Spin, Speak, Learn, Repeat

As part of the ActivConnect version 2.3 update, the Promethean Spinner App is a powerful new tool that will help energize your classroom. The Promethean Spinner App is perfect for activities that are easy to prep and effectively engage your students. Whether it is a class review or quick homework check, this dynamic addition to your ActivPanel will facilitate differentiation as a part of your favorite lesson.

A top feature of the Promethean Spinner App is the ability to add and remove lists to match your daily lesson repertoire. Tap the settings wheel, followed by the pencil icon to customize and create up to 44 items on a spinner list. The sheer versatility of the app will inspire lively discussions and transform your classroom into an active learning zone.

Creating an immersive environment and streamlining classroom management are two goals that all teachers strive for with technology. In my teaching experience, assigning classroom jobs is conducive for getting kids in the door and helping you build rapport.

Each category item will represent a “classroom job” ― a list of tasks tailored by your students’ preference and learning objectives.

One of the jobs can be a “technology expert” who will edit the Promethean Spinner App and label each job with a classmate’s name on the wheel since students and teachers alike will find the app easy to navigate.
In foreign language and ELL classes, jobs can be modeled with high-frequency vocabulary and sentence structures that provide comprehensible input. Students will land in their assigned role by spinning the wheel, which will inject excitement to an otherwise run-of-the-mill feature of your lesson plan.

A weekend c hat is a popular activity that launches the start or end of a school week and personalizes each student’s learning experience. While working within the Promethean Whiteboard App or cuing an uploaded lesson, you have the ability to simultaneously show the lesson and the Promethean Spinner App. Edit your version of weekend chat on a spinner list with subjects that your students care about to encourage dialogue in the target language. Generating conversations about their interests and weekend activities will instill confidence in the students’ speaking abilities, and reflect higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy through continued practice.

When your students meet growth targets, add a Promethean Spinner App list that offers positive incentives such as free homework passes, light snacks, or a pizza party, transforming your classroom into a game show set. This will encourage continued improvement and a constructive approach towards learning. Regardless of class level or subject matter, the words “spin the wheel” will be the cue to a rewarding adventure with knowledge as the grand prize.

For more information about how to make your classroom Promethean friendly, check out the recommendations below:

Bryce Hedstrom is a high school teacher and teacher trainer in northern Colorado. His blog features many Comprehensible Input (CI) friendly resources for foreign language teachers geared towards best practices based on the latest academic research.

Dustin Williamson is a French/Spanish language acquisition facilitator at Leavitt Area High School in Turner, Maine. His blo g is filled with adaptive and fun lesson ideas for your classroom.

Author: Brent Hawk is an Education Consultant for Promethean in New York City. He taught high school Spanish for 6 years in Ohio, where he implemented a Comprehensible Input (CI) based curriculum to promote cultural fluency –– which is part of the school district’s 1:1 Chromebook initiative grant. He enjoys long distance running, traveling, watching Ohio State Buckeyes football and cooking food that’s way too spicy for his wife, Sophia, in Brooklyn, NY.