Essential Question: What is the game you are thinking of writing up for your classroom?
I am thinking of writing up Quizizz for my classroom (https://quizizz.com/join/). I can share this on Google Classroom, where the students already have accounts set up. I wanted to stick with Alaska since I am doing my Unit on Alaska in my other class. I was searching games to play and I found the Quizizz site. It reminded me of Kahoot, but I think students will enjoy this game more. It also has homework that you can give. I was thinking I could integrate Quizizz as an extra XP or side quest that students can choose if they want to.
One platform that I learned about from a group that was presenting this week was Aurasma. This is a very intriguing site, but students would have to use phones, and our school has a no phone policy. I think this would be great for finding hidden eggs or for scavenger hunts. I am still going to look into this and learn more about it and maybe convince the principal that students be allowed to have phone access in my class maybe for certain days. I will have to learn more about Aurasma and get the hang of it first.
Another app I found is FlipQuiz (https://flipquiz.me/boards/recent), which works like a Jeopardy game, rewarding students a points relative to which category they choose. I was thinking I could divide the class and they could compete against each other.
Something else that I can use with Google Classroom is Newsela. Using this program, I could assign an article on Alaska for students to read and answer questions on. They could earn extra points if they do some searching on their own, find an article that relates to Alaska, and answer the questions.
Genevieve talked about a point system from Aviles (2014) that scores gamification progress by “Quest points”:
•Epic Quests (Tests) – 1000p
•Heroic Quests (Quizzes) – 500xp
•Side Quests (Hw) – 400xp
•Social Quests (Part/Disc) – 300p
I will be looking more closely at this idea to consider integrating it into my classroom game plan. Right now, I am not certain how this is going to go. I have some ideas on what I think I can use for a new game and, at this point, am leaning toward Quizizz. I am hoping that when I read other students’ blogs I will get a clearer picture and some ideas of what others are planning to do in their classrooms.
Reference
Aviles, C. (2014, February 14). Gamify Your Class Level I: Xp Grading System – Teched Up Teacher. Retrieved November 09, 2016, from http://www.techedupteacher.com/gamify-your-class-level-i-xp-grading-system-2/.
teacherclass@ak 
Hi Theresa,
Thanks for posting the resources. I’m going to check out Quizizz. That would work better for me than Kahoot, since my classes are asynchronous. I like that the quiz can be assigned as homework.
I was intrigued by Aurasma, too, it has a high cool factor. But I’m not interested in working with it right now because it’s glitchy and inconsistent.
An Alaska unit woud bet rich with possibilities! For example (depending on your subject), students could choose a famous Alaskan to be their avatar and find out some information about that person to share. You could also do something with the Iditarod race such as students are racing and they have to meet challenges along the route. The challenges can be your activities or assessments. If students are moving too fast, you can create mandatory stops or have a blizzard to slow them down. 🙂 I love brainstorming ideas!
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Quizizz looks awesome!! Thanks for sharing. You are right that it looks like Kahoot. At first I was trying to figure out what the difference was. Then I saw the homework button. I might have to use this as well. I think it would be great to give an xp boost to those who play outside of school hours.
I like Newsela I just don’t have time to fit it in with the curriculum. I hadn’t considered that in a gamified classroom I could include it as a side quest. Right now I just use it for sub work. But I think it would be great to have students research and find their own articles.
Thanks for sharing your resources, it really gives me a lot to consider. I also really like your point system that you said you got from Genevieve. I think I will do something similar as well.
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