Spider Web Discussion Tracker (A Free Tool to Map, Tag, and Replay Student Discussions)

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A free spider web discussion tracker for teachers. Tap each student as they speak and the app draws the web for you, line by line. Tag the moves that matter, like a question or a text reference, then replay the whole discussion as a time lapse and walk through the numbers with your class.

It runs in the browser from a single file. There is no account, nothing to install, and nothing gets uploaded. Student names stay on your computer.

What a spider web discussion is

Alexis Wiggins lays out the method in The Best Class You Never Taught (ASCD, 2017). Students sit in a circle and run the discussion themselves. The teacher stays quiet and draws a line from each speaker to the next. By the end, the lines make a web that shows who talked, who didn’t, and how the ideas moved around the room. Then the class looks at the web together and talks about what helped and what got in the way. The whole group shares one grade.

Pencil and paper work fine for the drawing. This tool handles the drawing, the counting, and the timing, so you can watch the room instead of your clipboard.

How to use it

1. Add a class. Paste the roster, one name per line, or import a CSV. “Last, First” works too.
2. Create a discussion. Pick the class and add a title and the opening question.
3. Set the seats. Drag names to match your circle, uncheck anyone absent, and set speaking goals and a target length.
4. Track. Tap whoever speaks. The clock starts on the first tap. Tag the turn with a button or a number key, add a quote if you want, and hit Undo if you tap the wrong name.
5. Finish. The clock stops and the report opens.
6. Debrief with the time lapse and the report.

New to it? The Help tab has a quick start, and Load the demo shows a finished discussion you can replay.

Tag the moves

Each turn can carry tags. The defaults are asks a question, cites the text, builds on someone, new idea, deep analysis, invites someone in, sums up, interrupts, and off topic. The last two are minus tags and show as dashed lines on the web. In the Key tab you can rename them, reorder them, add your own, and give each one point credit. Print the key as a handout so students know what you’re watching for.

Wiggins’s advice holds here: track only what you’ll use in the debrief. Two or three tags are plenty to start.

Speaking goals

Set a minimum and a maximum number of turns per student to keep a few voices from taking over. Students who reach the limit get a double ring on the web, the Not yet list shows who still needs to speak, and names stay dashed until that student talks. You can also set a target length, and the clock counts down to it.

The time lapse

Replay the discussion and watch the web form one line at a time. Scrub to any moment, step through turn by turn, or switch on even spacing to skip the long pauses. Save it as a video or an image for the debrief.

The report

• Length, student turns, how many spoke, and how much the top 3 speakers carried
• How many times the teacher stepped in, and the longest pause
• Who didn’t speak, who went over the limit, and which pair went back and forth the most
• Every tag, counted
• Each student’s turns, share of the talk, first time speaking, tags, and points
• A side-by-side with the class’s last discussion, so students can see what changed
• Debrief questions and a notes box

Download the report, print it, or export the turns and student totals as CSVs. The Discussions tab also tracks each student’s turns across every discussion for the class, which comes in handy for conferences and report card comments.

Keeping your data

Everything saves in your browser as you go, on that computer only. Use Save & options, then Download backup, to keep a copy or move it to another computer.

More free classroom tools

• Graphic Organizer Maker: 71 editable graphic organizers you can print
• Class Digital Board: a timer, noise meter, and agenda screen for the projector
• Ball Drop: a marble-race name picker for deciding who goes first

See all the free edtech tools, or grab one of the classroom games.

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