Teacher Raddah's Desk

Hey and welcome back to another digital tool review, by yours truly! This time I decided to review a tool that I have previously used during my time teaching in Thailand,  Quizlet .  This platform allows teachers and learners, and literally anyone to create digital flashcards that can be used in basic memorization exercises. I have fond memories of using this for my students to study vocabulary. However, upon reflection on those yesteryears, this option was useful as a summative assessment. This was a wonderful tool to use for reviewing vocabulary because you're using this at the end of vocabulary and "drill" into memory. Unlike Peergrade, Quizlet is free forever however if you would like to use QuizletPlus . It will be $36/year to use and enjoy features like curated "study paths, mixed question options (multiple choice, written, etc), practice tests, and dynamic feedback". You'll also have better tech support service and the ability to download your flashca...

Hey and welcome back to another digital tool review, by yours truly! I learned of this tool from the Facebook forum for TEFL grads and it's called  WordWall .  The website lets teachers create custom classroom/homework activities via online games or as a worksheet. With COVID-19, shutting down school for the majority of my time in Bangkok, I was hard-pressed to find an online platform that both my students would be excited to use and I wouldn't be frustrated or stressed about making the activity unique every time. Plus, activities can be applied in both summative and formative assessments. Summative because this can easily be done at the end of a lesson, to see if they grasp the information at the end. However, this can easily be adjusted for a formative scenario where the activities are the ‘building blocks’ or ‘scaffolding’ activities throughout the entire unit. Something like this can be used in several varieties successfully. WordWall offers both individual plans and scho...

***UPDATE THE SITE HAS, SINCE THE TIME OF THIS WRITING, MERGED WITH EduFlow*** (3/24/2023) Hello and Good afternoon!  This past month, I had come across a tool that piqued my interest aptly named, Peergrade .  This platform allows teachers to create assignments and upload matching grade rubrics and then students will upload their work and are anonymously assigned a peer work to review according to the grading rubric. I enjoy how this tool can be an excellent way to create a Formative assessment for the class; utilizing higher-order thinking skills, and requiring learners to “analyze”, synthesize, and elaborate on what they have learned from prior knowledge. Luckily there is a f ree trial for educators to use for up to 30 days! However, once the trial ends, there is a $5/student/year pricing model to continue utilizing the base features. For corporations and larger educational institutions (colleges, universities, etc), custom pricing is possible but will require negotiating w...

Welcome to Teacher Rod's Desk! I am Rod and I will be sharing with you digital classroom tools that can help propel your classroom into the 21st Century! There are so many tools available to use in the classroom and help create engaging activities how do you as an educator know which one works best for you and your learners? I am hoping to demystify that for you and showcase digital tools that I come across on the web. ***Each tool that is reviewed will be judged on the following criteria on a rating scale of 4 (4 being the best, 1 being poor)*** Privacy Personal information and data are still large issues at hand still should be considered, especially in an educational setting. Looking specifically at privacy, we look to find if there is a log-in process for students?  Do students enter personally identifiable information? Is there a “privacy” section on the website that addresses COPPA and/or CIPA ? Accessibility Is this tool compatible with mobile devices?  Are there mult...