A couple of years ago, I was introduced to Turning Point software and their "clickers." It was love at first sight. I loved the fact that I could take my Power Points for my lessons and build in assessment tools. My students loved them as well.
During my final year as a second grade teacher, most of my assessments (informal and formal) were given using Turning Point, especially in content areas of science and social studies. The students loved them and were motivated to do well. The instant feedback Turning Point gives the class and the teacher was phenomenal. I could easily tell which concepts I needed to review or spend more time on. My students truly benefited.
However, creating Power Points to be used for assessments has become monotonous and boring.
Just last week, I was introduced to a new window of opportunity! Turning Point Anywhere! No longer am I bored! My excitement is renewed and I'm excited to share this with you!
If you have a set of Turning Point clickers and use Turning Point 2008, then you can download and use Turning Point Anywhere. http://www.turningtechnologies.com/responsesystemsupport/downloads/
So what is Turning Point Anywhere, and why am I so excited? Turning Point Anywhere is assessment on the fly. You simply plug in your Turning Point receiver and open Turning Point Anywhere. Basically, you can poll anything that appears on your screen. So, for example, let's say that you have a website projected on your SMART Board and you want to see if the students can identify the URL address of the website. Simply, identify three answer choices -
1) New Window Tab
2) URL bar
3) Close Window Icon.
Verbally, ask the students to identify which of these three choices is the correct answer. Press the start polling option, and allow students to respond! When everybody's response is collected, press stop polling and a chart will pop up to graph the responses! Review the answers and right click on the correct answer bar to set it as correct. Turning Point Anywhere also allows you to print participant reports! It's wonderful!
Turning Point Anywhere brings new value to document cameras, the web, and other software applications! It allows you to integrate technology into your lessons and create spontaneous teachable moments!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I agree that the quick assessment remotes (no matter what the brand) can make your SMART Board an even stronger educational tool in the classroom. An article recently tweeted by @smsoccer and @agrei8 via #edchat ( http://bit.ly/2HLwd0 ) also supports the use of remotes with interactive whiteboards to improve student learning. They also noted that good teaching methods must be used with the remotes (be sure to go over the problem afterwards!) Thanks for sharing your use of these tools in the classroom.
ReplyDelete