So it’s the middle of the year, you are finally feeling pretty confident about using technology in class—at least some of the time. You have your class routines down, you’ve identified your student tech support whizzes, and you have at least some idea of how to get the students to do their work on their iPads or computers.
What’s next?
Why not ask your students? Create a survey about how your tech integration has been going, and ask your students to grade you. As I see it, there are 3 benefits:
• They’ll jump at the chance to “grade” you.
• You’ll get some good ideas for how to improve your methods.
• You’ll have something to show your principal during evaluations about your interest in what your students get from your lessons.
There are several ways you could go about this. I recommend creating a quick and easy Google Form. If your students are working from iPads or laptops in class, it will be easy for them to respond. If your students are too young for email addresses, this is also a good option, since Google Form respondents don’t need to sign in. You can just post a TinyUrl of your form on the board and then they can fill it out from there. It’s up to you whether you want to have a line for students to write in their names, or if you want the answers to be anonymous. (Just keep in mind that you might get more honesty if you allow anonymity.)
Here are some sample questions I might ask:
• Remember that __ activity we did a few weeks ago? What’s one new thing you learned about using technology from it?
• When we use our [tech devices] in small groups, do you have enough time to finish the assignment? How about your homework?
• When you have an assignment that requires you to use your [tech device], do you usually understand the instructions?
• What is your favorite part about using your [tech device] in class?
• What is your least favorite part about using your [tech device] in class?
• What was your favorite activity that we did with the [tech devices]?
• What would you like to do next [week/month/semester] in class using your [tech device]? (Maybe name some options here and have students rate them on a scale.)
Give it a try! I’d like to hear how it goes for you.