The technology coordinator in my school sent out an email to our teachers with a link to a Padlet board with different “Gimkit” games for students. He advised students to play them, and for teachers to add their own quizzes. He explained that these games were similar to Kahoot. I’d never heard of this before and was intrigued. This week, I played around on Gimkit and created my own quiz.
Visiting the website, I found that Gimkit allows teachers to make games for their students. These games are multiple choice or short answer quizzes. Students work on them on their own devices at their own pace. Students see the same question a few times to ensure mastery. For each correct answer, students get “cash.” They can use this cash to “purchase” power-ups and upgrades. I’m using quotes, because gaining cash is like building up coins when you play Super Mario Bros. This app doesn’t actually attach to a bank accounts. On the teacher side of things, Gimkit provides an educator with data after students have taken the quiz. It reports what students need help on and can generate reports for individual students.
Before building my own quiz, I checked out the games our technology coordinator had shared with us. On the math quiz for second graders, I needed to earn $500,000 dollars to finish the quiz. I started by making $1 dollar a question, but then moved up to $3. If I answered wrong, I lost money. The game was set like a game board, with the question at the top and then the four choices in four squares, each a different color. Differentiating the color choices was a strong visual cue. Although I usually dislike math, I found myself strangely addicted. I wanted to keep getting a higher score.
I made a quiz with the free version of Gimkit. This allowed me to make live games, and assignments for classes without advertisements. But I didn’t have unlimited kits or edits, and I couldn’t make audio questions or add images. After signing up, I was taken to a homepage. The tool bar on the page allowed me to create a “kit” or a quiz and create assignments. Users can also create their own “season” where students can compete to be the top of a leader board, or play against other students or other classes to get the highest score.
I created my own library quiz, with Math, Science, and English questions. Making the quiz was easy. I created the questions I wanted and filled in answers. I could decide what the right answer was. I had the option to make short answer responses as well. So students can get a writing component or answer a true or false question. It’s possible to import questions from other quizzes. The format and questions for a quiz are totally up to the creator.
After, I made the quiz an assignment. Teachers can decide which class can view and complete the assignment. And can pick what date and time the assignment is due. It’s fun to choose how much “money” students had to earn in order to complete the quiz and the starting amount of money. These quizzes are totally customizable.
These could make a difference in classrooms. It could work for all grade levels from K- 12. Assigning a Gimkit for homework or for extra review before an important exam might motivate students to learn and grow their skills. Adding in the competitive factor and having classes face off, might motivate students more. (But this could be adverse, starting unnecessary stress and ill feelings between students). I remember having to take reading quizzes in 6th grade to check my comprehension of the books I read for fun. If teachers are still required to assign these quizzes, creating a Gimkit instead could be a more fun motivating way to check students. Plus, it can work for any subject. A young second grader might use a quiz to memorize multiplication. A 12th grader might use it to master vocabulary for AP Bio and do practice questions for the overall test. Plus with KitCollab, students can contribute a question that they create.
This can be a tool that a librarian shares with their school, since it’s easy to use and implement. In a library, maybe the librarian creates quizzes that act like a passive or active programming. Maybe it can be a jeopardy game full of trivia questions for students. I can also be a way for students to prepare for Battle of the Books. Also the quizzes for classes and grade subjects could be available right from the library’s homepage or catalog, so every student will have access to them. If the school purchases the app, then they could also add in audio questions, which could help differentiate the activity for learners. Adding images might also create a better experience. This could be helpful if these quizzes were created for state test or final exam reviews.
Overall, creating a quiz was fun. The program was created by a high schooler because it’s the type of quiz he wanted to play in class. It’s guaranteed to motivate students, while helping them master concepts they made need in their classes.
Gabrielle Weiss Blog 