![References
JobsFirstNYC(2011, Sept. 23). Bridging the digital
divide in NYC [image]. Retrieved from
http://blog.jobsfirstnyc.org/2011/09/bridging-digital-
divide-in-new-york.html
Martyn, M. (2007). Clickers in the classroom: An active
learning approach. Educause review online.
Retrieved
fromhttp://www.educause.edu/ero/article/clickers-
classroom-active-learning-approach](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/1-140621082614-phpapp01/85/Evaluating-an-Emerging-Technology-Socrative-39-320.jpg)
Evaluating an Emerging Technology: Socrative
- 1. Socrates for the 21st Century Socrative: As Easy as Raising Your Hand Sarah Barnett July 14, 2013 ITEC 7445; Booker Kennesaw State University
- 2. Socrates: The Namesake • Socrates was an ancient Greek philosopher and founder of Western philosophy • Socratic Seminars, appropriately named for Socrates, guide students toward deeper understanding through the use of open-ended questions and inquiry based problems. • Students use textual evidence to support answers which should guide them to further questions in an effort to promote critical thinking. • Learn more about Socratic Seminars.
- 3. Socratic Seminars with Technology • Socrative, an emerging technology tool, essentially allows teachers to use technology to expand the learning potential of Socratic Seminars and other question-based activities. • Hand-raising to answer questions is replaced by “texting.”
- 4. What is Socrative? • Socrative (www.socrative.com) is a Web-based tool that allows teachers to pose questions and capture student answers. • Socrative is much like conventional student response systems (or “clickers”) that can enhance interactive whiteboard presentations, but Socrative eliminates the need for expensive technology tools and instead runs on any electronic device with Internet access: • Laptops • SmartPhones • Ipods touches • Tablets • Unlike traditional “clickers,” Socrative allows students to enter text answers, not simply choose a multiple choice answer. The devices our students already bring to school with a BYOT policy!
- 5. What does Socrative look like in action? Watch the video to learn more about how Socrative works from both a teacher and student perspective.
- 6. How does Socrative support Henry County Schools’ technology vision? • The technology vision states, “Henry County Schools supports teachers, students, staff, and administrators in using technology tools to enable and accelerate the documented benefits of research-based instructional strategies.” • Socrative can help fulfill Henry County’s commitment to “ensuring success for each student” and creating graduates who are prepared to enter college or the workforce.
- 7. What research-based strategies does Socrative support? • Socrative promotes formative assessment from immediate student-teacher feedback and allows the teacher to differentiate delivery of instruction when students either do not understand or do understand. • Socrative promotes social interaction and collaboration among students and teachers. Socrative allows all students’ voices to be heard, even those who may be unwilling to speak audibly. • Teachers can share quizzes on Socrative with other teachers, promoting common assessment.
- 8. Who can use Socrative? • Socrative can be used by students of all ages, all grade levels, and all ability levels. • No email address is required and students do not create individual accounts, so there are no privacy concerns or age limitations. • More students may have access to personal electronic devices in upper grades, so elementary and middle schools may need to focus more efforts on obtaining Internet-enabled devices for students to use.
- 9. What do I need to implement Socrative? • At least two Internet-enabled devices are needed to implement Socrative, a teacher device and a student device. • Henry County’s new wireless network allows students with Internet-enabled mobile devices to use Socrative at school, even if they do not purchase individual data plans from their providers. • Ideally, the technology should be implemented in a 1:1 ratio, although students could potentially work in small groups for some activities. Teachers may have small class sets of electronic devices or laptops for those students without personal electronic devices.
- 10. Teacher Device: Teachers set up a virtual classroom and then create questions/quizzes for students to complete. Student Device: Students join the virtual classroom and then await questions from the teacher. Students select correct answers.
- 11. What types of technical support are available? • Currently, Socrative is in the beta testing phase so the creators encourage feedback from teacher users to improve the product. • Teachers may submit a contact form on the Socrative website. • Socrative Garden is a blog devoted to providing teachers with tips for using Socrative in the classroom and troubleshooting. • The Socrative creators welcome feedback via many social media tools, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.
- 12. To the right is an example of a Socrative Garden blog entry. The green SOC #s relate to pre-made Socrative quiz activities teachers can implement in their own classrooms to collect formative and summative student data. This specific blog post offers teachers access to three “thinking” quizzes designed to help students make connections between what they already know and what they have just learned. Student responses would be captured by Socrative and then delivered to teachers in a downloadable Excel report. This would make a great “ticket-out-the-door.”
- 13. What are the limitations of Socrative? • Implementation may be limited by students who do not have personal electronic Internet-enabled devices (i.e. the digital divide) • Provisions would need to be made for these students to use school devices to ensure equity in access.
- 14. What is the cost of Socrative? Cost for Program Free Cost for Devices Students would bring personal devices (BYOT). Minimal costs to have school devices for check- out. Cost for Training Minimal training needed. Teachers can use free technical support on Socrative website.
- 15. What is the cost of Socrative? • Currently, Socrative is in beta testing and all features are free. • Socrative designers are committed to maintaining a free version of Socrative, but some current or new features may eventually require a reasonable subscription fee. Cost for Program Free
- 16. What is the cost of Socrative? • With a BYOT policy, it is difficult to estimate how many Internet- enabled devices may need to be purchased, since many students will use personal devices for this program. • Funds should be located to obtain devices for those students who do not have personal devices. • Existing laptop machines at schools may be sufficient. • Note: Although Socrative does not require an interactive whiteboard, it is compatible with all interactive whiteboards. Cost for Devices Students would bring personal devices (BYOT). Minimal costs to have school devices for check- out.
- 17. What is the cost of Socrative? • Cost for training would be rather minimal. • Socrative offers a training blog with an extensive FAQ/Troubleshooting section, training videos, and a user’s manual. • Additionally, the site is simple and intuitive to use. Cost for Training Minimal training needed. Teachers can use free technical support on Socrative website.
- 18. How can we fund this project? • Potential Sources for funding include: • Collecting used, donated smartphones from parents, community members, churches, etc. Phones do not have to be in service, only capable of Internet-access when charged. • Requesting monies from Partner’s in Education, especially those with technology services. • Soliciting donations for Internet-enabled devices from DonorsChoose, a non-profit site dedicated to helping teachers find funding from willing donors • Writing grants. Henry County has two Co-Coordinators for Grants and School Improvement who can provide assistance. Some potential grants are linked below: • Snapping Shoals Bright Ideas Grant • GA Power • Verizon Foundation • AT&T Education Grants
- 19. Socrative in the Classroom Content Standards Technology Standards Research-Based Instructional Strategies Formative Assessment Summative Assessment Creative Uses Differentiation Communication
- 20. How can Socrative be used in the classroom? • Socrative supports learning in all content areas and can be used to measure student’s knowledge (i.e. identification of historical figures) and skills (i.e. completion of math problem). A variety of question types provide teachers with student data.
- 21. How can Socrative be used in the classroom? • Socrative addresses the following National Educational Technology Standards for Students (ISTE, 2013): • Standard 2 Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others. • Socrative promotes active communication between students and teachers and encourages active participation from all students to encourage student learning. • Standard 5 Digital Citizenship: Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior.
- 22. How can Socrative be used in the classroom? • Formative Assessment: • The teacher in any content areas can use multiple choice questions embedded in a PowerPoint presentation or written on the board to measure understanding during a lecture; students use Socrative to provide answers. The teacher easily knows whether to review the material or move on. • The teacher can pose students with an open- ended discussion question; students first input answers into Socrative. The teacher can view these answers from all students and select several students to explain their answers to the class.
- 23. How can Socrative be used in the classroom? • Formative Assessment • Teachers can require students to complete an “exit ticket” before the end of class; the teacher might ask, “What concept from today’s lesson is now very clear to you?” or “What do you still not understand about our lesson today?” or “How does this connect with what you are learning in Social Studies?” • Summative Assessment • Quizzes and tests can be completed using Socrative; the teacher may input the questions into the Socrative web platform or allow students to just input answers from their paper test.
- 24. How can Socrative be used in the classroom? • Creative Uses • During Socratic Seminars, those students in the outer circle could submit questions via Socrative that they would like to raise after the inner circle finishes discussion. • During close reading of text, students may submit questions or thoughts about the reading, much like traditional annotation, so that the teacher can monitor the student’s ability to make inferences, draw conclusions, understand unfamiliar vocabulary. Worksheets and guided reading activities could be replaced with Socrative.
- 25. How can Socrative be used in the classroom? • Creative Uses: • Students can play a Space Race game (built into Socrative) against other students in the class or in teams to practice specific skills or content. • Using anonymous short answer questions, students could share goals, struggles, thoughts to ponder; the teacher might share by taking a screen shot of the Excel report on her computer screen or projecting the screen to the front of the room.
- 26. How can Socrative be used in the classroom? • Socrative allows a teacher to differentiate lesson content, structure, or pace based on immediate student-teacher feedback. • Exit tickets let a teacher plan the day’s instruction or create differentiated groups based on learner needs. • Small groups of students can submit to the teacher open-ended responses to differentiated tasks and all data is compiled in a single report.
- 27. How can Socrative be used in the classroom? • Socrative promotes authentic communication and collaboration: • Between students and teachers in the classroom, allowing teachers to tailor instruction to student needs. • Between students and other students, allowing students to share open-ended text-based answers with peers, before speaking them aloud. • Between teachers and parents. Teachers could create a Socrative classroom and invite parents to join, posing a question such as “Did your child show you his or her report card tonight?”
- 28. How can Socrative be used in the classroom? • Socrative promotes: • Student engagement • Active, student- directed learning • Higher-order thinking skills • Differentiation • Communication and collaboration
- 29. How do teachers get data from Socrative? • Socrative offers data in two ways: • For individual questions (multiple choice, true-false, short answer), teachers can see responses in real- time, including counts of students who chose specific answers. • These questions are anonymous.
- 30. How do teachers get data from Socrative? • For questions entered as “quizzes,” Socrative quickly creates an Excel spreadsheet summary once the teacher has ended the activity. The spread sheet is organized by student name and shows each student’s answer to each question posed, along with a grade. The report can be downloaded, opened in Excel, or exported to Edmodo.
- 31. What does the research say about Socrative? • Interactivity, promotion of higher-order thinking skills, immediate feedback, and anonymity in contributing answers can foster student engagement and learning (deJong et. al, 2009). • Immediate feedback is critical in ensuring that teachers do not continue with a lesson that students are not understanding. Anonymity means students are willing to “speak-up” if they are confused. Socrative addresses each of these issues. • Clicker-like tools promote active learning during an entire class period; their game-like format can be engaging to students (Martyn, 2007). • Students must be engaged in order to respond. They are actively listening so that they can respond quickly.
- 32. What does the research say about Socrative? • Computer response systems promote discussion, collaboration, and participation, as well as provide teachers with a way to immediately adapt the learning experience to student needs (Bruff, 2013). • Students are more likely to participate if they can use electronic devices. Socrative also ensures that the teacher “hears” from every student to assess understanding. • Socrative was rated as one of the Best Websites for Teaching and Learning in 2013 by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL, 2013).
- 33. How should we implement Socrative in our school? • Teachers will need to be trained in BYOT policies and best practices. This will already occur during pre-planning in the 2013-2014 school year as several schools begin the roll-out plan for wireless networks. • A teacher-made tutorial should be sufficient for teachers to learn Socrative. • Teacher-to-teacher support through discussion groups and technology-centered wikis will be critical in implementing and sharing BYOT best practices in the coming years.
- 34. Reflection • Since my school will be implementing BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) next year and installing a new wireless network, Socrative seemed a way to take advantage of the fact that students will already be bringing personal electronic devices to school. While some teachers in my school do have access to interactive whiteboards and supplemental classroom response systems, most do not; Socrative allows teachers to take advantage of the type of student engagement made possible by using “clickers.” Because many students will have their own personal electronic devices, the out of pocket cost for implementation will be minimal, requiring the school only to purchase devices for those students who do not have any. Current school technology resources may be sufficient to fulfill this need.
- 35. Reflection • Although Socrative does have an option for quizzes and other forms of summative assessment, I would caution teachers from using it for tests or exams in the classroom, since Socrative cannot prevent students from accessing other Internet sites to find answers. The current learning management system implemented in Henry County Schools (POINT) is more sophisticated in terms of analyzing student data from full-length quizzes and tests. However, for formative assessment in day-to-day instruction, Socrative gives teachers a quick “pulse check” of students’ understanding and ensures that students remain attentive, alert, and engaged. Moreover, because it takes advantage of the devices students are already bringing to school, its implementation is cost-effective.
- 36. Reflection • As an English teacher, I look forward to using Socrative for multiple choice practice on AP Literature practice exams, soliciting feedback from outer circle students during Socratic seminars, and collecting “exit tickets” to check students understanding from the day. I may also use Socrative for two-question reading quizzes, a frequent practice I implement to ensure students read the previous night’s assigned reading. Socrative makes such assessment quick to grade and eliminates the need for paper and pencil.
- 37. Reflection • Evaluating Socrative allowed me to consider how teachers besides myself may use this technology tool in the classroom. One thing I really liked about Socrative was that it was simple to understand. Because it does not complete too many different tasks, it is relatively simply for technology novices to learn. As we implement more technology into K-12 instruction, it is important to have some tools with a low learning curve so that those teachers nervous to use technology are not immediately turned off by tools that are difficult to use.
- 38. References American Association of School Librarians (2013). Best websites for teaching & learning 2013. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-guidelines/best- websites/2013#manage Bruff, D. (2013). Classroom response systems (“clickers”). Center for teaching: Vanderbilt University. Retrieved from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching- guides/technology/clickers/#why de Jong, T., Lane, J., Sharp, S. & Kershaw, P. (2009) Optimising Personal Audience Response Systems technology to enhance student learning in teacher education lectures, in The Student Experience, Proceedings of the 32nd HERDSA Annual Conference, Darwin, 6-9 July 2009: pp 111-120. Retrieved from http://www.herdsa.org.au/wp- content/uploads/conference/2009/papers/HERDSA2009_ DeJong_T.pdf
- 39. References JobsFirstNYC(2011, Sept. 23). Bridging the digital divide in NYC [image]. Retrieved from http://blog.jobsfirstnyc.org/2011/09/bridging-digital- divide-in-new-york.html Martyn, M. (2007). Clickers in the classroom: An active learning approach. Educause review online. Retrieved fromhttp://www.educause.edu/ero/article/clickers- classroom-active-learning-approach