1. Knowledge checks

When it comes to eLearning, online quizzes are the most common way to assess knowledge. And no wonder: the variety of question types in quizzes allows for testing students' knowledge at different levels. They can range from mainstream multiple-choice, multiple response, or true/false questions to interactive and more engaging drag-and-drop or hotspot exercises.

Now, let's cover the ways you can use online knowledge checks in your teaching practice.

2. diagnostics

Diagnostic quizzes can include the topics of the upcoming lessons and can be helpful for testing basic knowledge. Use online diagnostic quizzes to understand what you should focus on and how you're going to teach in the next module. Come up with a diagnostic quiz at the start of a new phase of education, such as when students begin studying a new unit.

3. formative assessments

Online quizzes can be great for the ongoing evaluation and monitoring of how students are learning the new material. You can include an online quiz in an online lesson or place several of them throughout the online course. Some instructors use formative online quizzes to enhance the classroom experience. 

4. interim assessments

 Online quizzes can be used for interim evaluation, otherwise known as benchmark assessment. Conduct them after you teach a specific unit to see if your students' progress matches current grade standards.

5. Summative assessments

You can make online exams cheat-proof with question shuffling, limited view time, limited answer attempts, and other settings that test makers for teachers offer. Use an online quiz as a checkpoint at the end of the year or at the end of an online course to assess what students have learned.

6. exam prep tests

Online quizzes can be very helpful for exam preparation, especially when it comes to self-learning. Students can test themselves online anytime, brush up on certain topics and questions, and review the material to do well on the exam. You can add encouraging or explanatory automated feedback for each response that will tell learners why they are incorrect or will add some extra information if they got everything right.

If you’re wondering how to create effective knowledge checks, download this free guide, "How to assess students online." It provides clear guidance to building quizzes, surveys, and other types of assessments with less effort.

7. new student assessment

Whenever a new student transfers to your school, you can assess their knowledge using online placement tests. Online quizzes will help you determine the level of knowledge of incoming students and which classes will suit them best.  It's great if your school has resources like these accessible online because this makes the admission processes more streamlined and convenient for everyone.

8. student engagement evaluation

Online quizzes can be successfully used for assessing student engagement levels. You can build quizzes according to the methodologies you prefer and see whether your students are passionate about subjects and what you should focus on in your teaching strategy to engage them more.

9. student feedback surveys

If an online quiz is non-graded, it can become a survey. Taking student classroom surveys online can be more convenient because it's easy for you to share them, as well as collect and process the results. Also, many test makers offer Likert scale question templates that will be very suitable for measuring student satisfaction with the learning process.

10. teacher evaluation surveys

Online surveys can be helpful in collecting feedback on your instruction. You can conduct them in order to be more informed of your students’ needs, gather valuable insights, and put them into practice to improve your teaching style. 

11. simulations

Dialogue simulations replicate the different outcomes of the situation depending on the choices made. They are interactive role-plays that put the student in a simulated environment that prompts them to choose between different reactions and behaviors.

It is still less common to think of dialogue simulations as ways to assess knowledge. But they can be tremendously useful in teaching, especially when you can't fit role-playing activities into the classroom schedule.

Teachers can use dialogue simulations to assess students' interpersonal skills, help learners navigate life choices or be more confident in everyday situations, and practice during language lessons. Learners can be accompanied by realistic or hand-drawn characters and interact with them in a café, bank, hospital, or whatever setting is required.

putting it into practice

To create various types of online assessments, you can use a special kind of teaching software called authoring tools. One of the most user-friendly tools for teachers is iSpring QuizMaker. It's PowerPoint based and enables you to make engaging online courses and quizzes in record time, even if you’re new to eLearning.

Make students fall in love with the topic by creating a beautiful course with 14 types of interactive quizzes that will boost knowledge retention. iSpring QuizMaker is compatible with Moodle, Blackboard, and other LMSs that schools use and has a good chance of becoming the teacher's pet!

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*This is a sponsored blog post from iSpring Solutions. Thank you to iSpring Solutions for their support!

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About Kelsey Sorenson

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more help motivating students!

Dave Stuart Jr. was back at the 2022 Rise Up Summit with a follow-up to this session, focusing on the beliefs of Effort & Efficacy. Access this recording when you buy a 2022 All-Access Pass.

In addition to Dave Stuart Jr., this year's speakers include David Platt, Sean McDowell, Ellie Holcomb, Jasmine Holmes, Linda Kardamis and over 20 more! Order your All-Access Pass with 25+ sessions today!

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why we should empower parents

Teachers can proactively keep all parents involved through a classroom newsletter. This isn't a new idea, but a twist on it is that the students can be the ones to create the newsletter showing what they recently accomplished in class. This is also an introduction to journalism for students to practice recording these classroom events. This is strategically empowering the parents with information about what their kids are doing in school to help parents interact with their kids at home. 

2. Curriculum night

If parents want to know what their students are studying, this is an opportunity for them to look over the curriculum. This doesn’t need to be school-wide; you could just do it for your classroom. This is a little different than back-to-school night because it could be a few months into school when parents are more familiar with what's happening in the classroom.  We are in a time right now where parents are concerned about what schools are teaching. Teachers have the opportunity to be the bridge and empower parents with that information.

3. parent survey

Be brave enough to send out a survey to the parents. Ask questions like, "What’s going well in our classroom? Are there any concerns you have? Any suggestions for me?" Even if teachers are unable to implement some of the suggested changes, parents know they were heard. Teachers will gain valuable information from these surveys. 

4. share the positive

Catch the child doing something good and share it with the parents. To add to it, add a sweet picture of the child in the email/message, saying, “Your child is such a blessing because..." 

The influence of a teacher

Teachers are the gatekeepers to information about the children that the parents don’t have. Sharing that information is so valuable. 

Teachers can also be positive influences on children's home lives. People parent the way they were parented. There are parents who struggle with knowing how to parent, but would do so well with some guidance. Teachers have a great opportunity to partner with churches who teach parenting classes. 

Remember, God put you into your classroom for a reason!

the herzog foundation

The Stanley M. Herzog Charitable Foundation’s mission is to catalyze and accelerate the development of quality Christ-centered K-12 education so that families and culture flourish. Find out more about how they help teachers at The Herzog Foundation. 

resources mentioned:

The Herzog Foundation

About darrell jones

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1. Augmented reality

Video games are not the most favorite activity among teachers. However, they can be a great addition to traditional classes and engage even the most restless students. Especially now, when distance learning is in full bloom. Let us introduce you to some of the most popular educational video games:

• Where on Google Earth is Carmen Sandiego?  teaches capitals, geography, and historical facts.
• Portal Series boosts problem-solving and spatial skills; teaches science and math. Note: Different games in the series have different ESBR ratings. 
• The Little Big Planet Series helps to improve logic and orientation skills.
• The Oregon Trail tells about various historical events.
• National Geographic Challenge covers lots of topics, mainly geography and history.
• Nancy Drew Interactive Mysteries introduces students to different cultures, traditions, and languages.
• Wordscapes improves vocabulary.

3. Online sources of information

To make the lessons more interactive, many teachers show movies and TV programs in the class. If you are one of them, but have trouble finding content, use the sources below:

• YouTube consists of millions of tutorials, guidelines, and educational videos that can bring value to the class. However, YouTube is an EdTech tool that should be used only under your guidance and control.
• Google Arts and Expeditions helps you attend hundreds of landmarks and museums across the world without leaving the classroom.
• TED-Ed with lots of inspirational videos and discussions on the latest technologies and the ways children can change the world.

4. photo and video editing

Visuals are often the key to success. They allow students to master the subject more quickly, keep information on the computer, and make for engaging presentations. To achieve such results, students need video and photo editing instruments. For example, one of Movavi’s programs allows screen captures and video edits using a variety of templates and graphical elements. Their screen recording tool can also export files to all the major formats. Another program to consider is Pixlr which allows you to edit photos and create outstanding images straight from your browser absolutely for free.

5. data Analysis and Communication

In 2020, we faced blended learning, which became a real challenge for teachers, children, and parents. It made the process of collecting data and communication rather challenging. But fortunately, we have the programs below:

• Clickers allow teachers to evaluate whether the students understand the subject in real-time. Teachers project the question on the screen, and students answer with remotes or mobile devices. 
• Trello helps users create boards with assignments, schedule tasks, communicate when working on a shared project, and get timely feedback from teachers.
• Venngage offers a huge number of features, from creating infographics to discussing questions in real-time.

6. A Better Understanding of complex subjects

Innovating technologies allow mastering even the most complex concepts and topics possible thanks to convenience and data clarity, especially if most of your students prefer a visual learning style and don’t mind going beyond a regular curriculum. Here are a few instruments that can help:

• Evo Classroom Kit is designed for 4th through 8th grade students who love coding. The Lesson Library includes 100 interesting and easy-to-master STEAM classes even if your students have never coded before.
• Prodigy is considered the leading math app for children. It can be used both in the class and at home and gives teachers an opportunity to evaluate progress in real-time.
• Tynker has 3,700+ computer science lessons for any age and background. If you want to add the Hour of Code to the curriculum, Tynker will surely be a great option.

7. Interactive lessons

With the recent switch to online learning, presentations and Zoom classes have become a regular instrument in the arsenal of millions of teachers across the world. We have listed the three most popular and convenient programs that make classes much simpler and engaging:

• Nearpod, with its virtual reality headset, allows discovering topics with a maximum immersion into the process.
• Pear Deck has an Ozobot Certified Educators stamp of approval and lets students participate in the lesson even if they are far away. It offers active learning, formative evaluation, and other effective instruments.
• Buncee is a multimedia display tool that allows you to create presentations using over 8,000 graphic templates and sounds.

Conclusion

There are lots of different teaching styles, but regardless of the one you choose, it is important to keep up with the times and use modern technology to engage the students. Such programs like Big Bang AR, Final Cut Pro, and others discussed above will make the educational process convenient, immersive, and rewarding.

Image 2: Photo by ThisisEngineering RAEng on Unsplash

Image 3: Photo by Compare Fibre on Unsplash

*This is a sponsored guest post by Daniel Davis. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with our community, Daniel!*

About the author: Daniel Davis

I am a digital marketer with more than 10 years of experience. I am a contributor to Content Marketing Institute and regularly quoted as an expert in large media outlets. 

My job is to make your business known all over the Internet.

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5 SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE WAYS TO COMMUNICATE WITH PARENTS

2. loom Screen-recording videos

If you’re not familiar with Loom, it’s a website that allows you to very easily make a recording of your screen and then share it with others.  There are other websites that do this, but Loom is extremely simple to use.

You can add the Loom extension (you can also just use it through a browser) and then just click the button when you want to start recording your screen, your voice, and, your face if you want and have a webcam. You just share the link of your video- no need to download a video or send a large file.

This can be a great way to explain something to parents. For example, you wanted to go over an assignment you sent home with your students. You can pull it up in Microsoft Word or Google Docs and go through the assignment using Loom. Here's an example of a Loom video- Example Loom. 

3. Voxer voice messages

Voxer allows you to essentially do the same thing as Loom, but without the screen. It’s a way to record a voice message for when you want to explain something verbally to parents, but a screen view isn’t necessary. Voxer is a free phone app. You can use it to send messages to other Voxer users, but you can also record messages in a folder called, “My Notes” and then you can choose to share it by getting a link to send out. When they open it, there’s a “play” box and your picture if you choose. Here's an example of a Voxer- Example Voxer.

Here are the steps:

1. Open the app

2. Press the record button on the “my notes” folder

3. Click the “share” button

4. Copy the link and paste into an email 

4. Giving students responsibility to post what they’re doing in class

This idea is more about keeping parents informed on what’s going on in the classroom. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember to take a picture of your class doing a fun activity or share what your class did that day. If you have a class website or class dojo or another method to communicate with parents, depending on the age of your students, you can assign students to share to the class website what they did in class.

This could be an assignment for all students or it could be a rotating classroom job where students take turns. Students could share through demonstrations, images, videos, etc. what they learned. It would add value to the students AND the parents.

5. Use flipgrid with families

The Flipgrid app or browser allows students to record videos of themselves. You can use it for so many things, including building classroom community or academic purposes like having students explain or present through Flipgrid. You can also use it to get parents involved!

You can ask parents a “get-to-know-you” question through FlipGrid.  One of our community members, Kristen F., asks parents to post videos on FlipGrid talking about a token, tradition, food dish, dance, attire, etc. for Diversity Month. 

I hope that you’re excited to try at least one of these ideas for communicating with parents! Share any unique ways you communicate with parents in the comments. 

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what is differentiation (actually)? 

Differentiation can look like presenting a short story by reading it aloud with the students or having them listen to it via audiobook. Or I can have the students do choral reading and tell them to be ready to give me the next word when I randomly stop reading. This way, even if students don’t know the word, they have the opportunity to stay focused on the text. I can also have them read the passage in small groups. 

If I have high-level questions to go with the story, such as, “Which details of the setting are most important to the plot?”, it’s another opportunity to differentiate. With students who are struggling, we may stop and talk about the fact that a setting is time and location. With students who are on grade-level, we explore, “What is this question asking? How can we re-word it?” I may look at the details and how they affect the plot with my students on a higher level. Everyone gets the same story and the same question, but we focus on different aspects of the question according to students’ levels.

In the beginning of the year, as a whole class, we will access the material in a variety of different ways together. I emphasize to my students that they can interact with the text in different ways. Then, as the year goes on, they can choose how they want to receive the content, such as an audiobook, reading together in a small group, etc. 

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7 easy ways to differentiate 

resources mentioned:

Laura's Website

Poverty Encounter

Centers & Stations the Easy, Realistic Way

2020 Rise Up Summit

2021 Rise Up Summit

This Year's Rise Up Summit

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Fun activities for the end of the school year

• Create a memory book of the year. Together we brainstorm events they enjoyed throughout the year and have student to write a brief blurb about the event. I will give them copies of pictures I have taken throughout the year to add to their page. If I didn’t have a picture, they drew a picture. I use a 3 ring binder and also include an autograph page.  -Addie M.
• Trish D. also does memory books with her students, but she uses a scrapbook made of paper bags so there are pockets for photos, etc.
• I would always have my social studies classes make and illustrate timelines covering all the events we'd learned about that year.  -Alexx S.
• I do storybook character awards. I teach first grade and it is such a big year for learning to read. Each kid gets an award telling which book character they remind me of and why. There’s always a Junie B. Jones who brings laughter to the class and a Jack or Annie from Magic Treehouse who love to explore. -Kristin K.
• I've made Google slides and we play a game for review of ELA questions. Students are quite competitive, as I mix it with a game of tornado. I've also done movies that relate to the short stories, novels, excerpts, plays or poems we've read. -Samra S.
• For end of the year gifts, I give a beach ball for students to autograph, a summer bag with lei, sunglasses, a book, and a squirt toy. -Trish D.
• Our last current event is a made up one- the sky's the limit. -Becka P.
• There was a teacher I knew who took pictures of every project the kids did and had them put the photos together into a slideshow video. -Alexx S.
• We finish up the weather unit in science. They will partner up to design and make a kite to fly in a contest the last week of school. -Karen H.
• I read Animalia by Graeme Base and The Z was Zapped: A Play in Twenty-Six Acts by Chris Van Allsburg. And then have the students create ABC books about the year, or the school, or their grade level, etc. I publish, bind and give the best one to the librarian or administration as a reminder of that year. -Emily H.
• I love the i-Mazing End-of-the-Year Project from Upper Elementary Snapshots. Students create a paper iPad full of "apps" that show off their learning on 9 topics they studied that year. -Alexx S.
• They love their gadgets. Put them in groups and let them come up with a creative way to sum up their school year. Give them a grading rubric and watch the creativity flow! Award all groups for effort and participation, but do something special for the winning group (for example, ice cream coupons, pizza coupons, etc.). Past students have gone around to landmarks and come up with poems, raps, songs, etc., talking about subjects and things the teacher said. -Rayette S.
• For virtual learning, I gave out copies of the IKEA Home Fort Building plans PLUS cheap clips from Amazon to hold sheets on the fort. You could do this in class, too! (You can find the IKEA building plans here.) -Trish D.
• I would end the school year doing a novel study with my English classes. One of the last projects we did was to create a "movie poster" for the book. It would include the title, author, summary of the book, quote from the book, a review, and an illustration. -Alexx S.
• We do an Invention Convention - they come up with a cool invention draw it or make a prototype and present it to the class. -Becka P.
• We "engineer" ice cream; we make ice cream in a bag with different ingredients for different flavors. -Nicole B. 
• Awards day is always fun. Come up with some award for every student. (Some I have done have been- "Most Likely to be a Yoga Instructor", Most Likely to become a Computer Engineer and not a Hacker", and "The Three Amigos" award). -Michael W.
• I celebrate "a student a day" as we count down to the end of the year. The class gets to tell that child what they like about them the most and I make a poster for them to keep. -Kristin K.
• I assign a project where the students make a "How to Survive Guide." They may choose a serious topic (a natural disaster, changing schools, etc.) or a fictional and/or humorous topic (a zombie apocalypse, a teacher's class, etc.). -Boyd U.
• Have your students create an educational video. You can even have the class vote on awards for the videos. -Linda K. (For all the details about this project, check out End Your Year with this Engaging (Yet Simple) Video Project)

resources mentioned:

Christian Teachers' Lounge by Teach 4 the Heart

End Your Year with this Engaging (Yet Simple) Distance-Learning Project

i-Mazing End-of-the-Year Project from Upper Elementary Snapshots

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Wait! i don't have any parent volunteers

What if you don't have any parent volunteers? Consider this: Have you asked for parent volunteers? And if you have, have you been specific about what you need and exactly what it looks like? 

Put together a list of things that you could use parent help with and then send it out and ask for help with those specific tasks. Parents are more willing to help if they find a task that meets their skill set and timeline. Don't assume you won't get parent volunteers if you haven't taken the time to ask specifically. 

16 Creative ways to use in-person parent volunteers

If you can't have parent volunteers come in during the school day because they're working during the day or have younger children at home or any other reason, here are some ways they can be involved from home:

• Write thank you cards to staff members for teacher appreciation week, Christmas, and other special events. (Alexx S.)
• Cut out laminated materials. I send all the supplies they need in a large Ziploc bag with a little note of instructions and they send it back cut out! (Taylor W.)
• Grade papers from home. I send them home in an envelope I laminated from past years and when she is done grading, she sends them back with her son. (Brooke T.)
• I send material home for them to hole punch and put it into binders for novel studies and writing notebooks. (Beth M.)
• I organized a recorded virtual read-aloud with several families reading different books for Read Across America. I edited the read-alouds so 3 or 4 families could read different pages in the same book and had about 4 different books. (Kristen F.)
• Take home student projects and upload them to an online student portfolio. (Alexx S.)
• Donate supplies so students could have their own. For example, mini hand sanitizer, personal tissues, whiteboard markers, pencils, etc. (Brooke T.)
• Preview tech assignments and test links. (Beth M.)
• Hold a Diversity Month Celebration where families can post videos talking about a token, tradition, food dish, dance, attire, etc. on Flipgrid. (Kristen F.)

resources mentioned:

50 Procedures that Will Save Your Sanity

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