Pixton.com / Kahoot

 

Pixton is a web-app that gives teachers and students a unique way to create stories, demonstrate learning, and enhance writing assignments — in any subject — through digital comics.

Users can explore topics in Math, Science, Social Studies, History, English, Art or any other subject. Choose images from popular content, books and movies like The Hunger Games or The Outsiders, plus other topics like the solar system, black history or the environment — all Common Core aligned. No drawing skills are required.

Pixton levels the playing field with hundreds of preset characters, backgrounds, outfits, poses, and even emotions, all just a click or tap away. Comics can be made and shared in no time, making the classroom experience fun and memorable. It’s also a great tool for distance/remote learning.

Pixton is a comic book creator that lets students make their own avatar characters and bring them to life digitally. This is designed for use in education, with teachers and students in mind. Crucially, it's very easy to use and can be accessed from nearly any device with a web browser.

The idea is to offer an easy-to-use platform that allows students to get creative with their storytelling. Thanks to the ability to create avatars that look like the student, it can also offer a space for them to express themselves.

Teachers can use these avatar characters to offer virtual alternatives to class time, even using them to create a group class photo that's purely digital.

Pixton starts with an easy login process for students as they can use their Google or Hotmail accounts to auto sign-up and get going. Alternatively, teachers can create a unique sign-in code to share with students so they get up and running that way.

To build comic book stories students can select multiple characters and animate them. This can be a slow process so helpfully there are also shortcuts to actions that can be searched for. Then it's a case of adding in speech bubbles and text to bring the stories to life.

Useful teacher-specific tools are available, such as favorites, which lets you collate the best examples from students all in one place. An age-appropriate content filter is also a useful addition especially when working with younger students. Pixton will mark a comic as read once you've read it, which as a teacher can make working through submissions more automated and easier.

 

Kahoot! is a digital learning platform that uses quiz-style games to help students learn by making the information engaging in a fun way.

As one of the biggest names in quiz-based learning, it's impressive that Kahoot! still offers a free-to-use platform, which makes it highly accessible for teachers and students alike. It's also a helpful tool for a hybrid class that uses both digital and classroom-based learning.

The cloud-based service will work on most devices via a web browser. That means this is accessible for students in class or at home using laptops, tablets and smartphones.

Since the game-based platform allows you to create new quizzes from scratch, it's possible to be creative and offer bespoke learning options for students.

It offers more than 40 million games already created that anyone can access, making it quick and easy to get started. Ideal for hybrid or distance learning, when time and resources are at a premium.

Since Kahoot! is free, it simply requires an account to be created to get started. Students can use Kahoot! across most devices from any location with an internet connection.

lets look at  the features of Kahoot

Ghost
Ghost is a great feature that allows students to play against their own previous high scores, making a game out of improving performance. This allows for going over a quiz more than once and helping to make sure information sinks in at a deeper level. 

Analysis
Improve each student's understanding by using the analytics of results to see which student has struggled and with what, so you can help them in that area.

Copy
Take advantage of the wealth of quizzes created by other educators and already available on Kahoot!, which are available to use freely. You can even combine multiple Kahoots for an ultimate quiz.

Assess students first
A Kahoot quiz can be a great way to check students' knowledge before you start teaching a subject to help avoid making it too simplistic or too complicated for the class.

 Use media
Add in videos right from YouTube very easily. This is a great way to have students watch and learn, knowing they're going to be questioned after the video ends. You can also add in images and, in the case of the iOS app, your own drawings. 

At its most basic, Kahoot! offers a question and then optional multiple-choice answers. This can be enhanced with rich media such as images and videos to add more interactivity. 

While Kahoot! can be used in the classroom, it's ideal for remote learning use. It's possible for teachers to set a quiz and wait to see the scores as students complete it. Or they can carry out a live hosted quiz using video – with third-party apps such as Zoom or Meet – to be there as students are working through the challenges. 

While there is a timer-based quiz mode, you can also choose to turn that off. In that instance, it's possible to set more complex tasks that require research time.

Teachers can also review results and run analytics from game reports for formative assessments so as to better judge progress being made in class.