David Odom, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Christian Ministry/Youth
Grace University
Responsive Design Website
Create digital handouts that can be easily viewed on laptops, tablets, and smartphones. No website creation experience needed. Learning Activity: Provide a digital handout for exam review. For Example: I created the following Webflow site as a review for a mid-term exam in Counseling Youth in Crisis: cm300.webflow.io
Live polls - Text-message response system
Create live polls to prompt classroom discussion. Polls can be multiple choice or open-ended. Free for up to 40 responses per poll. Polls are anonymous. Poll Everywhere can be an extremely effective way to engage students and increase classroom participation. Other response systems include: SMS Poll (smspoll.net) and mQlicker (mqlicker.com). Learning Activity: To engage students and prompt discussion following a spiritual gifts assessment, create an open-ended poll inviting students to text their top spiritual gift.
Game-based quizzes
Kahoot! is a competitive and engaging resource for students. Create online quizzes for classroom review. Students respond on smartphone, tablet, or laptop. Learning Activity: Create a Kahoot quiz to review for a mid-term exam. For example: I created the following quiz to prepare students for an exam in Counseling Youth in Crisis. Go to the following website when prompted to play: kahoot.it
Display Twitter post
Twitter post can be displayed using a specific hashtag. Other display websites include: Tweetbeam (tweetbeam.com), VisibleTweets (visibletweets.com), and Twitter Fontana (twitterfontana.com). Learning Activity: To prompt classroom discussion, invite students to post a portion of a favorite quote from the textbook reading assignment. Direct students to use a specific hashtag. Use Twitterfall in the classroom to display tweets. For example: I required my students to post at least three times to social media during the semester. I included the following statements in my syllabus for Leadership and Discipleship of Youth: “Student will be asked to periodically participate in class discussion through social media. Use Twitter with hashtag: #cm310.”
Display Instagram post
Instagram post can be displayed using a specific hashtag. Learning Activity 1: To prompt classroom discussion, invite students to post a photo illustrating the concept of “pacing” as described by Richard Dunn in Shaping the Spiritual Life of Students. Direct students to use a specific hashtag with their post. Use Iconosquare in the classroom to display the Instagram post. Learning Activity 2: To prompt formulation of a concise youth ministry philosophy, direct students to record a 10-second video on Instagram depicting their philosophy of youth ministry. For example: I included the following statements in my syllabus for Christian Education of Youth: “For 10 bonus points: Record an Instagram video presenting your one sentence summary of your philosophy in a fun and creative way. Use the hashtag: #youthminphilosophy when posting your video.”
