Using Zipgrade in Your Classroom

I hate paying for software. I pride myself on always finding a better, free version of everything. I made an exception this past year. I definitely do not regret it! Zipgrade is an app you can download on your iPhone or Android phone. Your students will complete a multiple choice exam on scantrons provided by their website. As students are finishing, you can walk around with your phone and scan their tests to give them instant feedback on their test. Here is a video demonstrating the app.

Zip Grade Demo from Joseph Bue on Vimeo.

One thing I love about this app is I can look for patterns immediately. When you scan a student's answer sheet, you will get instant feedback that looks like this:

If I notice that a student did well on the first 2/3 of the test but bombed the last third, I can ask them to go back and fix that problem without telling them exactly which questions he or she missed. Many students will stop trying near the end of the test and this app helps me to stop that from happening.

Also, I like to tell the students which questions they missed so they can go back and correct them. I know this inflates the grade and skews the data but I'm more concerned about them learning the material than having accurate grades.

I did have a few minor problems. Sometimes I couldn't get an accurate scan. I wasn't sure if the lighting was too bright or too dark. I also had some students bubble E when they meant to bubble D. So be very mindful at the beginning of the year.

Overall, I love this app and the price ($6 per year). Now, I don't have to beg for thousands of dollars to replace my aging clickers. It's data-driven; it's very easy to use.

BYOD Part II Is Quizizz better than Kahoot?

Quizizz is similar to Kahoot. Both involve students using a smartphone, computer or tablet. Both are visual and help the repetition aspect of memorization. Both are colorful. Quizizz is potentially competitive, whereas Kahoot is inherently competitive. I use both in my classroom.

The main differences are 1. With Quizizz, the students see the answers to the multiple choice questions on their phones. 2. Quizizz is student-paced rather than teacher-paced. That means students go on to the next question without waiting for everyone else. The questions and answer choices are randomized to minimize cheating. Another interesting thing about using Quizizz for assessments is that it's much faster than a traditional bubble sheet. Filling in ovals with a pencil takes time. I just gave my students a 72 question final and they finished it very quickly. That means I can make the tests longer or I can allow them to retake the test immediately to use their time. Quizizz is much easier to create with. After you start to create a quiz you can search other teachers' quizzes and "borrow" questions from them. With Kahoot, you have to "borrow" the whole quiz and alter it. Another advantage quizizz has over Kahoot is the homework feature. Students can now be given a code where they can take the quiz on their own time. Certainly this can be a problem if you have students who would cheat, but my students don't care enough to do something like that. (One advantage of teaching inner city!) Quizizz stores data on its website for you so you don't have to remember to save it right then and there during class. There is no need for a projector since everything the students need is on their device. So which is better? That depends if you want a class activity or an independent activity. I use both in my class. I use Kahoot as a minor quiz grade and Quizizz as a major test grade. While Kahoot is like a game, I turn off the competitive feature of Quizizz. I always make sure to uncheck the feature where it displays all the answers at the end of the quiz. I don't want students doing a screenshot of all the answers. Often, I turn off the feature where it displays the answer after they select theirs. Sometimes I leave it on if I want them to learn from their mistakes.