How Can Teachers Use It?
Geddit's unique color-coded signal bars are great for gauging students' confidence so that you can make sound instructional decisions. For instance, geometry students can check in on their homework, and then get placed into mixed groups for peer review. History students can check in after you've assigned a multi-part project; you can group those who need clarification together for a quick re-teaching lesson. Actually correlating confidence to correct answers will take a little practice. The site doesn't flag mismatches (high confidence and wrong answer, for example), but -- with some practice -- you'll be able to spot the visual reports that signal some of these areas for concern.
Also, the polling feature is great for identifying preconceptions. For example, science students can select what they think plants use as food; they can be grouped to differentiate the lesson accordingly. Since lesson data is saved, have your students revisit their responses more than once; they'll be able to see how their thinking changes as they learn.
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What's It Like?
Editor's Note: Geddit has closed and is no longer available.
Geddit is an online student response tool with an extra piece: Students can choose signal bars to reflect their level of confidence with any given question. As with similar tools, teachers set up classes and lessons; students can respond anonymously using a mobile device. Geddit's "Lessons" are intended to last just for one class period. Within a Lesson, teachers can add Topics (used as organizational guides or brief directions), as well as related questions or polls to elicit student responses.
When students log in, they'll get a notification when a lesson has commenced. At this point and anytime during a lesson, students can indicate their perceived level of confidence using the "Geddit bars" tool. Students can also send short comments to the teacher (though teachers can't write back), indicating that they'd like help by clicking a hand symbol. Students do get immediate feedback on the multiple choice questions, and -- after a lesson is over -- can view completed lessons as an opportunity to reflect and review.
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Is It Good For Learning?
Immediate feedback is often crucial to students' success, and Geddit provides this easily on multiple choice questions. What's more, lessons are saved in student accounts; making smartphone studying that much more practical. The real learning gem, though, is the site's ability to get students to reflect on their own thinking and learning. Students can review a lesson and muse, I totally thought I knew Africa's geography; where did I go wrong? or reflect, I didn't feel confident about LCD, but I can do fractions! Most kids will need some coaching, or even direct instruction, on how to make this kind of reflection meaningful, but Geddit provides a great template and opportunity for this higher-order thinking to take place.
The formatting could cause friction with a few of the features, particularly in the post-lesson views. For example, the Geddit signal bars don't show question titles, so coordinating confidence levels with questions could be a challenge for kids. For teachers, the process of creating topics and defining them clearly could be better supported. Nevertheless, in the overall experience, Geddit's got it where it counts; it's a solid way to encourage higher-level thinking and learning.
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A view from the Geddit homepage.
Teachers can create lessons, and then add topics and questions.
Class responses can be shared with the class – even in real time – but individuals' responses are just below.
View lesson results of overall class confidence, as well as responses to questions.
During the lesson, students can rate their confidence at any time and answer questions.
Students can review lesson content, along with their answers and self-reported confidence rating.
