Plickers!

I saw this post recently on Laura Candler's blog http://www.lauracandler.com about an interactive technology called Plickers https://plickers.com. The draw for me was that in order to use the technology you only need ONE hand-held device and the app is FREE!! I'm signed up for her FREE webinar tonight to learn more about this awesome resource! Here's the steps I followed to try it out and I so excited that it actually worked! We've done it now a few times with some simple math questions and I can't wait to add more question folders to my question queue and use Plickers again!! Here are the steps I followed to get started: 

• Go to https://plickers.com and click cards and download to download the special Plickers cards. Print the cards off on cardstock (don't laminate, so they are easier to scan) Each card has a number on it, so I wrote my kiddo's name with their class number that matched on the back of each card. 

• Create a FREE Plickers account

• Click on Classes and Add New Class to add your students. I added them according to the number they already have in my class in ABC order. 

• Click on Library to create new questions then add them to your Question Queue.

• Download the FREE Plickers app on your hand-held device from the app store (I use my teacher iPad). 

• Explain the cards to your students (Each card has special scan symbol and a choice of A, B, C or D) and you are ready to begin! 

Here's a few pics of my students interacting using Plickers: The question is projected on my Apple TV screen while I use the iPad to scan cards quickly and see results. I also love this because it is completely SILENT, but every student is PARTICIPATING!!!

To help with managing answers, I decided to have my students hold their Plickers card by their chest until I say, "Showdown!" Then students hold the cards up high for me to scan as seen in the picture below. It took a bit of practice for students to turn cards correctly, but now I can scan them with ease. Also, as soon as students see on the screen that their card has been scanned, they turn their card upside down on the floor. *On another teaching note, I started with really simple math problems like,1+1= just so students could get used to using the cards and I could teach management.