class rosters so they can easily monitor the progress of different groups of students. Socrative is free but requires a subscription to unlock all of the features.
3.5. Quizalize: Quizalize offers a fun, friendly competition style game play where students try to be the best team. After the game is over, teachers receive individualized reports for each participant. Teachers can then push out extension or intervention resources to the students based on how well they performed. There is a library of quizzes already built, or teachers can shoose to create their own. Quizalize is free to use but requires a subscription to unlock all of the features.
3.6. Schoology: Schoology is a Learning Management System that can be used to create quizzes that involve a wide variety of question types. Questions can be multiple choice, True-False, Matching, Ordering, Short answer, and Fill in the blank. The program itself acts like a digital classroom and each student has their own profile and is a member of your class. Schoology is free to use but requires a subscription to unlock all of the features.
3.7. Edulastic: Edulastic is a robust assessment program that can be used to create many assessment types and provide instant feedback for students. The data is available for teachers on demand. The program syncs seamlessly with Google classroom. The free version will meet the needs of most teachers, but there are additional resources available with a subscription.
3.8. Quizlet: Quizlet is a digital flashcard program with additional features. Teachers create flashcards that can be accessed digitally by students. Students can select a variety of ways to practice with the content including matching, memory, and games. The best feature of Quizlet is Quizlet Live. It is a collaborative game that automatically selects groups and has them compete as teams to answer a set number of questions in a row. Students need to work with each other because the answer to the question will only appear on one device. Quizlet is a free program with the opportunity for paid upgrades.
3.9. Google Forms: Google Forms is a simple polling tool that teachers can use to gather information quickly about how well a class understands a concept. Once the form has been created, teachers share the link with students. Students enter the requested information and then submit their work. All responses are recorded in a spreadsheet that can be sorted for quick and easy reference. This is a free program, but it does require a Google account.
