Teachers are constantly searching for fun ways to engage and interact with their students. A Qball is a fun and dynamic way to engage and interact with students in a classroom or outdoors. The Qball is a throwable, wireless microphone for classrooms that looks like a ball students would toss on the playground. Teachers can use the Qball to increase the quality and quantity of academic discourse in content area classes, which is a current TTUSD goal. The teachers at Alder Creek Middle School are working on academic discourse with all students and are looking forward to having Qballs available for classroom use. We feel the Qball will encourage all students to speak more, and allow all students in the classroom to hear what is being said.
We all know that getting everyone in a class to participate in a discussion is a hard task to accomplish, but Qball makes that manageable. This is a great way to make a class more engaging and fun. Qball is a soft, throwable microphone for the classroom. It connects to the sound system via a wireless receiver and doesn't interfere with any of the current classroom audio devices. The microphone is housed in a small dodgeball that is super soft and easy to hold. You can toss the ball to students because it's easy to throw and catch.
The main benefit of the Qball is it helps encourage student participation in classroom discussions. The Qball adds a kinesthetic touch to classroom conversations, Socratic discussions, and moments when a whole or small group of students come together to talk about their learning. The Qball encourages students to participate, and it helps manage classroom discussions. It was designed so that every student can be heard. The Qball amplifies the student's voice so every student can benefit from hearing and understanding their peers clearly.
The ACMS leadership team has a rubric/proficiency scale that was developed by our District that measures student growth. The leadership team members plan to visit classrooms using this rubric to measure student progress. Additionally, we will look for increased state test scores from our second language learners.
Implementation will be at teacher discretion. ACMS teachers have all agreed to structure opportunities for academic discourse around complex tests and tasks. For students, this means critical thinking through purposeful conversation. The Qball will help with these conversations.
At a staff meeting, all teachers showed interest in having a Qball in their classroom. Some teachers wanted more than one!
Here is a copy of the quote from PEEQ Technologies, maker of the Qball:
PEEQ Technologies Inc.
150 N 200 E, Ste 200
St George, UT 84770
United States T: 801-618-0149 F: 801-855.5706
Date 2017/10/18 Expires 2018/01/16
Quote # 13957
Prepared for Alder Creek Middle School
Teresa Eppolito
10931 Alder Drive
Truckee, California 96161
United States T: 5305822750
Qball: 36 at $152.15 each . = . $5,477.40
Subtotal $5,477.40
Shipping $164.25
Total Due $5,641.65 US
There is no other funding that our principal is aware of to cover the cost of the Qballs.