Tuesday, November 18, 2014

I get a kick out of Classkick!

Last week I tried the Classkick app for the first time. It was so much fun to use with my students that I felt I had to share it with everyone!

Classkick allows me to create my own assignments and share them with my students via a class code.  Creating assignments is so easy.  I can write 10 problems in Classkick in much less time than it takes me to type them up and make sure all the formatting of my document looks just right.  You can also import images from your camera roll, including screenshots of documents.  

Students use a stylus or their fingers to write the answers to the problems, or they may type text as well.  One thing they appreciated is that they aren't limited to writing in just one screen and can scroll down if they need extra space to solve their equations.

The really cool part is that I can see every problem of every student in real time on my iPad!  I can see their progress, and I can select a specific problem to view.  I can add comments or provide help by writing on their problem right along with them.

If a student needs my help, they can tap on the hand icon (like raising a virtual hand) and I see the indicator on my iPad that they need my help, and for which problem they need my help with.  I'm not one to sit at my desk, but I theoretically could help every student from the comfort of my chair.

As I am checking through their work, if I notice an error, I can send them a message like "check #3".  If I see a student daydreaming or goofing around, I can send a message like "please focus". 

Teacher view
Student view

Another plus is that I don't have to stand in line at the copy machine and I'm saving some trees too!  I had so much fun using Classkick with my students, and they seemed to like it too.  I've used it three times so far, and when I asked them to go to Classkick, I actually heard a few of them say "Yay!"