-Using your computer go to plickers.com and sign up (I prefer to do this part online although you can do it through the mobile app)
-Create a class and input your student's names, assigning each student to a number
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Plickers cards have funny shaped black boxes with each side labeled with A,B,C,D |
-Create questions within your Plickers account ahead of time. You can do either multiple choice (1-4 answers) or true/false. For my purposes today I wanted to see if they could categorize what would be used either then or now, so I just created one question 'When was this from' and answer A=Then B=Now. I wasn't looking to collect individual student data on each question so I only made one and just reset the results from the question each time I asked it again (as I displayed a new then/now image for each question)
-Then just jump in! Hand out the cards and ask away! It is pretty neat to be able to see the results happening right away. The students had fun watching the graph go up and also enjoyed checking their name to see if they got it right!
TIPS
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So here are some quick pointers that I picked up today using Plickers in Kindergarten:
-Talk about how to hold the cards. I was fortunate enough to have my magnificent media specialist, Jenny, come in to co-teach the lesson and I forgot this part as I was giving directions. This was my first time ever using Plickers and I didn't think about how it was important to specify using 2 hands and to not block the black box.
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Try to scan with a newer iOS device if you are having trouble. |
-Use clipboards. My kinderkiddos wiggle. A lot. So it was difficult to read the Plickers cards as they were moving around quite a bit. Using clipboards helped keep the cards flat and made it easier to scan.
-Specify where to hold them. We tried in front of our chest, we tried over our heads and finally we settled on in front of our faces to be the best place to hold the cards so that we could scan them.
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Don't be afraid to readjust seating to help with scanning the Plickers cards! |
-Be prepared for some to not scan. We were still having issues with a few of the cards as we went. We also had a lag behind what we saw on the iOS device's screen and the online live view that we were displaying. We tried waiting it out but for some reason some of the times it didn't work. Frustrating but I'm thinking there is something there that I'm missing. We'll see.
-Simplify your questions. I was displaying pictures that we also used in a paper cut and paste sort and the students had to say if it was from then or from now. When I would ask the question it got very wordy and confusing for some of my students, especially my EL students. In hindsight I would just ask, 'Do we use this now?' and have it be a true/false answer since we have worked on that format throughout the year and the students understand what that means. I wasn't able to solely test the content of the questions as some were confused by the format. But with more practice and fine tuning I think we will quickly catch on!
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Displaying both the question & the Plickers results in graph form |
-I wish Plickers allowed you to add images to the questions and answers in their quizzes. You can easily create a quiz in Google forms and have them answer A,B,C, or D that way, but sometimes it is nice just to go to one place for everything.
-I didn't use the data collection piece so I can't speak to that. But I have it in my lesson plans to try Plickers again next week! I will let you know how that goes!
Overall, I am a fan on Plickers! Some fine tuning that needs to be done, but it is well worth it to just jump in and try it out! Please let me know if you have used it in Kindergarten or elsewhere! Would love any tips or tricks that you may have for it!
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Try Plickers today to add some fun to your formative assessments! |
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