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Game Based Learning: Google Slides Coordinate Plane Battleship

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Google Slides is an awesome tool for creating activity spaces. One of my favorite things about Google Slides is the ability to transform it from being a

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http://karlkapp.com/5-games-for-learning-alebra/

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Algebra gameification

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https://wheeldecide.com/
Create spinning wheels for choice of activity or resources

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#Ditchbook with #Gamification Sharing Extravaganza!
Please add your gamification resources to share with others! To add an attachment click on the + at the bottom and paste your link in. You can also add a video, pictures and more!

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QuizWhizzer is the ultimate classroom tool for creating fun gamified quiz races! Upload a background image and add the spaces for where players move to create a unique game board for your quiz. Then watch as students’ avatars progress across the board in real-time as they answer the questions!

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Tech & Learning: Ideas and Tools for EdTech Innovators

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Tech & Learning’s purpose is THE go-to resource to help K-12 educators and administrators use technology to enhance the student experience and drive innovative learning.

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100 Sites/Apps for Gamification and Game Based Learning

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100 Sites/Apps for Gamification and Game Based Learning

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http://www.techlearning.com/default.aspx?tabid=100&entryid=7263

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Difference Between Gamification and Game-based Learning

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Difference Between Gamification and Game-based Learning

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http://inservice.ascd.org/the-difference-between-gamification-and-game-based-learning/

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Create a Revision Quiz in the form of a PacMan Game!

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Create a Revision Quiz in the form of a PacMan Game!

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I coded this ClassTools PacMan template to quickly enable students and teachers to create revision quizzes.

Simply type in a series of questions and answers, click a button, and immediately get a link to a personalised revision quiz in the format of a 'PacMan' game.

The link can be shared with your students, or the game itself can easily be embedded in your website, blog or wiki.

The game plays just like an ordinary version of PacMan, as can be seen in this screenshot:

The 'twist' though is that when PacMan is eaten by a ghost, the player has to answer a series of questions from your database before gaining an extra life and therefore a chance to continue. The question is in the form of a multiple choice challenge - you can either add your own alternative answers, or the computer will generate its own based on other answers in the database.

The number of questions that needs to be answered after being eaten by a ghost starts off at three questions, but becomes more as time goes by:

Taking it Further

There is also a leaderboard for each quiz which updates each time somebody plays the game, which can be used as part of a leaderboard challenge.

Rather than teachers creating the quizzes, the students themselves can be challenged to produce their own quizzes which can then be played by their classmates.

Comments

comments

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Create a Revision Quiz in the format of a 'Pacman' Game!

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I coded this ClassTools PacMan template to quickly enable students and teachers to create revision quizzes. Simply type in a series of questions and answers, click a button, and immediately get a link to a personalised revision quiz in the format of a 'PacMan' game.

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Blog post with a hyperdoc for game creation that involves design, game mechanics, reviewing others games, etc

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After reading the regular textbook chapter on Ancient China, I was left with the feeling that my students needed something more. I showed my class three short videos(less than 10 min each), starting with a TEDed video. We had discussions and I had them take some notes about the positive and negative impacts of globalization on civilization using a T-chart. I still felt like they needed more, so I decided to have them turn these notes from their learning into a game. Now I had their attention! Suddenly my students cared about the topic and were highly engaged in learning.

﻿ We often glorify the positive exchanges along the Silk Road, but can you think of a possible negative impact of global trade on society in either the ancient or modern world?

The positives and negatives from their notes were to be used in a game that they would create as good moves/cards and bad moves/cards.

After the students were settled into their teams for this project, I gave them a text set that contained 4 sections and instructed them to divide up the reading and have each person in their group do their assigned reading and come up with 10 questions based on what they have discovered- questions that will be used somehow in their game. I also did a mini-lesson on how to write a question. I have now included all of these elements in a hyperdoc and saved myself from standing over the copying machine in the teacher work room.

Students brought in games from home for inspiration, and to study procedures and instructions.

Once they had gone through the steps of creating their own game about the silk roads, they played it focusing on the elements of game mechanics. This allowed them to make sure that their game would work as they had planned before it was played by their classmates. If something wasn't working out properly, then they made adjustments to their game and the directions.

I made a rubric and the project was graded by the groups of people that played the games. My plan was to have the students rotate through each game playing every game made by the other teams in both of my classes, but it took way too long. I revised that goal to have groups of students play at least three games made by other groups.

We worked on this project in the last periods of the day after some long mornings of SBAC testing, and I have to say a little game playing was a much needed element in our day.

There were so many different and creative versions of the Silk Roads game. The one pictured above left (with the cups) had a Mancala theme. There was another game that involved the exchanging of beans as goods traded along the journey. There was also a game with a trivial pursuit element to it where the players had to answer questions to collect objects. The objects represented themes of things that were exchanged through travels along the silk road (religion, ideas, goods, technology/inventions, etc). Pharaoh-mon Gotta Catch 'Em All!

I'd like to apply this format to have my class create games for the hero's journey/monomyth or for a review of a Mythology unit. We have created games for Buddhism and the Eightfold path to Enlightenment, and w e made a Pokemon style game out of Pharaoh cards which we called Up next, games for "Histories Mysteries"-I'm thinking "What Happened to the Mayans?" or "Who Killed Julius Caesar?" with a "Clue" spin to it.

​ Within any study of a civilization there is an opportunity to make a game related to the social class structure. The Caste system in Ancient India is a good example.

In short, I love games. My students love and remember our games. Any time a learning experience can involve gaming, I'm game! #GSPD

If you would like to use this lesson, click on the link above. Then click on "file" and "make a copy". You will need to make your own copy of the Google forms in the same manner, otherwise your students will be turning their work in to me. Check out @TsGiveTs on twitter as well as #give1take1 to find more hyperdoc lessons like this one. For more info on hyperdoc creation go to Lisa Highfill's Google Teacher Academy page.

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After reading the regular textbook chapter on Ancient China, I was left with the feeling that my students needed something more. I showed my class three short videos(less than 10 min each), starting with a TEDed video. We had discussions and I had them take some notes about the positive and negative impacts of globalization on civilization using a T-chart.

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Charlie Gerancher
http://www.classcraft.com/

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http://smartypins.withgoogle.com/

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https://geoguessr.com/
Game using StreetView images that drops the player in a random location and challenges them to work out where they are.

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Get dropped anywhere from the busy streets of New York to the beautiful beaches of Bali.
Join 50 million players now!

Discover the world

Discover the world in your own pace and earn medals in our single player mode.

Play with your friends

Put your skills to the test against your friends and family. Create your own private party and play together.

Compete against others

Test your ability against players all across the world. Earn badges and compete against others in tournaments and events!

If you've forgot your password, click on "Already have an account?" in the upper right corner, and then on "Forgot your password?". Enter the email address which is connected to your account, and we'll send you an email with a link to reset your password! Don't forget to check you spam email if it may have gotten caught there.

If you are not receiving an email you might have enabled Google/Facebook login. If so, send an email to info@geoguessr.com and we will help you further. If you've forgotten which email you signed up with, no worries! Contact us at info@geoguessr.com and we'll help you out!

Become a geography expert and have fun at the same time! Seterra is an entertaining and educational geography game that gives you access to over 400 customizable quizzes. Seterra will challenge you with quizzes about countries, capitals, flags, oceans, lakes and more!

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GeoGuessr is a geography game which takes you on a journey around the world and challenges your ability to recognize your surroundings.

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https://minecraftedu.com/

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http://gamestarmechanic.com
Try gamestarmechanic.com students can build their own games related to content

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Gamestar Mechanic
uses fun, game-based quests and courses to help you learn game design and make your own video games!

Want more info?

Privacy policy

With Gamestar Mechanic, you can

Play and Learn

Go on Quests that power up your game design skills and let you earn items you can use to make your own games

Take Courses

Take game design courses with professional instructors and get feedback on your designs from game industry pros

Make Your Own Games

Make original games with a powerful, easy-to-use design tool and a library of hundreds of sprites

Join the Community

Publish your games and connect with a community of over 250,000 designers whose games have been played over 5 million times

Awards and Accolades

KAPi Award for Innovation in Children's Media 2011

IndieCade Finalist 2011

5 stars from CommonSense Media

American Association of School Librarians Best Website for Teaching & Learning 2012

2011 International SeriousPlay Awards Gold Medal Winner

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Gamestar Mechanicuses fun, game-based quests and courses to help you learn game design and make your own video games!

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Explore ways to use MineCraft to build community, collaboration, quest-, game-, and project-based learning in the classroom.

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Math practice that requires critical thinking.

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Great way to play games on the Global level
https://education.microsoft.com/skypeintheclassroom

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Practice that feels like play.

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The exact skills you need

Planning a lesson or prepping for an exam?
We've custom-built IXL skills to reinforce each topic within your:

State standards

Virginia Standards of Learning (2016)

Textbooks

See skills that match every chapter of 80+ popular textbooks

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Use IXL for the NWEA MAP, ACT, SAT, and more

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IXL | Math, Language Arts, Science, Social Studies, and Spanish

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IXL is the world's most popular subscription-based learning site for K-12. Used by over 15 million students, IXL provides personalized learning in more than 10,000 topics, covering math, language arts, science, social studies, and Spanish. Interactive questions, awards, and certificates keep kids motivated as they master skills.

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http://www.brainrush.com/  Mastery games!

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Edtech Company BrainRush is Acquired by ExamCollection – ExamCollection

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Edtech Company BrainRush is Acquired by ExamCollection

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If Kahoot had a cousin, it would be triventy!  Students love it!

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Fun team quizzes

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"I love all of the information about student performance I get as a teacher. It helps me to quickly identify stronger students and weaker students, as well as concepts at the class level that students struggle with. Thank you so much for providing such a useful platform for teachers to use to engage our students and measure their performance!!"

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Quizalize - The best quiz platform for remote or real classrooms that delivers game-changing results

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Engage your class with fun, standards-tagged quizzes. Get instant data on student mastery. Automatically differentiated follow-up activities.

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https://quizlet.com/

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Links to challenge cards, badges and more.
http://karlymoura.blogspot.com/2016/01/gamifying-our-stem-lab-challenges.html

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* Update: Since this post I have added more challenges and badges to include Sphero, MakeyMakey, Scratch and more. There are now over 60 challenges and badges for your students! Please share any challenges and badges you make. I would love to add them. Check back again, I am adding more challenges and badges all the time. Check out the crowdsourced Gamification padlet at the end of this post too!

Our STEM Lab/Makerspace is a HUGE hit with our students. Since I oversee the lab and take the classes in I get bombarded by kids all day asking if it is their day to go to the STEM Lab. They are building, discovering, exploring, designing, problem solving, and having a blast doing it. However, as the kids continued to explore the STEM Lab we began to notice that they had moved past the exploration phase and wanted a bit more direction and challenge. We realized that we needed to up our game a bit to take our lab to the next level so we decided to gamify our STEM Lab with challenges and badges! It took some prep but once the challenge cards and badges were created we were ready to roll. We are happy to share our tips, tricks and resources so that you can gamify your STEM or STEAM Lab too.

How You Can Gamify Your STEM/STEAM Lab

I looked online for ready-made challenges and used the instruction booklets that came with our kits to create challenge cards for our students. As we 1. Make challenge cards.
add to our STEM lab and work toward making our lab a true STEAM lab we will continue to add challenge cards and create badges to match. You can view our challenge cards and challenge card template here. Feel free to make a copy to use and/or start creating your own.

I used Google Draw to create our badges. After following this tutorial 2. Create your own or find ready-made digital badges.
Creating a Badge with Google Draw by Alice Keeler it was easy to create our own template and make our own badges. You can upload all of our STEM Lab badges for ideas and inspiration or use them in your own lab.

In our lab we go pretty low tech with a simple Now that our students have started earning their badges they need a place to display them. The fourth and fifth graders are creating a Google Site as their digital portfolio so one page is dedicated to displaying their badges. The 2nd and 3rd graders will use this 3. Identify a way to keep track of earnings.
STEM Lab Student Check Off Sheet. Each student has their own check off sheet which is kept in a file under their teacher's name. While in the lab the students let us know when they have earned a badge and they get it initialed by me or their teacher.
If you want to go totally digital check out Creating Badges with Google Sheets by Alice Keeler. This awesome post shows you how to create (in draw), then organize and assign digital badges with Google Sheets.

4. Display those shiny new badges!
My Badges Google Doc assigned through Google Classroom to display their badges.

Example of "My Badges" page on a Google Site

What our Gamification & Badge System is NOT

So far our badge system has worked out really well in our STEM Lab. Our kids are excited about the badges and look forward to displaying them on their Google site or badge page. We are still working out the kinks and will continue to create challenges and badges as we grow our STEM Lab. However, it is important to note what our challenges and badges are NOT.

It is NOT a competition. There is no public display of which badges are earned by whom. The Google Sites and Docs can be shared of course but only if the students share them. Students who work together on projects all earn the badge. We go over this together and teamwork is encouraged.

It is NOT a requirement. Students do not have to earn badges. It is completely optional for students to work towards badges. I will be creating "inventor" badges soon for students who just want to create something new but also would like a badge (check the badges folder and challenge cards for updates).

It is NOT used for assessment. Our challenges and badges are a fun way to encourage students to create and discover in the lab. The badges give students something to "take" with them after their time in the lab. It can be tough for a kid to work hard on an awesome marble run then have to dismantle it when it's time to clean up!

Our Makerspace is NOT gamified. When the kids are just making and creating there are no directions or badges to earn (other than an "I am A Maker" badge) just tools, resources, and their own imagination.

More Resources

Gamification is definitely on the rise and badges are just one way to bring it into your classroom. There are tons of resources out there to help you get started with gamification. Here are a few I've found. Please share more in the comments!

The and I put our heads together, researched, reflected then began building. Follow us Sun Terrace STEM Lab/Makerspace opened up in October, 2015 and it is an engaging, fun, hands-on learning space. T he lab was originally @SunTerrace1 to see our STEM Lab and Makerspace projects! Wendy Townlin's idea and with the support of our incredible principal Kris Martin-Meyer, four of us, Wendy, Amanda Young, Claire Simón

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Gamifying Our STEM Lab. Leveling Up With Challenges, Digital Badges, Display Pages & More!

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Update : Since this post I have added more challenges and badges to include Sphero, MakeyMakey, Scratch and more. There are now over 60 ...

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Gamification of the Classroom by @AliceKeeler

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Gamification of the Classroom by @AliceKeeler

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http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2015/01/23/gamification-of-the-classroom/

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These are the slides, resources and notes for my presentation at BETT 2015 in London on "Gamification of the Classroom" Click Here to link to my slides.

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Participate Learning Curated Collection from #Ditchbook with #Gamification Chat

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Participate Learning Curated Collection from #Ditchbook with #Gamification Chat

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http://bit.ly/1L337MR

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Curated resources from a #ditchbook chat

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https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1N_5IbXUY3y2PCuhFQ0YA7ZuREwC7ew1Q3fyILBnEBQA/edit?usp=sharing

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The Gamification of Education Infographic

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The Gamification of Education Infographic

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https://www.knewton.com/infographics/gamification-education/

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http://www.breakoutedu.com

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Explore sylviaduckworth's photos on Flickr. sylviaduckworth has uploaded 154 photos to Flickr.

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http://www.edmettle.com/

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Why Use Edmettle? Teach Your Students #Grit

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Welcome to Edmettle! Edmettle is a social network and feedback management tool for teachers and students. Our Story We are teachers who believe in the importance of teaching the soft skills. Not just spelling or math formulas but grit, resiliency and perseverance. Why Choose Edmettle?

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Coordinate Plane Battleship by @AliceKeeler

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Coordinate Plane Battleship by @AliceKeeler

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http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2016/01/14/game-based-learning-google-slides-coordinate-plane-battleship/

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Game Based Learning: Google Slides Coordinate Plane Battleship

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Google Slides is an awesome tool for creating activity spaces. One of my favorite things about Google Slides is the ability to transform it from being a

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10 Specific Ways to Gamify Your Classroom

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10 Specific Ways to Gamify Your Classroom

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http://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/how-to-gamify-your-classroom/

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by Mike Acedo

In today's classroom, educators are constantly required to mold their teaching methods to give students the best opportunity to succeed. It is not only imperative for students to learn the required material, but also critical that students gain a sense of confidence toward their work, and find motivation to expand their learning.

However, this can be difficult for some students, who may struggle in traditional, lecture-based class styles. For some students, finding the motivation to complete homework or prepare for class can be a constant struggle, especially when every effort is met with a poor grade or frustration from teachers and parents. Therefore, teachers must become more and more creative when motivating students to learn.

We've talked about designing your classroom like a video game before. Games are one motivator that almost all kids are responsive to. Many teachers have had the experience of asking students to stop playing games such as Angry Birds during class. However, it can be rationalized that games can be a very strong motivator for students when the same game elements are applied in an educational context. Thus, some educators have adopted the concept of Gamification, where the structure of gaming is applied to a non-game framework.

Though some teachers may use game-based learning, such as having students play games like Little Big Planet (featuring Sackboy, pictured above), Minecraft or Civilization to reinforce content, Gamification uses game elements such as challenges, feedback, levels, creativity, and rewards to motivate students to learn, and master concepts.

How To Gamify Your Classroom: 10 Specific Ideas To Get It Done

1. Make Students Co-Designers

Present the class syllabus as a form of Gamification. Work together with students to develop the narrative of the class, as well as short, and long-term goals. Allow students to have a voice in the class design, vote on a model that agrees with everyone, work with it, learn from it, and revise it as the class goes on. As a result, students will be put behind the wheel of their own learning, allowing them to express creativity and some control over the direction of the class.

Given that the class design is a collaborative effort, it will give students a sense of ownership toward the outcome of the class, and in turn, motivate them to participate and succeed within the class narrative. Additionally, since the class and assignment design is done in a collaborative process, students who would otherwise struggle in a traditional class setting, will have the opportunity to be involved in creating a learning space they can excel in.

2. Allow Second Chances. And Third.

Like in video games, students should be allowed second chances. When a challenge is failed in a video game, users are able to learn from their mistakes, try again, and succeed. The same concept can be applied to the classroom, as students should be able to try an assignment, either succeed or fail, and try again. Students who succeed right away have the choice to either move on to a new challenge, or try to raise their score.

At the same time, students who failed the first time, have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes, and try again until they succeed. This motivates students to learn for themselves in order master skills and raise achievement, while eliminating the pressure or stigma of failure. In games, and in life, failure is an essential component of success. Students should be allowed to fail and learn from their mistakes without feeling dejected or unmotivated to try again. Though this will require more work in terms of grading for teachers, student performance and understanding will undoubtedly rise.

3. Provide Instant Feedback

This one isn't always easy, so you may need to use your noodle a bit.

In a game setting, feedback is essential for users to know how they are doing in the game. If a user makes a choice in a game, it is usually known immediately if that choice was the right one. Classrooms must work in a similar fashion, as students must be able to receive and give feedback so it is known if the steps they are taking are in the right direction. Though computers provide immediate feedback in video games, it may take a teacher a little longer to provide feedback to individual students.

Therefore, it is essential that students are able to give feedback to each other, with the instructor providing support to those who need it. Teachers can split the class up in groups or learning "teams", each with their own names and characteristics the students can customize within the classroom narrative. Students can then have the freedom to work together on assignments, provide feedback, and receive support from the instructor as needed.

4. Make Progress Visible

In games, users usually have levels or progress bars that indicate how well they are doing in the game. Gamified classrooms can implement similar elements which indicate how far along students are, and how close they are to reaching the next level. Instead of issuing grades or percentages, teachers can either issue progress bars to students, or allow them manage their own. With each completed assignment, test, or project, a certain amount of points can be added to their progress bar, bringing them closer to reaching the next level.

As high school teacher Alice Keeler explains in her gamified classroom, progress bars and levels allow students to set goals for themselves and celebrate success once achieving them. It also gives struggling students a tangible indication of how close they are to reaching the next level, allowing them to discern what they could have done better to get there. This can be tremendous for student confidence, as they are once again allowed to learn from their mistakes, and are motivated to raise their achievement to reach the next level.

5. Create Challenges Or Quests Instead Of Homework & Projects

In games, users are constantly required to meet challenges, such as identify patterns, break codes, or complete quests in order to advance. The same elements can be applied to a gamified classroom, as homework and projects can be presented in a fun, yet challenging way. By simply changing the context in which the assignments are presented, teachers transform the act of work into a more enjoyable, epic activity. Instead of assigning math homework, present it as a code that must be cracked in order to open a safe full of treats. Projects can also be presented in the similarly epic context, drawing students in to work and learn in a new way.

6. Give Students Voice & Choice

In many games, users are often given various choices that affect their progress, and the outcome of the game. Some are rewarded with extra lives or other benefits when completing harder challenges. The same choices can be implemented into gamified classrooms, allowing students different options they can use to reach their academic goals. As Alice Keeler explains in her classroom, students are given the choice to choose different paths in learning the curriculum.

For example, instead of simply issuing a test at the end of a subject, teachers can allow students to take different paths to demonstrate their understanding of the material. Some students may choose to develop a group project and presentation, others may write an essay, make a board game, or express their understanding in other creative ways. By giving students choice, it allows them to foster and apply their knowledge in new, creative ways. Additionally, it gives them a sense of pride and ownership toward their work, which in turn fosters additional creativity and achievement

7. Offer Individual Badges & Rewards

Badges or other rewards are a good ways of recognizing student achievement and incentivizing students to continue raising their efforts in reaching academic goals. By providing a tangible symbol of achievement, badges and rewards can be very effective in celebrating certain student accomplishments, and can be a great tool for raising student confidence. Even if badges are given for simply attempting an assignment, completing extra credit, or showing continued effort in reaching a goal, the mere recognition of effort can go a long way in motivating students to learn.

8. Have Students Design A Class-Wide Skills & Achievement System

With your input of course.

To encourage an entire class to continually strive to raise their academic achievement, teachers must implement more than just individual badges and rewards as incentives. Teachers can implement a class-wide reward system, where everyone can celebrate individual and collaborative accomplishments. An example can be when a student reaches a new level or point total, certain skills or power-ups can be rewarded, such as the ability to choose a class-wide activity or game to play.

If an individual or group of students reach a certain level or point total, everyone in the class gets a moderate point boost as well. This class-wide reward system not only celebrates individual achievements, but also encourages each classmate to help each other so they may all be rewarded in some way. This promotes a sense of comrade and collaboration between students, as they find themselves sailing the same ship, which requires their combined effort to reach their destination.

9. Implement Educational Technology

Though gamification does not strictly require the implementation of technology to be successful, the 21st-century student is already very accustomed to using technology in their everyday lives. Therefore, teachers have found creative ways to use technology to help enhance their gamified classes. Customizable classroom management systems such as ClassRealm have helped teachers easily manage their gamified classrooms, allowing teachers, students, and parents to track student achievements, encourage student participation through educational adventures and games, and set up academic goals for individual students.

Additionally, it rewards points to students for arriving to class on time, for completing assignments, reading extra books for class, and helping fellow students. This encourages students to advance their learning beyond required boundaries, while also motivating participation and peer assistance. Educational game designer Gamestar Mechanic, and class behavior management system Class Dojo, are other popular tools that help teachers enhance student participation and achievement through gamification.

10. Embrace Failure; Emphasize Practice

An effective gamified classroom should not merely focus on the information being taught, but on the skills achieved, and the knowledge gained. The emphasis of gamification is to provide students with a fluid environment of self-directed learning. In this capacity, students will learn meaningful skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and an understanding of how to apply those skills. These are invaluable abilities that students will not only use in school, but throughout their own personal and professional lives.

Therefore, it is vital that teachers who use gamification in their classroom allow their students to try, fail, and learn, while simultaneously supporting their innate creativity and enhancing the curriculum. As previously described, by allowing students some choice and flexibility of assignments, teachers can observe what methods are working, which skills are being exercised and mastered, and can make adjustments or suggestions as student's progress through the class.

Conclusion

Though there are those who criticize gamification, it is undeniable that gamification provides students and teachers with a new and innovative way of facilitating learning. Gamification has the ability to transform the classroom to teach students practical skills, foster collaboration and creativity, as well as motivate students to advance their own learning through self-guided instruction.
How To Gamify Your Classroom: 10 Specific Ideas To Get It Done

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10 Specific Ideas To Gamify Your Classroom

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Gamify your classroom with challenges, feedback, levels, creativity, and rewards to motivate students to learn, and master concepts.

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https://www.prodigygame.com/?utm_expid=71678278-34.crLR-9lVQZKgaA_iimgx-w.0&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

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www.danklumper.com
Join the SpearTip of Education!

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http://amzn.to/1NU4P37

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http://www.explorelikeapirate.com

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http://ditchthattextbook.com/2014/08/28/10-ways-to-electrify-class-with-kahoot/

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My students have begged for it almost every day.

I've used it to entertain family and my children (8, 6 and 5 years old) love to play it.

It's educational and engaging. Oh, and it's FREE.

It's Kahoot! (getkahoot.com), and if you haven't heard of it, it could be your new favorite digital tool of the year. (It certainly is for me!)

Kahoot! turns your classroom into a game show. There are questions (pre-written by you, the teacher, of course). There are devices for all people participating to use to answer (any Internet-ready device ... they use kahoot.it as the web address to answer questions).

And, of course, there's a leaderboard. If your students are like mine, they'll plead to play Kahoot! all the time because they want to be on that leaderboard.

Setting up a Kahoot! is so easy, too. I can write questions and answers for a 10-question Kahoot! in about five minutes. There are quizzes (ask questions to play the game), quick polls (a single question to gather info and spark discussion) and surveys (to collect feedback).

A device for every student (or at least one each for small groups of students) is necessary to make Kahoot! work. But 37 percent of teens had a smart phone in 2013 according to Pew Research (and that number surely has grown in 2014), so getting some devices in the class is hopefully doable - even with younger ones.

So, how can Kahoot! be integrated into the classroom and various places in the school? There are some obvious answers and some not-so-obvious answers.

Here are 10 ideas to get you Kahooting in no time.

1. Drill vocabulary - If meaningful repetitions of vocabulary terms help students to remember them, this will do it. A quick game of Kahoot! with your current vocabulary list won't take much time and will get them engaged right away.

2. Reading comprehension - After reading a story, article or (gasp!) chapter in a textbook, Kahoot! can help you assess how much students remembered.

3. Current events - Because a Kahoot! can be created so simply, you can give students questions on the most current of topics. If part of your class is following news, a quick Kahoot! can check how up to date they are.

4. Identify images - Artwork. Diagrams. Photos of terms. A picture can bring a concept to life, and they can be uploaded (YouTube videos, too) to Kahoot! questions. Use them to ask a question instead of words to better illustrate your content.

5. Club announcements and news - Kahoot! can bring club meetings to life. Go over the important points of the meeting with students and, at the end of the meeting, see who was paying attention with a Kahoot!.

6. Sports team rules - As a former golf coach, I was charged with teaching athletes the rules of the game. If I only had Kahoot! back then! Instead of just saying "remember these," it would give each player more incentive to learn them.

7. Staff meeting opener - It didn't happen, but I had big plans to create a Kahoot! on my school's teacher workday before school started. It would have questions about interesting things that happened to staff members over the summer or lesser-known facts about them. I'll make it happen next year, though!

8. Find already-created public Kahoots - Kahoot! can give you something useful to do if you find yourself with several extra minutes to fill at the end of class. Search public Kahoots for your content area, preview questions of the ones you find by clicking on the title, and send them out to the class - all in a minute or so!

9. Turn learners to leaders - Kahoot! promotes this great use of its site: using questioning as an assessment tool. Instead of teachers creating Kahoots, students can create them. Their ability to write good questions and create answers (even the wrong ones!) shows a lot about how well they understand content. More at this blog post.

10. Relive memories with family - OK, this one isn't a class- or school-based idea, but I'm going to use it! I've entertained my family with publicly available Kahoots (not all of them are strictly academic). Some of my students have said they want to have a Kahoot! party with their friends! Hmm ... educational technology so engaging that students want to base a party around it ... something is right here!

For more about Kahoot!, check out their user guide or their blog with lots of posts full of ideas for implementation.

Any other ideas for utilizing Kahoot!? Share them in a comment, or tell us which idea most appeals to you!

(For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links, "like" Ditch That Textbook on Facebook and follow @jmattmiller on Twitter!)
Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail!

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My students have begged for it almost every day. I've used it to entertain family and my children (8, 6 and 5 years old) love to play it. It's educational

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Jeopardy!  I've used this since my first year of teaching...made in powerpoint before slides...just converted to slides for a pd!

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@BradJacobson's Jeopardy template is here ...

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@BradJacobson's Jeopardy template is here ...

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https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0Byja-vo2LikifmpycktNajhuQUoyRnNLWC04YU1mMVZndWVhMG80eWZMenBIOWV0eXlXM2M&usp=drive_web

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https://getkahoot.com/

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http://www.buildyourwildself.com/

http://www.doppelme.com/

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Easy to use...only 1 device needed! https://plickers.com/

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http://www.educatoral.com/wordpress/gamification/

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This section includes my learning and attempts at gamification AND game-based learning (GBL). I've been a gamer since first playing pong at my neighbor's house when I was seven and I've always wondered how to bring that level of engagement, fun, and learning into my classroom. So this is where I'll be placing links of my journey into gamifying my classroom.

Gamification vs Game-Based Learning (My understanding of the difference between the two terms.)
Gamification: Where to Begin? GBL and Gamification People to Follow
Alternate Reality Game (my first blog post on the topic of gamification)

Gamifying My Classroom (my plan for making the classwork kids do in my classes more like gaming than school work)

Beginning of Year (reflections on how I started the 2012-13 school year and setting up a gaming classroom)

Gamified Classroom? (reflections after a trimester of trying to gamify my classes)

When is Extrinsic Motivation Okay? (My thoughts on using rewards with regards to game-based learning.)

Gamification Alternative to Grading? (My thoughts after a Twitter conversation on badges.)

Gamifying Take 2 (My reflections on my first attempt at Games-Based Learning and plans for next year (2013-14.)

Planning for the Fall Already (More on my plans for the new school year this fall.)

My 6th grade Plan (Got my layout for the 2013-14 year for 6th grade done.)

My 8th grade Plan (Got my layout for the 2013-14 year for 8th grade done.)

Characteristics of GBL (What I've been learning about Game-Based Learning)

Make Lessons Attractive (More to consider when turning lessons into quests.)

Rewards and Gaming (Things to think about when doling out rewards in gamified classrooms.)

Elements that Make Games Motivating (A Glog I made to share the elements of motivation.)

Whole Class vs Individual vs Small Group (Offering students choice yet keep a scope and sequence. The balance.)

Badges, Do We Need Them? (More on badges, achievements (rewards) in the gamified classroom.)

Game Addiction (My experience with game addiction.)

Machinima (What it is. Can we use it in the classroom? Yeah!)

Almost Ready for Fall (I've got my 6th and 8th grade plans on 3D GameLab and am ready to go!)

Gamification Resources (Slides from a presentation I gave for #RSCON4 on my gamification attempts.)

Gamified Science Courses (How 3D GameLab has helped me gamify my Science classes. It's a pretty cool tool.)

Gaming and Motivation (An example of how gaming changed my life.)

Why Game? (Why do people like games? My thoughts.)

1st Semester Assessment (Assessing the first semester in ROLE classes and using 3D GameLab.)

WoW in Science (My use of World of Warcraft in Science class!)
Day 1 WoW in Science (Our first day playing WoW in Science class!)
Day 2 WoW in Science
Day 3 WoW in Science
Day 4 WoW in Science
Day 5 WoW in Science
Day 6 WoW in Science
Days 7, 8, and 9 WoW in Science
Days 10, 11, 12, 13 WoW in Science
#GBL with WoW (final reflection)

Classdojo or Classcraft (two easy ways to introduce some gamification into your classroom)
3D GameLab and/or Classcraft??? (making a choice to use both or one or the other)
Hard Decisions (I made the choice between 3D GameLab and Classcraft)
Hour of Code Week
Am I a Hypocrite? (Awards vs Badges and XP)
PBIS and Rewards (Follow-Up Blog to Am I a Hypocrite)

Second Attempt at Using WoWinSchools with my Students:
Literacy with WoW
1st Quarter WoW
1st Quarter WoW Complete
WoW Dancing
Game-Based Learning
Video Games in the Classroom My GBL and Gamification NCCE Notes
Presenting at WSTA 2015 (I did a Gamification presentation at a Science Conference!)
Presenting at NCCE 2016 (I also shared my Gamification presentation at this year's NCCE!)

Other Reasons to Gamify (Infographic)
Flow in School
School as a Game (A post about gamification - the basics)

World of Warcraft Interview (A blog post interview by Classcraft about my using WoW in Schools!)

Playing the Game of School (I am now using Classcraft AND 3D GameLab! This post shows how.)

GBL and Gamification People to Follow (Here are people whose blogs I read regularly.)

Gamification Elements (Sharing the elements that I have on my Rezzly Gamification 101 Course.)

Gamification Grading - XP (How to grade in a gamified classroom. Well, some ideas anyway.)

Classcraft Finally Beat Rezzly (I finally made the decision to stop using Rezzly, here's why.)

Upping My Game (Looking to add more of a Star Trek game-like feel to my course as I level up my own gamification.)

Gaming vs Reading (My thoughts on playing games way more than I read books.)

Quest-Based Learning (How I do QBL using Classcraft and how I want to improve it!)

eSports and Minecraft Bring Kids in the UK Together with Kids in Chimacum, WA! (Our Chimacum 6th graders got to play some Minecraft games with kids from Guildford, Surrey, UK!)

Esports with Minecraft (How I started a Minecraft eSports Club for my 6th graders.)

Esports with Minecraft, Getting Started (Part 2 of what I did to get the Minecraft eSports Club started.)

Gamification Update (Update on my progress with Gamification in my Science classes.)

Game-Based Learning Planning #GBL (Update on how I'm doing with incorporating games to promote student learning.)

Broadcasting Esports Games (What I've learned about having kids broadcast our esports gaming sessions.)

Gamification of Online Teaching (Using Classcraft to gamify online teaching.)

Gamified Science (Ways I gamify my 6th grade Science course.)

Esports Thriving (Even fully remote, or maybe because it's fully remote, our esports program is doing well.)

Grants and Prizes (Even during a pandemic, there are still ways to get money and purchase cool stuff.)

2021 MLK Day Minecraft March on the Capitol (An amazing virtual experience in Minecraft!)

One Way to Run an Esports Program (This is how I run my remote esports program, or at least how I did it this year.)

Fortnite in Science Class? (Yes! Here's a great way to use a popular virtual world to have kids do Science!)

Minecraft Education Edition Brings Esports to EVERYONE! (Here are some brand new worlds in Education Edition worth bringing into your classroom.)

Washington DC Minecraft Tour (Not just DC but a tour of a DC filled with civil rights leaders from the famous March and Speech of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr!)

How to start the 2021-22 School Year? (I start with gamification!)

Sustainability Development in Minecraft (This year's Minecraft Edu's Global Build challenge is awesome!)

Minecraft Education Edition's Building Competitions (The new esports worlds are great for teaching ANY subject area and for most ages!)

Seriously Facebook, Er, Meta?!? (The problems with trying to create Facebooks accounts for multiple Oculus Quest 2's for school use.)

Building for Hours! (When kids are working on Minecraft, they can build for hours!)

Serious Play Conference (I got to talk about my Esports program for this conference!)

Gamification in EdTech Conferences (How NCCE and ISTE gamified their conferences.)

Reflecting on 21-22 (My reflections on the school year.)

Chimacum Esports Program Explained (My slides and recording of the talk I gave for the Serious Play Conference)

Coding in Minecraft (An amazing resource for using Minecraft Education Edition to teach coding.)

Senate Committee Session on Gamification (I was invited to a panel of speakers to present to the WA state education Senate Committee on the topic of gamification in our schools!)

Intro to Gamification and Game-Based Learning (GBL) Podcast (A podcast my co-presenter and friend Tammie and I were invited to speak on!)

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This section includes my learning and attempts at gamification AND game-based learning (GBL). I've been a gamer since first playing pong at my neighbor's house when I was seven and I've always wondered how to bring that level of engagement, fun, and learning into my classroom.

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http://www.bloxelsbuilder.com/ Bloxels is perfect for gameification

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Bloxels - Build Your Own Video Games | Bloxels

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Anyone can build a video game. At home or school, Bloxels is a simple yet powerful way to create characters, art, and stories to share with the world.

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Quizizz.com

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Classcraft - All-in-One Education Gamification Platform

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Transform your classroom into an epic adventure your students play all year long. Loved by teachers in 20,000+ schools around the world. Try it for free.