Community reviews for Formative

Formative is an educational app which works to transform the dynamics of how educators and students approach assessments. Formative includes all the typical trappings of assessments; multiple choice, fill in the blank, and short answers. However, formative also includes drawings (show your work and whiteboard), audio and video responses, and tools which support the academic needs of various subjects and grade levels. For example, formative includes graphing, table grids, and matching options for students. While these options are great, they can either be done on paper, in person, or over different educational tools. What makes formative so important in changing how assessments are used in the classroom is real-time data. Students can be taking their assessment all at the same time and educators can watch on their own screen what their students are doing and how they are processing information. Educators can then see what their students are doing, step in if they feel the need to, and inform their teaching based on what they see on formative. This final portion of technology that formative provides not only substitutes traditional assessments but, redefines how students and teachers understand and engage with assessments.

I think Formative is a useful teaching tool and has the potential to do more. The free version allows for a lot of variability in questions and problems, but has its limitations. It would be nice to have the mathematical input available for the free version. It's useful to have the premium paid version so you are able to combine a the whiteboard and answer box into one question, without the paid version you need to make them a separate question, which can make it confusing for some students, but can still work if you are unable to pay the price. I've been using the Free version and it has been okay so far, but definitely an extra step for the students and, like I said, is confusing for some of the students.

This app is better suited to older students who are already familiar with using similar apps to this. For 4th graders who’ve never used something like this it’s an absolute disaster. Without a parent at home to help with it this app is extremely challenging to use and it’s menu controls don’t work properly and are glitchy. There has to be some better apps out there than this one. It feels like something from 1995.

I do truly enjoy this application. It has so many positive features however it does take some time as the teacher to work out the kinks. I was hoping that I would just be able to put the code on the board for my students, they would go the website and be right to work; however, this was not that simple. I did not realize the students needed to create their own accounts. Luckily, my school district does provide them with a username and password that is saved through a database called "clever." However, I did not know this. My students were awesome and were helping one another create the accounts and log into my assignment. I do wish this process would have been more straightforward and I would have made sure I had clear directions on the board for how to go about logging in with their designated information! Once I had most of the students logged in, I had the students use the whiteboard feature to quickly share their thoughts on the error analysis question. However, once the students accessed their whiteboard to respond, the question shrunk, and they could not refer to it with ease. Students had to continuously go back and forth between the question and the whiteboard. I did put the question on my projector however it would have been better if students could have a split screen between the question and their whiteboard. As a result, this activity took much longer than anticipated. The students struggled with remembering the question. The students were highly engaged as they loved the fact that they could choose their ink color and draw their ideas using the class set of styluses. The idea that they had full control and could express their creativity was wonderful to watch. Once the students were done, I was able to share each of their individual responses on the screen. I had the choice for anonymous or names. The students liked seeing their work on the board and being able to express their ideas both visually and verbally. Overall, I do enjoy this application. It allows for students to think freely and share their own responses. It also encourages students to reflect on their responses as well as their classmates' responses.

Overall, I think Formative is a wonderful formative assessment tool that any educator would benefit from using (if there is access to computers, tablets, cellphones, etc.). I absolutely love the fact I can see the students’ responses on my screen without having to walk laps around my classroom! The instant data is so helpful for catching misconceptions right away and for planning instruction/small groups. Not only do I receive immediate information, but the students can too with real-time feedback. I can extend some students with a higher-level question while providing guiding questions to those who are struggling at the same time using the feedback tool. It was incredibly easy and quick to create my own formative task. The students also found it easy to adjust to this new tool. Despite the simplistic design, my students were engaged the entire time! I would like to continue to explore the different response options and tools within the questions for other subject areas. My students REALLY enjoyed being able to show their work in a digital way while also presenting it to their peers. Two setbacks I did have while using this tool were focusing on an individual’s response and eliminating student responses. When the students were presenting their work to the class, I was not able to figure out how to display an individual response on the whole screen. It would only show up small on the right-hand side. I had to stretch my screen to make their work take up the whole screen. Also, while I was testing out the formative task, I typed in my own responses, along with colleagues, but I could not figure out how to get rid of them without deleting the entire formative. I wish there was a way to delete a student’s response if the need arose. I have reached out to Formative with both of my questions using their online chat box. I will be happy to edit my response with their answers if the site allows me to.

It is like a Swiss Army knife. It provides amazing formative assessment opportunities that can align to standards. The data it provides helps teachers and students make informed learning and instructional choices. It can provide a one stop shop for engaged learning opportunities.

This is a great tool to use to have an interactive component to the classroom. This would be great for snow days, virtual learning days and even regular use in the classroom for everyday lessons. I would prefer some way for students to have a way to upload multiple components. I would also like some kind of a score if students scored a certain way. They have the ability to change their answers if the teacher comments on it.

This tool is a great resource to differentiate instruction. If you are interested in created a blended learning environment for students, this tool will set you on the right path. You are able to pull in videos and provide immediate feedback to students.

This is a great assessment site as it gives teachers a variety of options to assess students. This tool goes beyond 4 answer multiple choice questions. Teachers can ask questions (multiple answer, show your work, short answer, or true/false), add content (you tube, image, text block, view only canvas), and upload pre made documents that students can respond to and manipulate. Teachers can view live results and give immediate feedback. I really like the option of pulling in images that students can write and draw on. This is powerful for teachers who want students to be able to label/identify different aspects of an image, while getting immediate results for immediate feedback.

Graphite is a great tool for teachers who are eager to improve their students learning. I like the innovative way of conducting formative assessment. With the device, students who are afraid about asking and answering questions about lesson have the opportunity to do so in a private manner.