Cool Tool Alert: Classroom Q

 First, I feel the need to apologize! The cool tool I want to share with you today is one I probably should have shared with you a long time ago because it's kind of perfect for teaching during a global pandemic :-)

This is called Classroom Q, and essentially it is like an in-classroom help desk. We have all had the experience of helping a student and then looking up, only to discover a whole bunch of hands in the air. And of course, each student thinks his or her question is more important than anyone else's question. Where do you start? Plus, sometimes we go from student to student, only to discover they all had the same question!

Classroom Q is going to help with this. Basically, here is how it works:

• You set up the "room" online.
• Students use a code to join.
• When a student has a question, he or she types in their question and clicks a button.
• You see the questions in the order that the students submitted them, so you know who is next to be helped, AND you can see if many students have the same question!

You can keep this open on your device, or you can project it. What is nice about projecting it is that when a student posts a question, other students who might be able to answer can assist the student, which frees YOU up to help more kids!

Here's a video that gives a demo and explains it much better than I can :-)

I used this last school year when I was teaching the computer class in the last trimester (for the short amount of time we were actually in class), and it was great! I knew who needed help and with what, and I had other students able to help their classmates as well.

So, the downside is this: with the free version, you can only have 5 kids in the queue at a time, and you can't see who has joined your class (like if some lurker managed to get in). The upside is the premium version is very affordable -- $19.99/year! This is something you can ask your building to cover the cost for, or you could submit for reimbursement from PTO, or even pay for yourself if you choose! There are Team and School prices available, too, so if your grade level or subject area team decide this is a tool that will work perfectly with your kids or your curriculum, you can work on getting that covered by your principal (see me to help you with this -- all the principals know I have no respect for budgets haha!). Here's a link to see the pricing options.

How could you use Classroom Q in your classroom? Share your thoughts in the comments, and I'll get ya a cool Google or emoji sticker!