Classkick for Chromebook and More!

I first wrote about Classkick almost two years ago. This powerful iOS app allows teachers to make slides to share with students as assignments. Students work on them a page at a time and teachers can watch in real time. Students can ask for feedback and teachers, or other students, can provide it. Classkick is one part presentation slides, one part student response system, one part collaboration tool, but, until recently, only for iOS devices. Early this year Classkick added a web-based viewer so students, or parents, could go back and review assignments that were already completed. I really liked that addition but recently I received even better news that soon Classkick will be available as a web app for students using laptops, desktops, or chromebooks!

When asked if I wanted to take a sneak peak at what the web app would look like, I jumped at the chance. Here's what I found out:

Joining an assignment is about the same as in the app. The teacher provides a code. The student uses the code and then can see the pages of the assignment. The assignment I tried, in student mode, included a page to test out the tools and some pages that required free responses.

Across the top of the above image, you can see the tools - undo and redo, select, pen, eraser, text box, color and line thickness. I didn't screenshot it, but there is a hand in the upper righthand corner that a student can click to ask for feedback or receive help. As that is one of my favorite parts of the iOS app, I was glad to see it included here.

I love the iOS app because you can use your finger like a pen and "write" in the app to solve problems. With a chromebook or laptop, this can be a little tricky because of the trackpad. To tackle that, I tried a trick that one of my students taught me this year. Use a stylus on the trackpad while clicking. You can see the result in the image at the top of my post.

Assignments can include text for students to read and links to explore. In the image below & right, I created the text box and dragged it to the designated area in the dotted lines and then answered the question. Because I have only used the app for solving problems, I liked seeing this example that looked more like language arts. How cool to use this tool in this way!

Navigating through the pages is easy. Just click the arrows for going forward or back (see above image).

I have a class set of iPads that I use with Classkick now. Once the web app is live, my students will be able to access my assignments with their MacBooks. I love that this makes the assignments possible to start in class and resume for homework. 

The image above shows the work process. Teacher creates assignments in the iOS app. Students will be able to access the assignments on web-enabled devices. Teachers will watch the progress in the iOS device. Will teachers eventually be able to create assignments on laptops or chromebooks? I don't know, but keep your eye on this great team for more exciting developments! And watch for the announcement of the Classkick web app, coming soon!