The game I chose to discuss is Blooket. It is similar to Kahoot, but seems to have more features. Students are encouraged to participate in games with rewards for answering questions. Blooks are the block characters that students can unlock as they play more. Teachers can create their own question sets unique to their curriculum or choose from pre-made sets. Teachers can also choose different game themes, the game you will play is the Cafe theme. The Blooket website states, "However, Blooket isn't just fun, it's also incredibly effective. By creating memorable experiences with classroom content, students learn the information without even noticing (and without paper cuts)" (2023).
Blooket is a handy tool because it doesn't always need to be completed as a class! You can assign question sets as homework and have students work on their own time. It can be an early-finisher option for those students who are looking for the next thing to do. As I write out this blog post, I am thinking of a few of my students who are super slow workers and have a lot of work in their catch-up folders because of it. I am wondering if they would be motivated to work quicker and more efficiently if they knew this was their early finisher task. As of right now, not all game features can be assigned as homework. The website is currently working to add more features, so hopefully, they make all game modes work for homework!
Lastly, I love that this game keeps up with holidays and trends. Currently, they have spring-themed Blooks and items available in the market. They also had items for St. Patrick's Day. I believe this motivates students to keep playing and buy all the new items that come out.
Nice choice Dalila! I love playing Blooket with my first graders. Personally, I like the racing game, but my kids prefer the other games most of the time, such as the "Feeding Frenzy" fishing game or the game where you build castles. But at least I can come up with my own questions for them, so at least they are learning their different skills as they play.
ReplyDeleteGames like these really help my students with instruction because they enjoy them so much. Many times I use them as rewards if the have a good day. They learn valuable lessons while they have fun. As an educator, I strive to find different ways to keep this going. Blooket has definitely allowed me to do that!
I will also have to try assigning some of the activities to the students. It just might make them get work done outside of the classroom! Thanks for the suggestion.