I started using these programs this semester, here's the basics.
Class Dojo
what - It's an interactive participation tracking program
who - The teacher doles out green points for positive participation, and red points for negative behavior. Students can track themselves via cellphone APP, and compare with their classmates.
where - The teacher can use a cellphone APP, or the browser version. Internet required.
when - The teacher can either explicitly call attention to the point change, or surreptitiously via APP. If done on the APP and the program is open in the browser a positive "ding" or negative "bwomp" will play. This always get the student's attention.
why - Sometimes you want a carrot and a stick.
how - Go to classdojo.com and sign up. Enter your student's names. Choose a list of behaviors you want to reward and punish. Go from there. There is a default demo class where you can sandbox.
Plickers
what - Mass direct questioning technique
who - The teacher asks a multiple choice or true/false question to every student in the class [up to 63] at the same time AND the students can answer secretly and have no idea what answer the other students are giving.
where - APP required, while using it in the browser gives immediate feedback to the students
when - A little foresight is required as the teacher must prep the questions before class.
why - Poll questions are of little use to the teacher. Direct questioning is great, but in relatively large classes doesn't provide a lot of feedback. Also shy students are apt to waste time, as are the louder students. If all you want to know is whether or not the concept has been absorbed, and quickly, use this APP.
how - Go to plickers.com, print out a set of cards appropriate for your class size. The cards themselves are similar to those SR/QR codes - each one is unique. Since they are squares on each side their is a small letter A, B, C, and D. The teacher displays a question on the board with those four options. The student picks the appropriate response and holds that particular side of the square up. The teacher walks around and scans the cards using the APP [I was surprised by not only how powerful, but also how fast, the scanner works]. In a few seconds you will have a tally of all the answers, and can choose to display the correct answer. This can be displayed in either an anonymous bar chart, or student by student.