A Beautiful Answer Garden

In an age of formative and summative assessments, teachers always need ways to gather data to drive instruction. Now I may not have a green thumb, but I have found one garden that even I can create and use to enhance learning and assessment techniques. Answer Garden is such a great and easy tool to use to gather snapshots of information. It is flexible enough to use before, during, or after a lesson. To create a garden follow these easy steps:

1. Type a task or question into the topic box.
2. Determine if you want to gather unlimited answers.
3. Create an admin password (for editing purposes).
4. Include an email to receive the password and link.
5. Click create.
6. Check your email; copy and paste the link to your website. You can also choose to share or embed.

Here is what an Answer Garden BEFORE it starts to bloom with answers.

Share one thing you've learned about renewable energy.... at AnswerGarden.ch.

Advantages:
1. No login required
2. Very easy to integrate
3. Provides quick feedback to drive the direction of instruction

Applications in Science:
1. Gather information on prior background knowledge on science concepts (erosion, geocentrism, motion, etc.)
2. Share the link on a social network to crowdsource responses outside of classroom on a topic so students can see outside perspectives.
3. Use as an exit slip after a lecture.
4. Use during a lesson as a Think-Post-Share.

Awesome Highlighter

With the NCLB cloud hovering over our classrooms we must constantly reflect on how we are helping our exceptional students and non-native speakers.  In our classrooms, we like to use webquests or recommend websites our students should use when conducting research.  We must also provide the necessary scaffolding for students who need it.  Many websites still are not kid-friendly, but with some great technology tools we can make the process easier for our learners.  Have you heard of Awesome Highlighter?  Well it is really easy to use.   Just go to the website and insert the link of the website you want to share with students.  Awesome Highlighter will pull up the page and allow you to begin highlighting the things you want learners to focus on.  Begin selecting the text you want highlighter; once you release the mouse the text will be highlighted. Once you're done selecting the desired text, click Done.  Either post the link onto your class webpage or copy/paste on a student handout.  You also have the option to email the link or share (Twitter, Facebook, Delicious).

Here's my sample link:
http://awurl.com/wk4vNAVAS


Application in Science:
1. Internet research
2. Online notes