Using gamification for critical thinking and test preparation
We recently had an interview with Scott Houston, an education consultant at Educators Cooperative. Scott has played a part in the evolution of Classtime's gamification solution (Collaborative Challenges), sharing insights from his years of experience working with teachers and schools to innovate the classroom and create a more personalized learning...
How to prepare thoughtful, data-backed lessons
In our last post on differentiated instruction, one of the tips focussed on preparing thoughtful, data-backed lessons. The strategies you use to differentiate the learning experience in your classroom should be based on effective and ongoing assessment of your students’ needs. By utilizing learning analytics, you can easily assess where students stand in...
4 ways to implement Differentiated Instruction strategies in the classroom
When it comes to engaging all of your students, you’ve probably realized that students learn in different ways. Some may work best when engaged in group work, while you may find others that perform best when working on their own. If this is the case, differentiated instruction and assessment, also known as differentiated learning, is the framework you...
4 tips for making Professional Learning Communities successful in your school
More schools are adopting the Professional Learning Communities (PLC; learn more) process as the way to work together and reach students more effectively. PLC works. It isn’t a program or something your district purchases. It isn’t a meeting, but it does require meetings. Effective Professional Learning Communities require everyone to...
7 Ways Classtime helps save time and make a greater impact on students
Inspired by an article written by our friends at Osvitoria, we’ve outlined seven ways that educators around the world use Classtime to quickly analyze their lessons, engage students with collaboration and help students grow to their full potential. 1 - Gain immediate insights, provide relevant feedback Classtime was created for testing how well...
4 ways EdTech tools can help you prepare your students for standardized tests
Standardized testing has long been a controversial topic among education enthusiasts. In theory, standardized tests are intended to unbiasedly measure a student’s academic performance in order to predict the student’s learning potential. According to Carole Gallagher’s article on the history of standardized testing, Horace Mann initially suggested the...
How learning analytics can make your teaching more effective
As technology continues to evolve and become an integral part of our everyday lives, it’s only natural that we utilize the technology to improve education as well. One aspect of technology that promises to make this a reality is the use of learning analytics in the classroom to help refine the learning experience for students. We recently completed...
3 Approaches to foster Social Emotional Learning (SEL) in the classroom
We see the importance of working together now more than ever. Not surprisingly, this has been a major topic in the educational world as well. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is on a mission to promote Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programs, which they define as “the process through which children and adults acquire...
5 Tips for protecting student data
In the age of the internet, tech tools and apps make it easier for teachers to engage their students and introduce new modes of collaboration and learning into their lesson plans. With the use of these edtech tools, student data is collected by both the educators and the companies providing the tech service. This means, as a teacher, you must take the...
Collaborative Challenges
Living in a world where Google seems to answer all of our questions without having to even think about it, it’s often hard for students to understand how the knowledge they’re learning in the classroom can be used to make a greater impact in the world around them. While innovative and creative teachers go to great distances to make the curriculum...
How to create great multiple choice questions in 3 simple steps
Well-crafted multiple choice questions are like a clean window. If the question is articulated clearly and concisely, it allows you to see what the student does and doesn’t know. These fixed choice questions, which also includes checkboxes and true/false options, require students to identify the correct answers from a set of possible options. The...