Our Review “Library”

Given the pros and cons discussed in last week’s #isedchat: Midterms/ Finals: Do they have a constructive purpose?, the verdict is still out on whether midterms are a worthwhile undertaking for students.

No matter how I, personally, feel about them, they are a reality for our Upper School students. And I have to be honest, I struggle with review week… How can I make the best use of time, and meet each students’ need? It’s impossible to go over every topic and each of my students always has different questions on different content.

This year, with Hamden Hall’s new set of iPads, I decided that I was going to have the students create their own review “library”, using the app Educreations. I shared the idea with a colleague who teaches the other section of the same course and he was willing to give it a try. YAY!

Here’s the project pitch I gave to the students in both classes:

You are responsible for helping your fellow Algebra 1 students review for the exam. Each of you will choose a section that we covered and create a 4-6 minute screencast on that section. Your screencast should include any important terminology and at least 4 examples. You will submit your screencast “script” to your teacher for approval. Once it has been approved, you can begin recording. When you are done, please email the video to your teacher so we can add it to the shared GoogleDoc spreadsheet for your use as you review for the exam.

Here’s the link to the rubric and timeline I shared with students.

I think it is pretty awesome that both classes are creating the screencasts because now we will have 31 – 4 – 6 minute review videos readily available to all students in both classes!

At this point in time, all scripts have been reviewed, corrected and approved and tomorrow is recording day! I am really looking forward to seeing the final product. I even had one student submit his tonight (AHEAD of schedule). I am also looking forward to students having access to this library of short screencasts made by their peers. They can watch the ones they need to, on demand, as they are completing their review assignments this week and preparing next weekend for the exam.