Answering questions, explaining your thinking, responding to text, using graphic organizers… What alternatives can we give students who have difficulty writing down their ideas?
There are so many apps that students can use to share their knowledge and understanding. Just when I think I have a good list I hear about something new. I give my students choice boards (see below) and they are able to choose which app to use to share what they know.
If you would like pdf copies the links are below.
I have challenged my students to answer a single question with as many apps as possible. This worked very well and gave students the chance to talk about which app worked best for which type of question.
Below are examples of answers to my question...
Which 3D shapes roll, stack and/or slide?
Here is a video the students made using Chatterpix.
For this example they used Skitch.
This example uses Popplet.
This example uses Pic Collage.
Here is another question I asked.
What time is it if both hands are close to but not on the 5?
We used iMovie.
We used Chatterpix.
We used Explain Everything.
This example uses ThingLink.
As I am writing this and re-watching these examples I notice once again how deeply I am able to see the level of understanding that each student has. I can tell who understands the properties of shapes or the concept of time very easily. The students were so proud that they got to choose the app for representation and show what they knew. It makes me question whether I would have seen this if I had asked them to simply write about it.
I love this quote by Jeanne Halderson.
Be open, encourage choices, allow students to guide their own learning and watch what happens!
