Let's Be Heard

Impact to My Classroom

# of Students Impacted: 142

I saw the benefits of my students wanting to share their answers to questions.  Students were more engaged and increased participation in class discussions. The Q-ball is easy to pass from student to student so everyone can share and be heard. Using the Q-ball improved my classroom behavior. Students want a turn to use the Q-Ball, and they knew that they needed to be invested in completing their work to earn the privilege. Students were told to only toss the ball to those students who were sitting quietly. Students want to throw the ball to their friends.  Middle schoolers had to be taught not to throw the ball too hard.  They like to see if their friends can actually catch the ball or drop it. The Q-ball helps to manage classroom discussions because when someone has the Q-ball it is their turn to speak.  I have bad allergies and sometimes lose my voice. The itch in the back of my throat makes it hard to speak or talk loudly.  The Q-ball helped me be heard and kept student volume down since they had to wait for the ball to talk and they didn’t have to speak loud into the ball to be heard.  It helped to increase student engagement by making participating in discussions and sharing ideas more fun. The Q-ball makes participating more of a game, and all kids love playing games in the classroom. The Q-ball helps our students want to speak more and express their thoughts as well as making it easier for students to listen.  I have noticed higher levels of student engagement and participation while using the ball. More students raise their hands and want to share their ideas when we are using the Q-ball. When students use the Q-ball to speak they are clearly heard by all the others in the room. It allows the other students to easily follow along with the speaker and not be confused or lose focus because the student sharing was speaking too softly. Many students are afraid of public speaking.  The Q-ball makes public speaking less scary.  Many students have soft or quiet voices and it is hard for them to be heard by other students. The Q-ball helps ensure that everyone can be heard clearly, especially students who tend to be shy or soft spoken. Quiet and shy kids were more likely to participate.