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S05E05: Appy Hour is Happy Hour

Dr. Rebecca Smith of UP’s School of Education decided to make assessments more fun.  How? By having her MAT students take quizzes.  What, that doesn’t sound fun to you?

Rebecca Smith

Dr. Rebecca Smith

Ah, but these are not your grandmother’s quizzes.  Using quiz making apps like Socrative and Kahoot takes quiz making to the next level with fun interactive features that promote collaborative learning.  Dr. Smith invites her students to a recurring Appy Hour where they get to take a quiz with a new app and experience the tool first like their K-12 students would.   Then they learn how to create a quiz using that app so they can use it in their own classrooms.

“You have to accept that we’re in the technology world,” Dr. Smith said.  “Kids are on their phones and computers all the time inside and outside the classroom.  I really believe we have to say these tools can be used for learning also.”

Appy Hour has been a big hit.  Students even started bringing appetizers.  (Get it? Apps for Appy Hour).  They also share new apps with their peers when they find ones they think will be a good learning tool.

In this podcast, Dr. Smith explains how she keeps Appy Hour fun and fresh.  Learn more about this innovative, engaging idea.

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https://uportland.mediaspace.kaltura.com/id/0_qmlrb4ar?width=705&height=443&playerId=28073962

View the full episode transcript in PDF format

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[su_service title=”App picks of the week” icon=”icon: thumbs-o-up”]

  • Rebecca picked Quizlet for its flashcard feature and the fact that you can use/edit quizzes created by others.
  • Ben likes Kahoot! a fun game-show style quiz maker that keeps track of how quickly you answer questions.

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Continue the conversation at the Teaching & Learning Community Blog: https://sites.up.edu/tl

UP TechTalk is a bi-monthly podcast with cohosts Ben Kahn and Maria Erb of Academic Technology Services and Innovation at UP that explores the use of technology in the classroom, one conversation at a time.

Maria Erb

2 Comments

    • Hi Peter! The list continues to grow. Here are several apps that we have explored for Appy Hour:

      Bingo Baker, Google Forms, Quizizz, That Quiz (thatquiz.org), Nearpod, Quizlet (quizlet.com/live), Newsela, Kahoot! (getkahoot.com), Plickers, Kahn Academy, Class Dojo, Edmodo, TodaysMeet, Bookwidgets, Membean, Studyshack.com, Trading Cards, EDpuzzle, Padlet, Animoto, ClassKick, Explain Everything (screencasting), Answer pad (Exit slips), Poll Everywhere, Drawp for School, Kaizena, Padlet Group Collaboration Board, Seesaw, GoFormative, Seesaw

      Thanks for your interest!

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