I've spent some time today playing with the student response system Socrative. I'd already set up a teacher account, but then it occurred to me that it would be a good idea to set up a learner account too (using a different email address).
So, I've been asking myself questions to get a sense of both experiences. And it seems easy to use, offering the opportunity to set multiple choice or 'true or false' quizzes or to fire of simple one-off questions.
On the face of it, it's a useful tool for formative assessment. It started life as the brainchild of a teaching assistant at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who thought that if students were going to spend time on their phones in lectures then they may as well be engaging with lecture content in quiz form.
It's now used by more than a million teachers and students around the world. That you can ask the app for immediate feedback makes it possible for a teacher to assess the progress of all learners as a lesson goes on.
Charlynne Pullen and Olivia Varley-Winter, the authors of a report on digital technology in vocational education, saw Socrative being used at a Berkshire college and were impressed with its 'usability'.
They quote a teacher who told them that Socrative had replaced flip charts. The authors were particularly impressed that one tutor had been able to devise a quiz on his phone during a fire drill and that all his learners had been able to complete the quiz on their phones before returning to the building.
Sources:
Massachsetts Institute of Technology http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2014/socrative-app-real-time-data-student-comprehension-1211 (Accessed: 29.12.14)
Pullen, C. and Varley-Winter, O. (2014) Culture, Coaching and Collaboration. London: City & Guilds Centre for Skills and Development
