I have used SurveyMonkey.com before in other aspects of my life, but it did not occur to me to see it as a potential tool in my classroom until I started thinking about how many times I have heard a teacher say, “Raise your hand if you…,” and it dawned on me that it would be an awesome tool to utilize. If my students have access to a computer either at home or school, which most should these days, then it would be a great way to gain insight into what the students are thinking. I could use it to see what they thought about an assignment or a particular book. I know I like having choices and that is a courtesy I wish to extend to my students, so I could use it to see which assignments they would be more interested in doing for a particular unit. They could use it to gather research for essays or other projects. This website is something that should be used because it is free and fairly simple, so why not let more people know about it? Technology is something that is going to play an even bigger role in the lives of my students than it does in mine today and I need to learn how to take advantage of that. Pre-tests and post tests can be boring, but I think the students would be more responsive to them if it was presented to them in a different format. Another great way to use this site is to simple use it to find out more about the children I will see every day for a year. I could then take that information and incorporate commonalities into lessons or even decorations for the classroom.
I think using something like SurveyMonkey.com will be highly beneficial to me, especially when I first start teaching. It is a quick and simple way to see if the things I am doing in my class are working or if I need to change them in some way. Of course, updates and improvements are necessary in this profession, but I believe this tool would help me gain insight into the problems sooner.
