1. I used Padlet for learners to type their main ideas and summaries about a science passage they read about adaptations of a plant that lives in the desert. Having them all submit their summaries here, I am able to see who understands main idea and summary with a quick read/glance.
It also works the other way around, where they can see what other classmates are putting as their main idea and summary, so it can serve as a scaffold to help them write theirs.
The Padlet-in case you want to read their responses
2. The next technology tool I used was the Explain Everything App on my teacher ipad. I didn't realize that the kids wouldn't be able to access the app on their 1-1 ipads at the elementary level. So, they took turns on my ipad {writing/drawing/talking } explaining an aspect of our science menu that I assigned them to discuss/explain.
Here were the questions they had to somehow represent their answers to. Each student was assigned 1 question and had 15 minutes on the ipad:
Here is what they came up with. Here's a PDF of it as well: (Disclaimer: This is the first time they have used the app before. It was kind of a rough trial run, but I anticipate that now that they've spent a little bit of time on it, they will be more comfortable with it in the future. )
3. The third tech tool I used was Blendspace. I created a Blendspace that they used to learn a little bit more about adaptations, inherited traits, and learned behaviors. Once they got through the information, I created a quiz at the end to let me know if they really "got it." They enjoyed navigating throughout the various resources I gave them.
Above are some of the quiz results. When they all finish, I can look at the entire class results and see which areas I need to review in either small or large group lessons.
