From Games to Instruction

From Games to Instruction

Let's take a look at different ways to transform your pedagogy!

Let's go!

• Gamification of content engages students -- we all know this.

• Review websites can be much more valuable than just "review" tools and time-fillers.

• Let some of these digital tools do the work for you.

• So let's see what you are familiar with already...

Poll

What review game websites have you used in class before? (You may choose more than one.) This will help our discussions today.

• Kahoot

• Quizizz

• Blooket

• Gimkit

• Quizlet

We Aren't Going to Discuss Most of These...

• I don't want to repeat what you may have seen in other classes too much.

• Frankly, most of the review websites provide equitable instructional benefits.

• For this reason, I am going to focus on just two websites: Quizizz and Gimkit.

Let's Get Some Discussion Rolling

Honest answers, please!

Open Ended

What is the purpose of online review games inside of a traditional classroom setting?

Write a quick sentence or two.

Open Ended

What are some typical drawbacks or negatives for using online review games in traditional classroom settings?

First: Quizizz!

• We are using Quizizz now!

• So, as you can see, this is a more powerful tool for instruction from the start.

• In essence, Quizizz follows the Kahoot model -- it is easiest to make review activities that are question and answer.

• How does Quizizz differentiate itself?

Lessons & Question Types

• Quizizz offers, well ... this!

• You can make "slides" and insert different question types into them. You can do multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, checkbox, poll, and open-ended questions.

• At the end, a normal after-"game" report is generated.

Instruction?

Well, let's consider what we are doing here today. Inside of the Quizizz platform, I am providing you with information and asking for feedback seamlessly.

Quizizz Lessons are a platform for instruction that create powerful opportunities for student engagement while also allowing instructors to reach toward instructional goals.

For example...

Instructional Example!

8th Grade ELA has a grammar standard for ellipses. Let's pretend that I've been teaching a lesson about ellipses and want to check for understanding...

Multiple Choice

This punctuation mark usually signifies an intentional removal of text from a passage that does not alter the original meaning of said text.

• Parentheses

• Ellipses

• Commas

• Periods

Great, thank you!

Now when the session is over, I can look over the data to determine how much additional teaching I need to complete.

Was this a pre-test? A post-test? How rigorous was the session?

All of these questions are within your control!

So, let's talk data...

Data!

Data, data, data! Out of all the review websites, Quizizz has the most robust and user-friendly data collection and display.

Look -- services like Quizizz are only as powerful as you want them to be. Do you want them to just be fun one-offs? Great!

But if you want something more, consider baking lessons and instruction into these services to let said services do some work for you.

Hang on, isn't this just Nearpod?

Well ... sort of?

So ... Nearpod?

• Quizizz Lessons are definitely similar to Nearpod lessons.

• Quizizz has the benefit of still being a game, whereas Nearpod has become somewhat tarnished for the students because of how it is typically used.

• Personally -- Not a fan of Nearpod.

Open Ended

Name a way in which you could use a lesson structure like this one to promote an instructional goal inside of your classroom.

Finally: Gimkit!

• Gimkit is different.

• While most of the game modes offered involve question and answer review in the traditional Kahoot model, the creators of Gimkit have significantly altered the way the review game is played.

• Students accrue money and use investing strategies (ideally) to win these games in the basic modes.

About Those Question Types...

• While review games are fun and can perform as quick ways to have students refresh knowledge, they have a hard time breaking above the bottom-level Bloom's structures of recall, definition, identification, etc.

• Open-ended questions can improve the level of questioning inside of an activity, but they can't be "gamified," as computers cannot assess the written word in that manner.

• What if there was a way we could greatly improve the level of questioning in an activity while also playing a game?

Let's Talk Vocabulary!

We can all find some common ground here.

Pedagogically, review games are ... fine ... for vocabulary practice.

• Students can practice matching terms to definitions to, at least, ensure that they have the correct definitions memorized.

• This is valuable, but it isn't the best way to teach vocabulary in a way that matters.

Open Ended

Alright teachers, what are some strategies you all use to teach vocabulary that go beyond definition copying and matching?

Time to go to Gimkit!

Let's play. :)