underrated tech tool gets some love

Yesterday was DLD, and in my opinion, a success at PHHS! I presented  TodaysMeet.com during our "Appy Hour" and it seemed to be appealing to many teachers. I think backchannel is underrated- seeming almost too easy to set up. Many of us use it as an avenue for students to ask questions or comment during class presentations. I have instead found my students LOVE using it as a digital study group. I teach mostly 9th and 10th grade students, not yet able to drive themselves and dictate their own schedule. I always encourage students to create study groups for my course, but the logistics are difficult when depending on rides. I created a TodaysMeet page and shared it with my students on D2L- students were then able to ask questions about vocab, free response questions, and concepts from the text or lecture. Students respond to each other's questions, helping their classmates while also assessing their own understanding of the material. I usually check in a few times to see if there is anything students are struggling with. This has not only helped my students, but I also have a new way of knowing whether I need to revisit material. My students are now requesting that I set up a page a few days before all of their tests. I never considered using this tool in this manner, but I'm happy I've come across it!