U of T is a large school, so large that you can go your entire academic life here without knowing your classmates. Team Up! solves this problem and gives you an opportunity to work practically in a team with some of your course members. Team Up! is not available in all Quercus courses yet but here’s a sneak preview. You may be familiar with Top Hat, so let’s take that knowledge and level it up!
What is it?
With Team Up!, students are given the opportunity to form teams in a large classroom and work together to complete a quiz they are assigned. The tool operates for each team to have one leader who is the driver for submitting the answers. Each individual on the team has the opportunity to vote on which multiple-choice answer they believe is correct. If there are disagreements, the member should explain their reasoning to the rest of the group as to why they believe their answer is correct. It is up to the
the selected driver of the group to make the final call and decide which answer to submit on behalf of the group.
If the answer is correct, the team will be awarded a diamond in the game, this diamond works as a life. The more diamonds you gain as a team by the end of the quiz, the higher your score. Grading is dependent on your instructor and how they choose to assess your teamwork and correct answers. Each course may be graded differently.
Where is it available?
An instructor can enable this tool in Quercus courses. It is mainly used in science and math courses to encourage participation but it can be used for any subject area.
What are the Key Features?
- Quizzes are graded by diamonds.
- The format is much like a team game.
- Quiz has the option for you to leave a comment. The instructor will be able to check on each group and will have access to answer your comment or query in live time if you do not understand something.
- The driver will be nominated by the group to lead the group.
- Instructor dependent.
- If you are unsure of your answer, you can see the option with the highest vote from your group and discuss together what you think your next step to move forward should be.
- Used to encourage collaboration and leadership skills.
How will it help me as a student?
Team Up! is intended to help students understand your course material better. If you are unsure of something, someone else can contribute to your learning by knowing the correct answer, and explaining it to you. This also works in the same way for you, where you may have to explain the reasoning for the vote you chose, and then understand your course material better. This quiz also allows you to get real-time answers for your questions to help you figure out whether your answer is correct or not immediately. This is also helpful to you and your group as some instructors will allow you to only keep going when the answer is correct (you will lose a diamond for every wrong answer) and this will help the group discuss what may be wrong with their understanding.
*Please ensure that when you use Team Up! you have a strong WiFi connection. This will prevent any disconnections and grant you the most accurate Live Time.
Read more about Team Up! in the U of T News article called U of T researcher’s active-learning app bridges gap between students and instructors.