Participation Application

GoSoapBox 

Description of the tool:

Getting Started with GoSoapBox - September 2013 from gosoapbox

Gosoapbox is a tool to assess students in the classroom using a personal device. In my classroom, students would use Ipads. The teacher sets up a poll and students give their input. Once you set up an event, you get a class code. The students go to app.gosoapbox.com and input the code. Once the code is in, the student see the event title, and a confusion barometer. They can choose that they are getting it or that they are confused. On the teacher side, the teacher can set up quizzes, polls, and discussions. The teacher can also see who is confused and who is getting it. Once the poll, quiz, or discussion is set up, the you need to unlock it so the students can answer. You can choose how you want the information graphed as well as if the students see it. Once all the students answer, you can see how the students answered in a graph.

New GoSoapBox Event

You can create polls or discussions and see who's online.

You can create quizzes and see how many students are online. 

Student code once you have created the event

Teacher start page

Example of GoSoapBox in a lesson:

lesson plan for lesson on Mexican culture 

Activities for lesson 

type in this code and you can participate in the discussion

discussion question 

Pedagogical uses:

Students can create polls, quizzes, and discussion questions for other classmates. You can assess students based on what they have been learning in class and see how they match up to the rest of the class. You can know who needs more help on an assignment without the student getting embarrassed. Students can answer questions to let you know if they understand a concept without showing their names so lower students don't have to be scared to answer the questions. 

I personally really like the confusion barometer. In the past, students have used cards or even whiteboards. The confusion barometer is a great way for students to tell teachers that they need help without their other classmates knowing.  

Location of the tool:

https://app.gosoapbox.com/

Cost of the tool:

Free up to 30 students. If you need more than that, you need to contact GoSoapBox for pricing.

Why you want to use this tool:

This tool is a great way to assess kids and incorporate technology into the classroom. Students can tell you if they need help or not without drawing attention to themselves. You can also assess students using quizzes, polls, or discussions. GoSoapBox is great for elementary students up to college level students. The graphs are easy to read, and you can download activity and grade reports to show parents and other teachers. The students can be anonymous if need be. Students will be more engaged in the classroom when doing GoSoapBox because it is fun. GoSoapBox is able to be customized to whatever the teacher wants. You may want certain parts of GoSoapBox off and you have that option. Upper level students can vote on questions, so you can know exactly what is on your students minds. The tool is easy to use and will be a great addition to any level classroom.

Sources:

GoSoapBox: Hear What Your Students are Thinking. (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2015, from http://www.gosoapbox.com/ 

ISTE Standards. (2015). Retrieved July 22, 2015, from http://www.iste.org/standards

ISTE Standards:

Teachers:

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
1. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
2. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
3. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
4. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environment
2. Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
1. Design or adapt learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity
2. Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress
3. Customize and personalize learning activities to address students’ diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources
4. Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments, aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching
3. Model digital age work and learning
1. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations
2. Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation
3. Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital age media and formats
4. Model and facilitate effective use of emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
1. Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources
2. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources
3. N/A
4. N/A
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership
1. Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning
2. Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others
3. N/A
4. Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community

Students

1. Creativity and innovation
1. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
2. N/A
3. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues
4. Identify trends and forecast possibilities
2. Communication and collaboration
1. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media
2. Communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats
3. N/A
4. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems
3. Research and information fluency
1. Plan strategies to guide inquiry
2. N/A
3. N/A
4. Process data and report results
4. Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
1. Identify and define authentic problems and significant questions for investigation
2. Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project
3. Collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or make informed decisions
4. Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions
5. Digital citizenship
1. Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology
2. Exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that supports collaboration, learning, and productivity
3. Demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning
4. Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship
6. Technology operations and concepts
1. Understand and use technology systems
2. Select and use applications effectively and productively
3. Troubleshoot systems and applications
4. Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies