"The Hat" Awesome tool to group students!

Students learn best when they are actively engaged in the processing of information.  One way to involve students in active learning is to have them learn from each other in small groups or teams. Research shows that students working in small groups tend to learn more of what is taught, retain it longer than when the same content is presented in other instructional formats, and appear more satisfied with their classes (Davis 1993, Barkley, 2005). But then in practice, teachers are faced with difficulties in deciding who should work with whom and there is also the issue that sometimes students tend to like to work with just some of their classmates. This common dilemma has sparked a search for a solution which could be quick, random and if possible computer-based!! It sounds like MISSION IMPOSSIBLE but I managed to find a great tool for choosing students randomly! It’s called THE HAT and  you just have to download and install this free program on your computer. It is only available for PCs. For more info go to: http://www.lauracandler.com/strategies/smartboard.php