The 4Cs (communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity) are some of the most important skills students need to learn.
While teachers can model the 4Cs in the classroom, they know that any skill we want students to understand and master requires students to take ownership of and accountability for their own learning. This means students need to practice these skills on their own, a lot!
That’s where technology can really help. When used intentionally, the right tools give students space to develop these skills, and give teachers better ways to guide and support them. Not sure where to start? Here’s how the 4Cs come to life with Showbie.
For Communication: give students more ways to express themselves
Not every student feels confident speaking up in class. In Showbie, students have multiple ways to communicate, they can participate in class discussions, leave voice notes, or respond with written annotations. These flexible options give every learner a way to share their thinking and contribute, while still building communication skills.
For Critical Thinking: help students research, reason, and reflect
The ability to evaluate arguments and evidence is one of the foundations of strong critical thinking skills. Students need to be able to think independently, conduct research, recognize bias, and construct their own arguments. Try giving them a question to investigate, then have them debate their findings in class. Working in groups adds a collaborative element, too.
In Showbie, teachers can set up tasks, collect student responses, and see how their thinking develops over time. Socrative quizzes are great for helping students test their reasoning and back up their answers with evidence.
For Collaboration: make peer feedback part of the workflow
Students learn a lot by sharing work and giving and getting feedback. In Showbie, it’s simple for students to review their classmates’ work using comments, annotations, or voice notes. Teachers can guide the process with rubrics and prompts, so feedback stays helpful and focused.
For Creative Thinking: open up flexible ways to show learning
Creative thinking shows up in all kinds of ways, not just essays and presentations. In Showbie, students can upload drawings, write stories, or take photos of their work. It’s easy for them to share ideas in the format that suits them best. Best of all, because everything’s in one place, teachers can give quick, helpful feedback that encourages students to keep experimenting and thinking in new ways.
Final Thoughts
Showbie helps bring communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creative thinking into everyday classroom routines in ways that feel simple, consistent, and effective.
