Thursday, June 2, 2011

Enhance Instruction & Student Engagement With Bloom's Taxonomy

Stick Pick is an iPhone / iPod Touch / iPad “teacher tool” application that allows you to randomly (or intentionally) draw a student’s name from an on-screen can of popsicle sticks -- but that’s just the beginning. You determine the mode and level of difficulty for each learner, and then, every time that student’s stick is drawn, you’ll be shown over a dozen Bloom’s-style question stems -- uniquely tied to your learner’s individual ability level! 
Stick Pick offers over 140 question stems, organized by cognitive and linguistic level, so teachers can quickly and conveniently ask the right question to the right learner at just the right time. With Stick Pick teachers promote higher order thinking skills, English language development, and equity among learners of all levels.
Got a high achiever in your class? Choose “Bloom’s Mode: Evaluation” and Stick Pick will display question stems at the highest level of Bloom’s Taxonomy for that student whenever his or her stick is drawn. Got an English Language Learner new to English? Choose “ESL Mode: Beginning” and Stick Pick will display question stems at the beginning level.
Differentiate instruction, track formative assessment, enrich learning, and improve parent-school communication. 
Devices: Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iOS 3.2 or later.


Many Smart Features - One Innovative App

Finally -- no more sticks cluttering your desk! Now you can keep all your students’ sticks in one convenient place: on your mobile device!
• Create as many classes as you need
• Over 140 question stems categorized into three modes:
    -Bloom’s;
    -Bloom’s Revised; and 
    -ESL (English as a Second Language)
  1. Copy an entire class, with or without scores
  2. “Swipe up,” “tap,” or “shake” to call on a student
  3. Special “kerplunk” sound effect confirms you’ve added a student
  4. Level-appropriate question stems appear right on the screen
  5. Option to operate in Stick Only mode
  6. Sticks can be reset (put back in with the rest) or marked “used” in a special “used can.”
  7. Toggle between used and unused sticks with a single tap
  8. Option to “peek” into each can to deliberately pick a particular student 
  9. Operates in Left or Right Hand mode
• Track students using “Correct,” “Incorrect,” and “Opinion” buttons
• Track student responses with two rubrics:
    -Critical thinking rubric (Bloom’s & Bloom’s Revised mode)
    -Degree of elaboration rubric (ESL mode)
• E-mail student data to principal, parent, or any other interested parties