The Socrative Tool

The Socrative application has various features that can not only enhance the student-teacher relationship but also improve the learning process. Socrative also makes teaching easier, fun, and enjoyable no matter where one is. Some of the key features include activities, quizzes, reporting tools, virtual study rooms, and student experience platforms among others.

Socrative enables the teachers to choose activities that suit their needs, and engage their students. For instance, the educator can ask an instant question for quick student response to see how well the students understood a certain topic that they taught in class.

Using Socrative the platform, the teacher can create their own folders of the quizzes that they have developed on their own as assessments for their students. The quizzes can then be saved in the teacher’s Socrative account and can be used at any time. Different folders can contain different topics or subjects, and this makes the work easier since the teacher does not have to struggle much when they are looking for quizzes.

The reporting feature in the Socrative application enables the teachers to generate learning-based reports. For instance, an educator can generate a report based on the review of Student (s) understanding in class. What is more, the Socrative app enables an educator to store such reports in their accounts and access them easily by downloading and emailing, among other ways.

Moreover, the Socrative app enables one to create rooms that facilitate virtual communication between the students and the teachers. Interestingly, those rooms enable the students and the teacher (s) to engage wherever they are. This means that either the student or the teacher can be located remotely yet, participate in any learning activity that the educator has chosen. Joining these rooms requires the teacher to give their students the unique code.

Given the preceding, Socrative can be a resourceful tool for teaching and learning. It can be used in a school library setting to enable the students to find what they want to read easily. For instance, a virtual room can be created and the students can ask the librarian where a certain book can be found. This will minimize the time the students take to search for a certain information resource in the library. Moreover, the Socrative app can save various books, readings, journals, and articles so that the students can access them online. As such, students will only have to go to the library’s computer and log in to Socrative and search the books they want to read.

Lastly, teachers can use the Socrative app in the classroom to promote students’ engagement and understanding. For instance, teachers can share various images with each student in the classroom through Socrative instead of showing just one on the blackboard. This will ensure that every student is engaged in the learning process. Apart from facilitating the students’ understanding, Socrative reduces boredom when each student has a chance to participate in a certain activity at the same time without moving from one place to another.

Link: https://www.socrative.com/

PowerSchool Learning

The digital learning resource that I’m focusing on this week is PowerSchool Learning. PowerSchool Learning is a powerful teaching and learning tool that offers teachers and learners a collaborative, web-based and cloud-based solution for making the most of the learning process.  The tool allows teachers to develop and implement interactive and engaging lessons. With this tool, teachers can create visual and meaningful instructions supported by multimedia content. This can be powerful for motivating the learners and engaging them in an inclusive learning environment.

Moreover, PowerSchool Learning allows teachers to create and share learning content with their students and even parents. Teachers can easily upload full-text materials and web links to the cloud-based tool. The students, on the other hand, can easily access those materials. Perhaps more notably, the teacher can create discussion forums and engage the learners in their learning process. Here, the learners have a chance to create and share content with their peers, as well as manage their homework by accessing materials and consulting their peers and educators.  The tool, therefore, promotes self-directed learning and participation, shifting from the traditional approach where educators disseminated information in a unidirectional manner to the students.

Additionally, the PowerSchool Learning allows collaboration among teachers, where educators and administrators can use the collaborative and sharing features to co-teach and interact with each other, thereby promoting professional development and teaching efficiency. These features imply that the teachers can learn from each other, and apply their shared ideas in the classroom to enhance the learning process. Also, the PowerSchool Learning empowers the teachers to assess the progress of their students by conducting varied formative, summative and authentic assessments. Teachers are able to gauge the students’ achievement of desired learning goals and track the learning trends of the students based on the smart analytics which are powered by the PowerSchool Learning. The educators can use this information to make informed decisions regarding what changes are necessary and what to do going forward.

In addition, the PSL solution supports paperless K-12 classrooms, because it provides a multitude of digital tools for the teachers and students, enabling them to complete virtually all learning and teaching processes using the cloud-based tool. For example, teachers can create and share learning materials and assignments, and the students can use the tool to complete the assignments, as well as submit their output. Grading is done on the platform, and the feedback can be shared with the students using the cloud-based solution. Aside from saving time, these features create an interesting learning environment which can be appealing to the learners and increase engagement and interest. Besides, it gives the students a voice as they can interact with their peers and express their ideas in unique ways. It also goes a long way in enhancing the creativity and critical thinking of the learners as they learn from their peers and share their ideas, as well as navigate the digital space offered by the tool.

The PowerSchool Learning can be a resourceful learning tool in the classroom and school library settings because it promotes collaborative and participative learning while offering the learners a chance to engage in the learning process. The students are involved in creating and sharing knowledge. It also entails the application of the digital literacy skills, which align with the principles of digital citizenship. Given the underlying goals of education, namely to prepare the students for the future, the PowerSchool Learning promotes creativity among the students. It also cultivates essential skills such as communication, critical thinking, and netiquette which the students need as they use the digital platform to learn and share information. The fact that the tool simplifies the educator’s work is also worth noting, as it saves time and allows the teacher more time to teach, as the platform does the management and organization of learning resources and tools. 

Web link: https://www.powerschool.com/solutions/lms/

Schoology Application

This week I downloaded and tried an interesting teaching application, namely Schoology. First of all, the app gives the user three options for logging in; you can log in as a teacher, student, or parent. I did not try logging in as a parent, as I only created the student and teacher accounts. However, I find it interesting that an app designed to augment learning has a platform for parents. I think this is a good thing, as it acknowledges the importance of a parent in a child’s academic journey.

The app has six main functional features which the users can use to teach and learn effectively. First, there is a “Recent Activity” button, where the user clicks to see what one has been doing recently, as well as what other users have been doing. For a teacher, if they posted assignments or grades, they would be able to see it. The student platform also shows recent activities. The next feature is “Courses” where the courses which a teacher has added would be listed. The teacher can add courses using this button. The students can join a course by adding a unique access code to participate in a course. Thirdly, there is a “Groups” tab, where students can join groups created by their teachers. These groups provide interactive platforms where participants can post and share their ideas and resources with others. Moreover, there is a “Resources” button, which is where class resources such as books are located. The teacher can upload learning materials there and allow access by their students. The fact that Schoology is cloud-based means that the teachers can upload and share as many resources as possible, and the students can have access to limitless learning and developmental resources.

 Moreover, teachers can post grades, which the students can review and see from their platforms, using the “Grades” button. This enhances the communication and feedback system in the learning process, which goes a long way to enhance the learning outcomes. Lastly, there is a “Calendar” tool, which allows the user to mark dates and add events. This is an especially useful feature as it allows the users to create upcoming events and be able to review what is upcoming when they log into the application and click the “Recent Activity” button.

Users can upload multimedia content, including videos, photos, and text files among others. The app has a simple, interactive user interface, which means that the user can complete actions with only a few steps. Looking at the various features of the Schoology app, it is not hard to see how it would contribute to the teaching and learning process. It is a simple tool for integrating technology in the classroom, and could indeed be a reliable assistive technology for students. In a school library setting, the app could be useful as a tool for saving library materials that have been identified to be read. The school librarians can post links to relevant resources, where the students can in turn access and read them, as well as share with their groups. In the classroom, the teacher is able to post assignments, grades, and feedback to students, while the learners are in turn able to post their completed work so the teacher can access and grade it. Lastly, the participants can share reading materials, including full articles and web links. The app also creates a tech-based approach, which can be appealing to the students who are increasingly tech-savvy. All of these aspects make Schoology a potentially useful teaching technology tool in the school library and classroom settings.

Reference

Schoology. (2018). About Schoology. Retrieved from https://www.schoology.com/about

The Pocket App

The pocket is an application that allows users to create reading lists of articles that are sourced from the internet. Students can download and install it on their smartphones, and they get to save relevant articles by searching from the app and clicking a “Save” button that shows up when an article is opened. The app allows the students to create a local library of readings from anywhere, and by simply tapping “My Lists” the user can view a list of all the titles they have saved. One benefit of the app, from my own experience, is that students can actually identify and bookmark sources even during an active instruction session. For example, when an instructor mentions a certain resource which learners should consider reading after class, a student can check it online through the app, retrieve and save it, and read it later. This can be a powerful learning tech tool because it implies that the user will not miss a resource. Besides, the app allows a user to read the article on the app, without necessarily going to the websites.

I tried the app on the smartphone, as well as the web-based version, where it comes as a browser extension of the Chrome Browser. The benefit is that it is not limited to the smartphones alone. PC users can access their reading lists easily. Another helpful feature that I found with the Pocket is that it allows the user to view articles offline. Besides, there is a “Listen” feature, which reads out an article, making it a resourceful aid for users who may not be able to read clearly (impaired vision). Moreover, there is a feature entitled “Discover,” which shows suggested topics. I discovered that the suggested articles are on random topics, but they could be useful for general reading. These topics include some top trending news and technology topics.  Once you open an article, you can share with friends using instant messaging services such as WhatsApp, as well as email and other social sharing tools. You can also mark an article as a favorite, as well as add tags. All of these features add up to an engaging experience, which can go a long way in boosting the earning process. This is so especially considering that the app is highly user-friendly and easy to navigate.

One downside that I found is that Pocket does not seem to allow users to interact with other users, such as students engaging in discussions with fellow learners and teachers. There is a feature where users can find friends to follow and see what they are posting. Nonetheless, I think Pocket is a resourceful app, which simplifies the process of creating reading lists, and therefore augments the learning processes while creating that tech environment that many students can identify with these days.

The Edmodo Learning App

The app that I selected and tried is called “Edmodo” on https://www.edmodo.com/. I downloaded it from the App store and installed it on my smartphone. From my experience, it is a highly interactive app, which has a messaging tool that works like an instant messaging tool. Once one installs the application, they have to create an account either as a teacher, or student. I created the teacher account for the demonstration. With the teacher account, I am able to create learning communities with students and other tutors. I can identify and search for learning resources such as books, articles, photos among others, and share them with my students and/or fellow teachers in the learning community. All of this is possible under the “Stream” feature. The other feature is the “Classes,” which allows the teacher to engage with their students, sharing and communicating with the students. I can create several classes, and manage them using the app to track the learning process, upload class materials such as tutorials, and update them as the need may be. This features lets the teacher to manage assignments, learning materials uploaded, and the discussions.

There is also a “Messages” feature, which lets the instructor create and send messages to students in the various classes they manage, as well as other teachers that may be involved in a particular class or forum. The students are able to communicate with the teachers via messages, and the teacher can manage those messages using this feature. The messaging service is instant, so it saves time and enhances connectivity. What is more, the app offers a ”Notifications” features, which enables the teachers to stay up to date with all the alerts, class activities and any requests that may be received from students, other classes, and learning groups. So, the teacher can keep up with class anywhere, as long as they have they smartphone that has the app installed.

A teacher can also create and manage groups, and maintain a library where they can add links to resources, files, folders and photo resources. The user can easily access the library and read or share these library resources with their students and other participants in groups/classes. I also found the “What’s Due” tab highly resourceful, because it allows the teacher to create and manage assignments, including tracking the submissions on the go, without the limitation of location.

As I tried the Edmodo app, it is obvious that it would be a resourceful technology in a school library setting. As we have learned this week, the idea of integrating the relevant technologies is to streamline the teaching process, make learning fun and engaging, and ultimately enhance the learning outcomes of the learners (McGrath et al., 2011). For example, as I described the features that the app offers, it is evident that a teacher can use the app to create a collaborative learning experience, where teachers and students can participate in learning groups. Here, students and teachers can share learning resources such as websites and articles. This can be quite resourceful in terms of enriching discussions on a topic. Librarians and teachers can use this tool to identify and upload the relevant library resources that are needed in teaching a certain class. This can go a long way in enhancing the learning process.

Also, since the learners can also create accounts and join learning groups, the app can be used to enhance student engagements through discussion forums and sharing of ideas and learning resources. If a student finds a resource that is relevant to a topic, they can share it with the classmates, thereby boosting the learning process in an online classroom setting. The fact that a teacher can create, manage and track assignments and submission also provides an opportunity to enhance the learning and teaching process. It would enable the tutor to save time and experience more convenience in managing the assignment and giving feedback. This can be applied to both the online and offline classroom settings since all a user needs is a smartphone to access materials and participate in a discussion. As a result, overall the Edmodo app can simplify the teaching experience for teachers and allow them to plan and delivery educational content more efficiently. On the other hand, the learners benefit from an engaging and interesting learning process, which could potentially lead to better learning outcomes.

Reference

McGrath, J., Karabas, G., & Willis. J. (2011). From TPACK concept to TPACK practice: An analysis of the suitability and usefulness of the concept as a guide in the real world of teacher development. International Journal of Technology in Teaching and Learning, 7(1), 1-23.