Classtime vs. Edsby

Suitable:

• Distance learning for formative assessment
• In-class quizzes
• Tickets out the door to check on the day's understanding
• Homework
• Grade-level common assessments
• High-stakes test prep

Edsby is well-suited for day-to-day communication with students, either in the classroom, or at home. It makes planning course progression easier because of the built in day-by-day calendar for the semester. It is transferable, so the work one does in one semester can be copied over to the next, and modified as needed. Students can see the Lesson Plan which is projected onto the SmartBoard, but the font is quite small so they cannot read it from where they are sitting, so I use SmartNotes which has a larger font and then, if needed, attach that note to the Edsby day lesson planner.

• It has three different types of engagement activities for students as they are answering questions.
• It gives immediate data that can be acted upon.
• It is easy to find materials to use in their library with their search engine.
• It is very easy to include multimedia material like images, gifs, videos, and audio files.
• The test-making interface is extremely easy to use.
• It is easy to print out data that can be used to analyze with a grade-level team or with parents.
• It has a Google, Microsoft, and Clever interface, making it easy for students to access.

• Edsby is extremely easy to learn and use.
• Students love the "social media" feel to Edsby.

• Edsby shows the last time a user logged on. Unfortunately, if someone doesn't log out you have no way of knowing if someone has seen a recent post or is really using Edsby to its potential.

Everything is easy to use and well as being overly user-friendly to your average student.

I have used Edpuzzle, Quizizz, Kahoot, Khan Academy, and Edcite. I use all of them at varying times, depending on my needs. I use Classtime more than any of them because of its versatility of question types and its engagement tools. I also appreciate the ease of making and giving out tests.

EDSBY was piloted at the school last semester, and I found it made my job easier, which is a boon since time is fleeting and I could get more done with less effort with Edsby. After the pilot the entire school district was signed up to use Edsby. I like it very much. I did use a blog on First Class which was extremely difficult to learn, and a blog on WordPress which was easier to learn how to use but not interactive like Edsby is. To my mind, Edsby is far superior to the former.

• It has helped us during in-classroom demonstration lessons.
• It has helped us with our training on strategic thinking in math.
• It has given us an outlet to share our test creation skills, which we can model to districts.

• For the most part, teachers, parents and students love the system. It provides easy access to the information that they need when they need it.