Video Quiz Maker for Educators

Video Quiz Maker for Educators

iSLCollective video quiz maker - https://en.islcollective.com/video-lessons/ - is an excellent tool for creating interactive video quizzes.

iSLCollective has recently introduced a number of interesting new features to enhance the video lessons experience.

One especially useful feature is the ability to assign video quizzes as assignments/homework/coursework etc.

To learn more about how to easily assign quizzes as homework etc., watch the video clip at https://www.youtube.com/embed/C1Jd_QwYQBM

For those of you who are not familiar with this tool,  iSLCollective video quiz maker is a 'free web-based tool that allows educators to create interactive video quizzes around YouTube and Vimeo videos.

How does it work?

• Educators choose videos from YouTube or Vimeo. 
• Next they write questions that will pop up throughout the video.

They can also add...

• a lesson plan,
• vocabulary list, and
• discussion questions.

There is also an option for educators to search for already-made video quizzes in the iSLCollective library. These quiz questions can be tailored to meet the needs of their learners'.

Once the video quiz is ready, click on ‘publish’ and provide data about the video such as...

• title,
• a summary,
• lesson type,
• level, etc.

Video quizzes created through iSLCollective provide different ‘play mode’ options. Learners can...

• watch the video without quiz,
• play video quiz in interactive mode,
• use the Casino game mode, or
• play it in non-interactive mode.

There are several reasons why educators would want to try out iSLCollective in their Learning Environment:

• These quizzes allow educators to put their focus on their learners during class, rather than handling the video. 
• This tool gives them a break from keeping track of video pauses, printing the questions beforehand, etc. 
• In addition, the interactivity and gamification adds playfulness to video work - with various play modes (e.g. the classic Casino game where you bet on the right answer) and features like the tapping game where students tap on objects seen in the paused video screen. It’s a great homework tool as well!.

Watch the video tutorial at https://www.youtube.com/embed/XmjDqTT7wzA to learn more about how this tool works.

If you give iSLCollective video quiz maker a try or have already used iSLCollective video quiz maker, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.

Thank you.

JotForm - Another Way to Create On-line Forms

JotForm - Another Way to Create
On-line Forms

JotForm - https://www.jotform.com/ - could be a great tool for making forms for...

• on-line permission slips,
• surveys,
• course registrations, or
• short quizzes.

From a design editing perspective, I would suggest that JotForm is way ahead of Google Forms

With JotForm's new integrated PDF editor submissions through your forms can be automatically turned into PDFs that you can print and/or email.

To Use JotForm to Create an On-line Form...

• sign-up for a free account then
• click the "create form" button. Then...
• either choose to create a form in which all questions and response fields are on one page or choose to make your form in a "card" format in which viewers respond to one question per page. 

Once you have selected a layout...
Users can choose to...

• use a template,
• build a form from scratch, or
• import questions from an existing form even if that form was made with another service. I've successfully imported questions from a Google Form

NOTE: When building a form from scratch in JotForm users drag question types from a menu into their blank form.
They can add...

• open response questions,
• multiple choice questions (single selection and multiple selection), and
• questions that require a response in the form of a file upload.

There is also a star rating question format.

In addition, users can add...

• pictures,
• charts and
• block text

...to forms that they design in JotForm.

After all of questions have been added, it's time to customise the colour and font scheme of the form.

It's here that JotForm stands out from the crowd.

If you really want to customise the form's look, you can open the advanced editor where you'll find options for...

• text alignment,
• background images, and
• object spacing.

There's even an option for adding custom CSS for those who have those skills.

Users can share their JotForm forms by...

• emailing or posting their form's URL on-line,
• embedding them into existing web pages, or
• download the form as a fillable PDF

Responses to JotForm forms are found through the users JotForm dashboard.

To see responses simply...

• select the form then
• click "submissions.

All submissions can be viewed...

• in a spreadsheet format or 
• as individual PDFs that you can download, print, or email.

If you give JotForm a try or have already used JotForm, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.

Thank you.

Teach Coding in Your Learning Environment

Teach Coding in Your Learning Environment

Codesters - https://www.codesters.com/ - provides learners with an easy and simple editor where they can engage in creative coding projects using Python.

Using Codesters drag-to-text toolkit, learners will be able to drag snippets of Python codes right into their programs and see them translated into text allowing them to learn the syntax of coding in a natural way.

Alternatively, learners can type their own codes  and when they are done they simply click on ‘Run’ to see their program in action.

Some of the interactive projects learners can create using Codesters include...

• games,
• simulations,
• animations,
• graphical images,

...and much more.

Codesters also provides Educators with a learning management system where they can host their classes and monitor learner progress.

Learners' work is automatically graded and their progress is displayed on the dashboard, where Educators can drill down to run learners' code or see projects on the class page.

As an Educator, you can...

• see a learners individual coding project,
• check on their progress and
• see where they are having difficulties with their programs.

Codesters also offers a unique project-based curriculum that includes a wide variety of tasks and lessons.

Each lesson is divided into three phases...

1. Build - Learners first build a project following step-by-step instructions.
2. Modify - Learners are asked to modify their projects to demonstrate that they understand how the code works.
3. Create - Learners are given a blank canvas and a prompt to create their own project.

I would expect every learner to complete the Build Phase, most learners to complete the Modify Phase, and many learners to complete the Create Phase.

To learn more about Codesters watch the video at https://vimeo.com/131774856

If you give Codesters a try or have already used Codesters, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.

Thank you.

Record Short, Interactive Podcasts

Record Short, Interactive Podcasts

Synth - https://gosynth.com/ - is a relatively new service from Swivl.

Synth is a free service that educators and/or learners can use to record short podcast episodes that are up to 256 seconds long.

When users record their episode they post it publicly for others to listen to and record spoken responses.

In that way it is somewhat like VoiceThread without pictures. 

Synth will automatically transcribe the spoken words and display the transcript when a recording is played.

Synth has a public gallery of recordings that people have made.

Users can also have their own small channel of their recordings.

All recordings can be embedded into blog posts and web pages.

You can learn more about Synth at https://gosynth.com/p/s/tdddcx

The Synth developers have also provided a blog post including a list of seven ways to use Synth education at https://medium.com/gosynth/seven-ways-to-use-synth-with-k12-students-128ade850f8

The list includes...

• making audio exit tickets
• Language Practice and feedback and
• providing evidence.

Synth can be used on...

• an iPad or iPhone - https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/synth-byte-sized-podcasting/id1383241322?mt=8 or 
• in the web browser on a computer

If you give Synth a try or have already used Synth, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.

Thank you.

Easy word clouds - Feedback

Easy word clouds - Feedback

AnswerGarden - https://answergarden.ch/ - is a very simple tool that quickly and easily allows educators to create a Learner response wall on-line.

Their audience can respond to questions and it generates a word cloud based on responses with the size of words increasing with the frequency the audience responds with that word.

A really simple and easy to use tool particularly good for checking understanding and sentiment analysis of a large group.

For a brief overview take a look at the video clip at https://www.youtube.com/embed/RXOcbIr9jNE

It's also available for iPads at https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/answergarden-ad-free/id1069401641?mt=8

If you give AnswerGarden a try or have already used AnswerGarden, do share your feedback, positive and/or negative, in the comments.

Thank you.

P.S. I'm sorry for the lack of usual posts but, as some of you will know, I've been in hospital for a Stoma Operation pre-Chemo treatment for Cancer. I'm sure this will happen quite often as treatment takes place.