Plickers – a way to assess learners out in the community

by | Mar 2, 2021 | Apps, Assessment | 0 comments

Do you teach in venues with limited access to technology or the Internet? If so, Plickers might be the formative assessment tool for you as it only requires the teacher to have a mobile phone.

What is Plickers?

Plickers is an App that works with both Android and Apple devices. The App works in conjunction with a set of cards that you can print out freely from the Internet. You ask a question with up to four possible answers (a, b, c or d) and the student holds up their card with what they consider to be the correct answer showing at the top. The teacher opens the App which uses the mobile device’s camera to scan the cards and store the results. Each card is slightly different and so by assigning a student a particular card you can analyse individual responses.

If you have no internet or it is dodgy, then the Plickers mobile app will store student responses and sync them to your account later when you have WiFi available.

    Plickers card containing a QR code

    How does it work?

    You register with Plickers on the Plickers website and simply set up a ‘New Set’ of questions, this will allow you to enter up to five questions (in the free version) into a quiz.

    You can set up multiple ‘Sets’ of questions.

    Plickers has a very good support page that will take you through the process, however does not seem to have created any YouTube videos.

     

    Tips

    • Download your Plickers cards from the Plickers website. You don’t need to pay for them.
    • Print on cardboard and don’t laminate as that causes a reflection when scanning with your mobile device.

    How could you use Plickers?

    • During the first session to identify what things people would most like to study
    • At the start of a session to gauge prior knowledge
    • During a session to collect the responses to a question
    • At the end of the session to capture learning that has taken place
    • At the end of a course to measure progress and achievement
    • During the final session for evaluation purposes
    • During community group learning or family learning workshops as an ice breaker activity
    • For group quizzes.

     

    Written for HOLEX by Ideas4Learning Limited