There are many engaging assessment tools that teachers can use for face-to-face instruction, remote synchronous instruction, and asynchronous instruction. Many of these tools go beyond multiple choice and short answer question to offer engaging assessment options including video discussions, image annotation, and collaborative boards. These tools offer a variety of features for both formative and summative assessments that provide data to help inform classroom instruction.

Edpuzzle

EdPuzzle is currently offering free access to Edpuzzle Pro during COVID-19.

With Edpuzzle you can embed assessment questions into video. You can take video from YouTube, Khan Academy, National Geographic, or upload your own video. After selecting your video you can trim the video, add your own audio narration, audio notes, multiple choice, and short answer questions. You can import your classes from Google Classroom to create student accounts as well as push assignments and grades directly to Google Classroom.

Flipgrid

Flipgrid allows teachers to create question prompts for students to respond to with video to create video discussion boards. Using Flipgrid students can record a video, record themselves while they annotate on a white board, or record their computer screen. Flipgrid allows for moderated discussion through video-to-video replies and all video can be assessed using rubrics.

Formative

Formative is offering free access to premium features during COVID-19.

Formative is an assessment tool that allows teachers to create assessments with multimedia content and questions. Teachers can embed multimedia including audio images, text, videos, and whiteboard. The question types include audio response, essay, graphing, matching multiple choice, multiple selection, numeric, and sequencing. Teachers can also upload an existing PDF, Doc, or Google Doc to create an assessment.

Google Classroom Question Assignment

In the Google Classroom classwork tab one of the assignment options is a question. With the question assignment teachers can assign a single multiple choice or short answer question to students. This can be used a discussion tool between students by enabling student comments in the Google Classroom settings.

Google Forms

Google Forms is a powerful survey tool that can also be used to also create quizzes. Google Forms also integrates with Google Classroom allowing the teacher to easily import grades. If your students do not have access to email in your district then you won’t be able to share individual results with students after they have completed the quiz. Google Forms is still a great tool for surveys and exit tickets but I would use other tools for graded assessments if your students don’t have access to email.

Kahoot

Kahoot is a popular quiz tool that allows teachers to create engaging assessments. An advantage of Kahoot is teachers can use use and modify existing quizzes created by other teachers. Kahoot is well known for its live games but they also have challenge games which can be used for homework or independent practice. While the live games are engaging for face-to-face instruction it may be difficult to facilitate live games with remote learning because students will not see the question on their devices.

Nearpod

Nearpod is offering free access to Nearpod Pro during COVID-19.

Nearpod is a presentation tool that allows teachers to embed assessments in their presentation. Teachers can embed polling, short answer, quiz, collaborative boards, draw it, and fill in the blank questions into their presentation. Nearpod also integrates with other websites including Flipgrid which you can embed in your presentation. With Nearpod teachers can create live lessons where the slide on the students screen changes as the teacher changes it which is great for face-to-face and synchronous remote instruction; as well as student paced presentations which allows the teacher to share the link to the presentation on their learning management system for assignments. Nearpod also has a library of pre-created presentations teachers can use and modify. There is also an add-on with Google Slides to easily embed assessment in your existing presentations.

Padlet

Padlet allows teachers and students to create online collaborative bulletin boards. There are many types of collaborative boards students can create including simple canvases, walls, grids, or shelfs with column headers in addition to streams to show posts in a particular order, backchannel for conversations, maps, and timelines. Padlet includes a simple grade feature which can be used by teachers to provide feedback to student submissions to the Padlet board.

Pear Deck

Peark Deck is offering free access to premium features during COVID-19.

If you have existing presentation in Google Slides then Pear Deck is a great way to embed assessments in those presentations. Similar to Nearpod, you can embed assessments in your presentations to create live presentations for synchronous instruction or student paced presentations for asynchronous instruction. Pear deck includes multiple choice and short answer questions in addition to interactive questions including draggable and drawing questions.

Quizizz

Quizizz has a similar feel to assessment tools like Kahoot. With Quizizz teachers can create student-paced quizzes that can be used during synchronous and asynchronous instruction. Quizizz is great for synchronous remote instruction because students will see the question on their screen. Quizizz also offers a library of existing quizzes created by others that teachers can copy and modify for their own classrooms.

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