Answer Garden - simple and intuitive
This week's tool is AnswerGarden.
Well, what is it?
Creating an AnswerGarden is really simple and intuitive (I didn't need the instructions but they can be found here and there is also a demo here).
Who can use it?
How can it be used?
I think the tool works really well to review class material or find out what your students/ trainees already know. In the one I have set up below ↓ the idea is to have teacher trainers use the tool to record things that they have recently written -**Please type your answer in the box and you should see it show up in the word cloud**
This activity could then be used by the trainee teachers in their practicum classes to find out the types of writing the students do most often (having trainees experience what they do with the students - "for real" - can help them to be much more prepared and at ease with using the activity (check out Tessa Woodward's book on loop input for more on this), which could then feed into a writing lesson that focused on helping students with the types of writing they do most often.
The worst and The Best
The worst thing about AnswerGarden is the word limitation - which is only 40 characters - I understand that the tool is not designed to have people write essays (hence it self-proclaims as brief) but I think 40 is really restrictive. I also found it really difficult to find the unique code for the AnswerGarden session I had set up (it can be found in the share section, which is located underneath the AnswerGarden box) and think this is something that should really be signposted better on their website.
The best thing about AnswerGarden is its simplicity. For some, that might be a disadvantage but I'd argue it's one of the best introductions to using tech in the classroom. It could even be used by those that describe themselves as technophobes.
**Note**
I first came across AnswerGarden in a Cambridge English webinar (Embedding technology in teacher training: Tools for the digitally apprehensive) ran by Marie Therese Swabey. I highly recommend giving the webinar a watch in your free time.
Images courtesy of: DreamyArt from Pixabay and Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Images courtesy of: DreamyArt from Pixabay and Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
Hi Katie! Nice blog. This is a very interesting review on AnswerGarden. I agree with you that the best part about it is its simplicity. You don't have to be a technophobe to be able to use it - AnswerGarden is really simple and easy to use. Well done and keep up the good job! 🙂
ReplyDeleteI never used it in my classes, but at uni it was used in some of our seminars. I really like it because it is very simple and user-friendly as you said, but the 40 word limit is definitely a shortcoming. Thank you for the great post 🍀
ReplyDeleteHi Sadaf - just wondered how it was used in your seminars and if you think it worked well to engage students?
DeleteHi Katie~ Interactive blog and maybe I will try this later~ Thanks for sharing it and I feel that simplicity might be the advantage for students so that both teachers and students will not bother using some other functions during the limited classroom time~
ReplyDeleteHi Katie
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this useful blog. If I could be a teacher successfully in the future, I will try this tool in my writing class. I love the point 'for real'. Because one the the most biggest problems for Chinese students is well-prepared for the test. With this tool, perhaps they could express their true experience and feeling in the class! Looking forward to see your future blog~
Hi Katie! I really like this tool because of its simplicity. It's a good choice for brainstorming and I used it in my second peer teaching last month. Thanks for your detailed review of this tool! I also got inspired by the Cambridge English webinar you recommended at the end of the post. Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteHi Jing - that is great! Did you know about the tool already? Or see it here and use it? How did it go in the lesson?
DeleteHi Katie, I got to know it in ICT in TESOL class when Tilly asked us to share ideas about Happiness and Motivation :) It's really easy to use. I created a question regarding the topic of my lesson before class. I just showed the QR code to my peers and asked them to scan it and share ideas. It turned out that they became more engaged in the beginning of class compared with my first peer teaching.
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