Gamification: Where To Find It

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In the last post, What the Tech discussed whether Gamification techniques were worth it for the classroom setting and what balance is needed to maintain its effectiveness.

This post will be where to find Gamification Tools for a technology-established classroom.

Gamification are goal-oriented and fun ways of implementing content.

This can be seen as card, board, and video games. In years past, it seemed as if any game within the classroom was cause for celebration because it was a break from the norm or the "Lord at the Board", but it is becoming more difficult to maintain the attention of students with some gaming styles.

The current school-aged students have been raised with technology and video games.

From my classroom observations, the highest level of attentiveness in gamification settings is those in a competitive, video game format.

So where can teachers find video games that can also be educational and budget-friendly?

Below is a list of educational technology gamification platforms with a small description of my observations using these gaming platforms.

• Kahoot

  • Kahoot feels like an OG gamification platform.

  • Educators and Content Creators can develop quizzes for live, competitive gaming with scoring based on multiple-choice and speed.

  • You can develop your own content or use already developed content (which can lead to wrong answers if not observed correctly.

  • The Basic (free) version allows for individual or team gaming

  • You would need to pay for a video game type of platform.

  • The students seem to not want to play Kahoot as much anymore because of the multiple choice option limiting the gaming aspect.

  • I have also noticed that students will "spam guess" answers without looking to allow for more questions to be answered, rather than attempting the problem.

• Blooket

  • Educators and Content Creators can develop quizzes for live, competitive gaming based on multiple-choice questions.

  • You can develop your own content or use already developed content (which can lead to wrong answers if not observed correctly.

  • There are many different free games that involve stealing scores from others, guessing fake passwords, defending towers, running a cafe, and more.

  • Students enjoy the interactive nature of the games and the ability to learn the same material through different gaming styles.

  • I have noticed that students will "spam guess" answers without looking to allow for more questions to be answered, rather than attempting the problem.

• Gimkit

  • Gimkit seems similar to Blooket, but has more advanced games.

  • Educators and Content Creators can develop quizzes for live, competitive gaming based on multiple-choice questions.

  • You can develop your own content or use already developed content (which can lead to wrong answers if not observed correctly.

  • The different games are similar to games the student play like Among Us and Capture the Flag.

  • There seems to be a lot more game play and less questions asked. Advancement in the games are based on variables like energy that can be obtained by answering questions, but can limit the number of questions being answered in a timed game.

• Quizizz

  • This is more for individual goals and not for competition.

  • Educators can assign content to students to achieve their own benchmarks. Quizizz has many differentiation options. It works really well for dyslexic students, ELL students, and students needing a differentiated format.

  • Content can be developed by educators, content creators or through the use of Artificial Intelligence.
    

  • Students lack the competitive nature of gaming and may seem less motivated to complete the activities.

• Quizlet

  • This is the easiest for "index card" studying or vocab practice.

  • There are a few games that can be played like matching and "blast" (which now gives Quizlet the option to be competitive that it lacked in years past)

  • Quizlet gives a new way to study key information and differentiates to the learner's preferred study habits.

  • There is also an AI Chat feature for learners to talk through concepts.

  • This may not feel as gamified to the learner, though.

• Mentimeter

  • Mentimeter is a fun way to incorporate surveying, quizzes, and checkpoints into a presentation.

  • This allows for a lesson to be more fluid, rather than educators and presenters needing to move from one tab or screen to another.

  • Results can be shown or not, which can lead to great assessment discussions.

  • Mentimeter lacks the gamified feel to the lessons, but allows for checking for understanding.

• Polls Everywhere

  • Like Mentimeter, Polls Everywhere is a way to survey the learner throughout a lesson.

  • This can be done in a presentation format to go through multiple assessing questions.

  • Results can be answers to multiple choices, text responses, word clouds,

  • Timers and response quantities can be added.

  • Polls Everywhere does not allow the learner to see the benchmarks and track their own goals, which does limit its use of gamification.

All of the above gamification platforms are linked above.

If you have any questions or would like to suggest more platforms, I would love to look into more!

There are so many platforms to try out and new ones are developed frequently to allow for fun learning!