Slido
What it is
Slido is a classroom response system that allows teachers to run interactive activities online during class. With Slido, you can create multiple choice or multiple select questions, open answer questions, word clouds, ranking, and more. It integrates seamlessly with Google Slides and PowerPoint, and it can be used in Zoom or Webex.
How to access it
To access Slido, you can go to slido.com and login with your PTS account through Webex. This will allow you to create a Slido for use in class. During your class, your students simply need to go to slido.com on their laptop, tablet, or phone and enter a code (and password if you use one). There’s no need for students to create an account.
teaching ideas
Idea 1: knowledge recall
At the beginning of a class session, use Slido to help students recall information that they already know, whether from their lives or from previous class sessions, that relates to the topic of the day. A quick activity like this can help orient students to the topic for the day and can help activate deep learning by calling up data upon which new knowledge can be constructed. Any of the Slido tools can be used to do this, but the word cloud and open text responses are great options!
Idea 2: reveal “thin slices of learning”
Use Slido to help reveal “thin slices of learning.” In Intentional Tech (2019), Derek Bruff writes about “thin slices of learning,” which refers to the small parts of learning that add up to a larger skill or piece of knowledge. In teaching, when we reveal the thin slices as we go, we’re better able to help students fill in any gaps of knowledge acquisition.
Have students open Slido and punctuate the lecture by asking questions or for ideas that students can quickly respond to throughout your lecture. For example, you could say something like, “In one sentence, summarize the key point I just made in the past ten minutes.” Something like this would help you see in real time how well you have communicated to your students through your lecture. It also helps include everyone’s “thin slices” instead of just a few vocal students.
Idea 3: exit ticket
Slido can be used at the end of class to let students reflect on their learning from the day. You can create an open-ended response, for example, that asks for an insight or lingering question from the class. Those could stay up on the screen as students leave for the day so that they can see each other’s ideas.