How to address violence in the news with your kids.
To maximize GoClass's potential, students will need to have mobile devices or tablets both in and outside of the classroom. In a traditional class, teachers can guide students through content and check for understanding throughout the lesson. In a flipped or blended classroom, teachers can create self-paced lessons or send out a schedule of assignments to prepare for in-class activities.
Have students review lessons and notes on topics that were emphasized during class; this can help them deepen their understanding and retain the material. Also, make use of the ability to time assessments, as well as track student participation throughout lessons. Both of these features can help boost student accountability.
Continue readingGoClass is a learning platform that allows teachers to create lessons and deliver them directly to students' mobile devices -- both iOS and Android apps are available. With a free account, teachers can create courses and develop lessons, share content, and assess student learning in real time. Lessons follow a specific structure: show (media and videos), explain (notes and examples), and ask (polls and assessments). Teachers can add individual students or upload an entire class with a .csv file. Students receive an email about how to get started with GoClass.
To conduct a session, both teachers and students will need devices -- an optional projection screen can allow whole-class viewing. Teachers can then share content to student devices while simultaneously projecting the same or different content to the class. Teachers can scribble on an image or add an explanation to emphasize a concept. They can also time lectures and assessments and see which students are engaged with the presentation at a given time. Expanded features in the paid account include scheduling for flipped-class instruction, student note-taking and annotation, and space for additional student accounts and lesson plans.
Schools and students with the right device access can benefit from GoClass's interactive and real-time features. Teachers will need to put in some time to learn the program and develop lessons that fit the platform's framework. Features like immediate feedback on polls and assessments are useful in helping teachers modify curriculum and identify opportunities for reteaching. The ability to share content directly with student devices and project something different for the whole class is a unique feature. For example, as the class views an image, individual students can answer questions on their devices.
Some features are available only if students have access to a device outside the classroom, or if teachers have a paid, GoClass+ account. With this, teachers get the ability to schedule assignments -- this can help students come to class prepared for discussions and activities. In contrast to Nearpod, a similar tool, GoClass doesn't provide pre-made lessons; however, teachers can share lessons with one another through the platform.