Just short blog this week, as it’s been quite a hectic week and I’ve just not had the time I normally would.  I am writing on the iPad as I commute just now, and spell check is playing havoc, so apologies in advance if I miss a complete corker as I go.

This week, I want to look at my favourite all for ‘the digital plenary’ and arguably the best app of all time (in my opinion).  This is because I’ve been seeing quite a bit of debate on Twitter about the ‘good lesson’ structure and whether people still use a plenary at the end.  I personally love a plenary – even if it’s just a quick recap at the end about what the LI and SC were and what we have achieved – I find it a nice way round up a lesson, however, as we all know, a plenary can happen at any point in a lesson, or even at the start of a future lesson to recap something learned previously.  Enter the digital plenary.

There are two apps that I swear by for plenaries.  The first, Plickers, is an app that I have talked about previously so won’t really cover here. Currently, I use Plickers more than my favourite app, as it works better hen you don’t have many connected devices. Kahoot! however is what I want to focus on.  Now, I have actually written about Kahoot in the past also, but not extensively and certainly not since their recent updates and changes.  In my previous school, we had iPads that connected to WiFi – I really look forward to that being the case again this year in my current school, as I was able to use Kahoot a lot to review learning, track responses to questions and summatively assess understanding, but most of all, we were able to use it to have fun.  At its very heart, Kahoot is a Quiz app.  It is fun and engaging and can be used for a multitude of purposes.  It is free (although new paid premium services can now be added for as little as £1 pcm).  I genuinely love it.  You can create your own quizzes or search for ones that have already been made by teachers across the country.  In my last school, we created a ‘class’ account, where the children were able to sign in and create their own quizzes for peer assessment (and for fun) to review each other’s learning.

It works in browser and there are free apps also. Heck, I’ve even used it for a fundraising Harry Potter Quiz night with friends at my house.

If you do anything today, check out Kahoot.  They are also on Twitter | @getkahoot

Here’s a video clip of Kahoot being used in a medical science lecture.

Truly, I can’t recommend it enough, and hope that you enjoy using it as much as I do.

See you next week!

Donald