Socrative

In my classroom one of the most useful technological tools is an app called Socrative. There are many different uses for Socrative but in my classroom I mainly use it for reviewing material and test taking. This app has really come a long way from when I started using it two years ago. The updates have vastly improved the user interface and fixed a lot of the bugs that at times made it unusable. Before one of my co-workers brought this app to my attention I was using whiteboards and dry erase markers for my students to answer questions. This was very inconvenient to say the least. I felt like we were spending more time looking for markers that worked than actually reviewing. With Socrative I can have my students work in pairs to answer multiple choice questions or short answer questions. It also worked very well to cut down on students cheating. No longer could you watch what someone wrote from across the room. 

To create a test or assignment there is an option to download an Excel file from the website that makes creating a test or worksheet a breeze. As students work you can see if they are getting questions right or wrong, how far they have progressed, and it also grades the assignment as you go. For me that last one is a huge plus. The best part is that Socrative is free. The one limitation that I have found with this app is that you cannot have multiple assignments going on at once. You must close out of the current assignment before opening a new one. The makers of Socrative have dealt with this though, sadly however it is not on the free version. This and many other features will be coming to a paid version very soon if it has not already.

There are many more things that Socrative does that I haven't explored yet but if you are looking for a fun easy app to help your students review or take tests, this could be the app for you!