Thing 18: Student Assessment and Feedback Tools

Remind:
I have started using the Remind App and find it such a fast and easy way to share what we are doing in the classroom with parents. It's a quick way to send reminders as well. I chose it because I was looking for a better way to communicate with parents and share what students are working on.  Previously I was updating a class blog with pictures and information about what students were working on in class. I found that very few parents were actually following or viewing the blog. I found myself having to email parents the link to the blog and reminding them to check it out each time I added a new post. So, I tried to use Remind in the same fashion, as a way to share class activities with parents. I find Remind to be a much faster and easier way to share photos and information. I can quickly send messages and pictures from my phone, which means I can message parents anytime. I also activated the two-way messaging, so parents can communicate with me as well. This has been really helpful because parents will send me a quick text to give me a heads up if their child is sick, or had a rough morning. One downside I found is that not all parents wanted to sign up for Remind, so when I share information via the app, not all families receive it. Despite that fact, I honestly prefer to Remind message parents instead of emailing them because I know they will receive the message on their phones and see it instantly. I currently teach third graders, so this is not an app I use to communicated directly with students, but I can see how this could be a great way to communicate with older students

Vizia:
I chose to explore Vizia because I have used similar programs that allow you to add questions throughout videos,so I was familiar with the concept and wanted to see how Vizia compared. I thought Vizia was very easy to use. I love that it can record answers in Google Sheets-BONUS! I added some questions to a multiplication strategies video. I am going to have my students watch it with their learning partners tomorrow during math stations. I know they will be excited to work together and interact with the video!

Multiplication Strategies Video