About Socrative
Socrative is currently a free app. A small group of programmers have developed the tool and it has become quite popular. As new versions come out, it will be interesting to see if it remains free. Like many teachers, Socrative was one of my first student response system using WiFi devices. My clickers were left in their travel bag and instead, all my students held their new school-issued tablets. Socrative is quick to learn, but I soon became frustrated with its limitations.
Socrative’s Strengths
- Free app available on Android, iOS or as a website
- Easy to learn for both students and teachers
- Integrated with Edmodo (not free)
- Team competitions, called Space Races, are fun and help engage students
Socrative’s Weaknesses
- Student results are not connected from one assessment to the next. If you want to see the growth of a student, you have to compile it yourself
- Interface is a little crude and sometimes unresponsive, students often have to leave the session and log back in
- Limited displays for classroom projectors which makes it harder to hold the class’s attention or reference question for re-teaching
- Lacks advanced features such as warnings if student performance is dropping, achievements students earn for growth, and ways to learn from students data beyond their average on a single assessment
Conclusion
Socrative is a fantastic way to move towards a 21st Century learning environment. It’s requires little investment and gets classroom tech working productively. But the ease of its use comes at a steep cost. The whole purpose of this site is to address the inevitable question Socrative users face: What alternatives are there that let me do more?
Socrative Alternatives 